Into the Apocalypse

by William Dunaway

  “Yeah but that was with half of them being forced and remember, some were armed with only clubs. Even the ones that were armed, very few of them had any knowledge of tactics. Most didn’t even know what they were doing for sure.

  We have to assume, that if this gets out of hand, we’ll be facing several with automatic weapons and if they’re close to the age of these two, they’re in their prime. I just hope that none of them have any military training.”

  Jake groaned, “Well, I failed to say that I heard this guy was a Marine but I don’t know if that’s true or not.”

  I sarcastically laughed, “Great, the way things are going presently I’m sure he probably is. Well, we need to find out some more information from this Brian kid we have layed up. Alright, well thanks, Jake. I’ll keep you informed. Keep an eye open.”

  “Hey, maybe nothing will come of this.”

  I chuckled, “Well, I think Murphy’s Law is in effect right now. Now, hopefully, I’m wrong, but I think that would be just wishful thinking. I’ll see you later. I need to go advise everyone, especially those on duty.”

  “Ok! Take care Vince and be careful.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Blake had just finished patting down Abel’s grave with the back of his shovel when he heard what sounded like ATVs or motorcycles approaching fast.

  “Quick, you and the kids hide in the barn. Jacob, show them the hideout you made and hide in there and don’t make any noise until I come and get you.” Blake instructed while handing Laura his two-way radio.

  “What are you going to do?” Laura asked.

  “I’m going to run up and get my M-4. NOW HURRY!”

  Jacob led Laura, Katlin, and Joanna into the barn and ran over to large stack of square baled hay. He pulled out the bottom center bale and told them to crawl inside while handing his mother a battery powered lantern. With some complaining, his mother and his two sisters started crawling through a tunnel in the hay where at about six feet in, it opened up into an opening about eight feet long by four feet wide and about six feet tall. There was a sheet of plywood as a ceiling, and there was one for the floor. Jacob had made himself quite a fort, with Blake’s help. Blake had told him it was a fort, but when he helped him build it, he had it in mind as a hideaway, just in case they had any situation like this.

  Inside, there was a jug of water, five MRE’s, an additional lantern, a stack of blankets, and even some pillows.

  Joanna, the 8-year old, said, “I hope there’s no spiders or snakes in here.”

  “Shhh! Be quiet. You heard your dad; we have to be quiet.” Laura remarked.

  Blake ran to the back door, but it was locked.

  “Damn it!” he thought while realizing that he threw his keys down on the coffee table when he walked in earlier.

  He ran to the front of the house but two ATVs, pulling trailers and two dirt bikes roared into the driveway, immediately spotting him. Before he could get to the front door, one of the dirt bikes drove right up the stairs to the porch blocking his path. Blake stopped momentarily but then decided to rush the rider. As soon as he did, the rider of the other dirt bike pulled out a handgun and shot at Blake and the round ricocheted off the porch. Blake stopped and held up his hands.

  “Damn it, Oscar. You could’ve hit me.” The first rider said.

  The second rider that took the shot laughed, “Oh, you’re alright you sissy.”

  The two riders of the ATVs laughed.

  Blake looked at all four of the riders which all appeared to be around 18-24 years old. One was carrying what appeared to be an AK-47, two had tactical shotguns, and one had an M-4. All four carried handguns and a knife.

  He could tell that they didn’t seem that disciplined, but they were well equipped.

  Finally, Blake asked, “What do you guys want?”

  “Well, you came home too early. You should’ve stayed gone. Where’s your family?” the second biker asked.

  Blake refused to answer at first, but after the biker pointed the gun at his head, he finally answered, “There over at some friends house. I just came home to check on things.”

  “Well, you came home at the wrong time,” and pulled the trigger, shooting Blake in the head. He then looked at the two on the ATVs, “You two, go get the rest of that meat; we’ll go in and check out the house. Later, we’ll come back and get his truck.”

  Laura, hearing the shot, started to panic as she knew the shot was not from Blake’s M-4. She grabbed the radio and tried calling us several times but didn’t get a response.

  Jacob finally spoke up, “Mom, you’re probably not going to get anyone from in here. Let me sneak out and call.”

  “No! We need to stay hidden. Vince, can you hear me? This is Laura. We need your help.”

  “Mom, I’m telling you, being in this hay, you’re not going to get out. I can sneak out without being seen.”

  Laura thought for a moment, “No, I’ll go.”

