by T J Reeder
We spent the rest of the day loading trucks and trailers. We found several safes and got them opened by asking the former big shot for the combinations. He was going to be a tough guy until his brothers walked in, two brothers, three ears; he got the point and gave up the numbers. Of course the girls (along with several of the others) made a treasure hunt out of it. And of course they warned everybody of the pain and suffering that would befall anybody foolish enough to hold out on any 1911’s (like they might need another one).
I laid claim to any JW if these fools were smart enough to have any. After the girls had opened every safe and had piled up all the cash for fire starter and had the guys carry out a truck load of gold and silver along with god knows what else, they found store rooms full of food and booze, all top of the line stuff. The food was going with the women and kids. The booze? Wel,l let’s just say, “It fell off the truck.”
We spent the night sleeping wherever we could. The girls grabbed a king-sized bed for us and we crashed. I didn’t feel bad at all for dumping the leadership issues on Joe and Willy. After all it was their operation; we had come down here just to help out.
A bit of entertainment for the girls before we crashed was watching Doc working on Fox’s toe. Their comments left no doubt they were enjoying it. JJ joined in, too. Friends- what are they for if not to help one over a rough spot?
Fox did remind Sandy that she probably bruised her ass getting knocked flat by a spent bullet that hit like a babies fist. JJ laughed at that and offered to rub some ointment on it. I thought he might lose an ear, but they just pushed him around a bit. It was more fun watching Fox get sewed up. I felt bad for Fox; not too bad, but some, it was kind of funny. Doc enjoyed it a lot. Halfway thru it he remembered he forgot to use any painkiller, which got the girls and JJ rolling. Hell, the whole camp was there, passing a few jugs around. Poor Fox. I was just glad I didn’t get shot in the ass again with this audience! I’d never live it down; I still had trouble getting them to forget the first time.
Morning came and the women and kids and their treasures were loaded up for the trip to the village; not all had come from there but it was better than staying here. We poured the place full of gasoline and after we got a ways away May got to shoot her bloop gun at it, and she missed! Sandy was all over that demanding her turn. She missed. JJ took a shot and missed. Now it was getting to be fun, and they wanted me to take a turn. I said I’d pass, but Charley (of all people) said he would do it. He mumbled something in Navajo, made some hand signs and snapped off the round. We watched it arch up and drop right down the chimney! And man, did she blow; all those fumes just lifted the roof and dropped it right back down. We could feel the heat getting worse by the second, so we headed out.
I asked him what all the mumbo jumbo was about. He looked around to find them and whispered that it was all bullshit; he was just playing with them. Said he had never shot a bloop gun in his life. I started laughing so hard I had tears rolling down, and then they arrived and for two hours tried to hammer Charley into telling them the Navajo secret spell for doing that. He was just the stoic red man. I wondered if Old Woman would ruin the game.
We made it to the village and found it to be a nice place to live if the assholes would leave them alone. I’d say they weren’t going to be bothered much in the future. We met with the old man who was in charge and witnessed several tearful reunions among the people. We spent the next three days there helping the women find places to live and helping them set up housekeeping with their treasures. They were now wealthy.
The old man was very forthcoming about the state of affairs and was delighted when I said we had brought along the weapons we gathered in all the fighting. We gave it all to him to pass out to the people who would be best able to handle them. He looked at the truck of gold and said thanks but no thanks. He said they had no need for it, and that even now gold just brought problems. It was better to have a good hoe than gold. Well, we had those too! We had taken everything but the door knobs, so we fixed them up with more tools than they could use.
One the last day the old man called all the people to the village center and explained that we had the three brothers and several of their men and that the Americans were turning them over to the people to decide their fate. It was a fast trial, and then they took them away in a big truck driven by our people and in a wash several miles away they were shot and left for the desert to clean up; no last words, no priest offering the last rites.
We left the people of the village much safer and happier than before, hopefully they would grow and spread out and start building a free country, something this land had never seen in its entire existence.
After we crossed the border (so to speak) we stopped in a small town that had done well by simply killing every son of a bitch that tried to run over them. A tough bunch of folks lived there. They knew who we were and where we had been and why, and that was enough for them to throw open the doors to us.
We used the school gym to shower and then ate in the cafeteria that was used as the town chow hall. The local folks were happy and doing very well. We gave them a lot of ammo that we took from the former drug lords, and they were happy to get it. We stayed several days while Doc worked on our wounded. We had lost 8 people KIA and about fifty wounded; most weren’t more than bad cuts. Ralph brought the big bird in to fly our wounded back but they all opted to ride home in the convoy.
We loaded our dead aboard the plane to be taken home. We were very lucky that these people weren’t well trained, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. We all had cuts and bruises, Sandy had a nice bruise on her chest from the rifle bullet, but it wasn’t even close to the one I had from the .44 slug. May had a broken fingernail that she was pissed about. JJ had chipped a tooth running into a door, which was even funnier to the girls than Fox’s shot-off toe.
The saddest thing was our KIA’s were people I didn’t know. We were now so scattered out in the canyons that we had people showing up for a fight that really were strangers to most of us. Not to their neighbors, of course. It just seemed sad that people died fighting for our homes and families and I didn’t know them. I made a vow right then and there to visit everyplace where people were living and get to know them at least enough to maybe remember a face. I also planned to visit the families of all of them. They needed to know who the leaders were who led their men in the action that killed them.
After everybody was rested and mended we headed home slowly. Further along in New Mexico we met up with the Texas crowd and spent a couple of days camping out with them, telling about what happened down south. Some of them had come along with us and were really telling a good war story.
They told us that the parents of the young pilot who died in the chopper were coming to visit their son’s grave and meet the people he had chosen to live with and the girl he loved. Sad, but good too.
We heard an interesting thing, the Texans were about to get a train running! And while I didn’t understand why they wanted a train, it was normal Texan thinking. You got tracks? You got trains sitting? Then you need one running back and forth on the tracks.
I don’t understand them but they make damn good friends and really bad enemies. So if they wanted a train, then they should have one. Sandy asked them if they got it running could it make it to a siding near the canyons. They said sure, why? She said, “Well, it would be pretty good if we could get tanker cars of diesel hauled up there instead of trucking it from the Gulf to where we live.” And there it was, always thinking. I said so, and she said that in fact it was Kid’s idea and she had been looking into it. That figured.
Speaking of the little devil, I was surprised she and Blain hadn’t shown up right in the middle of the mess. Blain must be growing up! Kid is hard to say no to, simply because she has already thought of all your arguments before she asks the question. Kid is extremely smart and is ruled by logic. Sandy and May are very smart, but are ruled by emotion and never look before leaping; they just get an
idea and that’s all they need.
They had the idea; it’s up to whomever to make it work out. Sometimes the girls are easier to deal with than Kid. On second thought the girls are always easier to deal with than Kid. When Kid opens her mouth, she knows she’s right, she states the facts, shuts up, and it’s up to you to prove her wrong. I’ve yet to make it that far. But, none of this explains why she and Blain haven’t shown up; I hate it when I’m wrong.
We rolled for home and stopped off at the site of the first fight and found a surprise, Kid and Blain had organized a clean-up party and had hauled away all the dead and buried them in a hole dug by one of the dozers from the canyon. They had stripped the bodies of anything useful. The place was once again looking like a nice place to live.
She said they had arrived and looked it over and saw it was too nice of a place to leave littered with bodies and that in time somebody would want to live there. I saw one of the clean-up crew talking to the girls and saw a look on Kid’s face. Blain was working hard at keeping a poker face, they were all up to something, but it was time to head home. I had kids that needed hugging and in JC’s case probably a spanking (like he ever got one, but it was fun to think of the look on his face if he ever got a swat on the butt).
We arrived home to a big welcome and a good meal that followed a nice long shower with all three of the girls. Beth was showing more and was the center of attention. Sandy’s bruised chest was a concern to Beth but Sandy assured her it was fine and that I was the only one who couldn’t handle getting shot. May opened her mouth, but I grabbed her and kissed her before she could say it. Showering is fun and almost a social event when we all get in there.
At the communal food trough later we had a good time. All the tribe from our canyon was there and the conversation was great. The chicken project was up and running, the first batch would be arriving the next day. I could smell the fried chicken as we spoke.
Just before we broke up for the evening Sandy and May said they had something to say. They then launched into their version of me getting shot, complete with May staggering around making gagging and wheezing sounds, which had the place rolling in the dirt. They are so good at this shit they would have made great stand-up comedians back in the day.
They then handed me a bundle all wrapped up in ace bandages. It turned out to be a Desert Eagle .44, a semi auto that’s been around for years but I had never held one. It was a great boat anchor. Sandy said this was the one that knocked me on my ass, at which time May staggered around and fell flat on her ass. Of course the laughing started again. I got to hold the hand canon for about 30 seconds before Sandy grabbed it and it was gone from sight. How a tiny woman could hide a big-assed gun is beyond me but I’d really enjoy looking for it.
After they were done with me, they grabbed Fox and went thru the same thing with him. May was really good at hopping around on one foot crying, while JJ sat close by and mimed smoking a joint. Their gift to Fox was a pack of ‘Toe condoms’, which brought the house down. We were home. It was bedtime and two beers had knocked me half out. I remember getting undressed and into bed but that was it.
Morning brought the usual smell of coffee and the usual pile of warm flesh that weighed way too much. I managed to crawl out from under them and make it out to the kitchen, where Kid was just pouring my coffee, bless her.
We went out to the stump and sat quietly for a while before she asked me why I left her behind when we went south. I sat for a bit getting my thoughts in order. I told her that I was worried about her because this was an entirely different kind of fight then she had been in before. Also, after almost losing Sandy I was in hyper-overload about family safety. I explained that Sandy and May had more combat time than a lot of men that had actually been to a real war and I knew they were as able to take care of themselves as anybody.
I explained that, while being a brilliant Intel officer, she was still a kid; a kid that I loved very much and that I wanted to see grow up and give me some grandkids. She smiled at that thought.
Mostly, I guess, it was just the old man being over protective of his baby. She reminded me that she wasn’t really my baby. I reminded her to never say that again- that she was as much my baby as JC and Sam and the new one coming. That got tears and she scooted over so I could hold her close.
She said, “Dad, my life before the lights went out wasn’t great. My mother ran away with another man, leaving me behind with a father that loved me but was angry all the time. Home became a prison because he was convinced I was going to leave, too.” She told me more but it was just the usual; a father who worked hard, drank himself half to death and then yelled at her in anger and while he never beat her, the yelling and cussing were almost worse. She said the morning of the EMP she woke up and found the lights off and him passed out. She woke him up and when he tried the car and it wouldn’t start, he just lost it and headed down their street cussing. That was the last she ever saw of him. From that day until she was found by our people she was on her own and we were the only real family she knew.
So in the end, it wasn’t about being left out of the fight, it was about being left behind. I told her that I knew nobody would or could protect our family as well as she, that Beth and the kids were left in her protection and that neither I nor her other moms ever had a second’s doubt about it.
About that time I became aware of somebody standing close behind us. I knew as if there was a vibe that it was Beth. She stepped around and sat beside Kid and we double-hugged her between us. She sighed that sigh she does when she’s happy. It was a special moment that JC decided had gone on long enough. We all laughed at his demanding to be released from prison- he is his daddy’s boy no doubt. Beth and Kid went to rescue him and Sam who never does that- she simply sends out word over the witches’ wave length that she’s ready and come get her. And yes, I believe that. I’ve watched her simply look at one of her mommys and shortly they will go pick her up.
I don’t care if the world thinks I’m crazy. I know all the women in my house are witches. I know that V’s cat walks thru solid objects and disappears by walking into nothing. Old Woman is…well, she’s Old Woman. There is no explanation for any of it, but I’m not crazy! And how did I get on this subject? Who knows?
The whole bunch trooped out; wives, kids, dogs. I told Sandy if she came near me with that moldy old rag of a quilt I was tossing it and her off the cliff. They both said, “Shut up” and proceeded to wrap us in it. Beth and Kid were granted immunity due to holding the kids. I asked Beth one day where the damn quilt was hidden when not in use? She pointed to their weapons cave and that was that. I hate the quilt but I love all my body parts. Hell, I doubt JJ or Fox would go in there and both of them are as crazy as the girls. I feel a little safer since I made them start locking the door because of JC. He can’t reach the knob, but give him time; I love all his little body parts too.
Old Woman showed up and said, “Nice quilt.” I hate her, but kept it to myself. As she went thru the door she said, “No you don’t, or maybe it’s better to say you better not!” That will take the breath right out of your lungs. ‘They’ laughed and went inside. Ahh, a gathering of the coven! Several voices said, “We heard that.”
Charley showed up and asked what I had done now. I just shrugged, and he said he understood. I asked him if he wanted to go down to the cooking area and get breakfast. Beth came to the door and said, “John? Are you really looking to get hurt so early in the day?” I’m used to threats from ‘them’, but not Beth. She winked at me and blew me a kiss. Charley said he thought breakfast up here was a better idea. So much for the brave Warrior. He sighed.
We spent several days licking our wounds (so to speak) and things settled back to normal… if we have a normal. I spent time wandering around our canyon area; visiting friends I hadn’t seen in a while, meeting people I didn’t know at all, folks who heard of us and just came. Everybody here had subscribed to our way of life, everybody brought something to the table, and we had gard
eners and gardens coming out our ears. We had solar and wind power experts, mostly self-taught so nobody lacked for power. We had small sawmills that could handle any need for lumber; we had masons who could build anything out of rock. Cooks, bakers, fishermen, teachers and mechanics, pilots and planes and choppers, soon a train, maybe (I’m not sold on it, but I guess if they get one going it might be of use).
I saddled Buck one morning and tied a bedroll on, grabbed a rifle and headed out for a ride. Time got away so when evening came so I made a camp, had coffee and fried bacon for supper and went to bed. I woke up to find old sweet Molly lying beside me; I guess she didn’t like getting left behind. I kept riding and checked out the canyons as I went. I found a lot of them had people in them, a lot of them seemed to know me but I was embarrassed to admit I had no idea who they were. Some had been to war with me and those I did remember- maybe not the names, but the faces I knew. I slept wherever I was when it was time to camp. Molly got leaner and seemed to get a second wind, I was happy about that. Buck lost a lot of his hay belly and so did I.
And one morning before the dawn was even close I woke up and realized I had been gone for a long time. Days? Several days? Maybe. I wasn’t sure, but I knew I missed my family. I needed to see my kids, my girls, my best friend Charley.