  “Mom, I can get in and out a lot faster than you can,…. you can trust me,…. I won’t be seen.”

  After more failed attempts at calling she finally agreed but said, “You be careful and stay out just long enough to make the call then get back in here.”

  “I will,” while taking the radio.

  He crawled through the tunnel of hay and then stopped and looked out of a crack between the bales. Not seeing or hearing anyone, he slowing pushed the bale out. When there was just enough room to squeeze through, he climbed out and walked over to a window on the opposite side of the barn from the house.

  “Vince, this is Jacob, Blake’s son. We need your help. Can you hear me?”

  I was out talking to Mo, who had just been relieved by Wit.

  “Jacob, I can barely hear you, you need to speak up. What’s going on?”

  “I can’t speak up. We need your help. Mom and us are hiding in the barn. When we got home, someone had killed Abel and the cattle and then while we were burying Abel, a bunch of cycles came up, and Dad had us all hide. He went up to get his rifle, and since then we heard a shot and dad hasn’t come back for us.”

  I told Mo to get everyone ready, but when I looked up, I could see that the guys were already gearing up.

  “Jacob, we’re on our way. Do you know how many there are?”

  “No, not from where I’m standing. I can move to another window and try to see.”

  I thought for a moment as I didn’t want him to be spotted but we needed to know what we were facing.

  “Jacob, can you try to see how many are there without leaving the barn or even exposing yourself to them through an open window?”

  Blake’s barn was huge and was built many years ago. I knew it had some slots between the boards like some of the older barns do to look out of.

  “Yeah, you may lose me until I get to the other side. I don’t know for sure.”

  “That’s ok. Just be real quiet and tell me what you can see.”

  After a few moments, Jacob replied, “I can’t see the front of the house but there are two ATVs with trailers out in our field, and they look like they’re cutting the meat off the dead cattle. I know there has to be more, though, as when we heard them, it sounded like some motorcycles also. What do you want me to do?”

  “Do you guys have a secure hiding spot?”

  “Yeah, they won’t find us. I’m really worried about my dad, Vince.”

  “I know. We’ll be there soon. Just keep an eye out and if you see any more, let us know. But the most important thing is for you not to be seen. If you see anyone approaching, hide and tell everyone not to make a sound. Also, when you hear us approaching, I want you to go back to the hiding spot and tell everyone to stay there. We’ll come in and get you.”

  “Ok, Vince. Please hurry.”

  Jacob went back to the opening and told his mom what was going on, and he told her that he was going to keep watching and that we’d be there shortly.

  I got back on the radio and asked: “Jake, did you hear that transmis
sion?”

  “Yeah, I did. What do you want us to do?”

  “You and Ben head to the east roadblock. We’ll need you to take over, as we’ll need to pick them up.”

  “Ok, we’re on our way.”

  “Be careful and keep an eye out,” I replied. “East side, west side, did you copy?” Both roadblocks responded.

  “Charlie, are you on the radio?”

  “This is Martha. He’s outside in the orchard. What do you want me to tell him?”

  “Martha, for now, you guys need to stay in your house and keep an eye out. If you hear or see anything, please let us know.”

  “Ok. I’ll let Charlie know.”

  About that time, Kim knowing the drill, came out with my tactical vest, my M-4 and also had my 100 round drum that she bought me for my birthday a few years earlier. It is a double drum that fits in an M-4 or an M-16 that carries 100 rounds of ammunition.

  “Here, I thought you’d want this.” She gave me a kiss, “Please be careful.”

  I kissed her back, “I will. It may not be as bad as it sounds,” knowing that was wishful thinking.

  Mia and Brandy followed, each carrying two ammo boxes containing 15 preloaded M-4 magazines in each and put them in the jeep.

  Mo was already in the back of the jeep double checking the SAW that was on the mount and Tag was sitting in the driver's seat. I walked into where Santiago was watching Brian.

  “Santiago, you watch him like a hawk. If he tries anything, immediately put a bullet in his head. Do you think you can do that?”

  Santiago nodded his head yes. I looked at Brian who had a fear of God on his face.

  “I won’t try anything. Like I told you, I only hunt for these guys. I’ll tell you to be careful as they probably have automatic weapons, at least the guys on the motorcycles.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “That’s how it’s set up. The raiding teams usually have two for security that carries a handgun and fully automatic AK-47s or M-4s. The other two usually will only have handguns, but sometimes they carry shotguns also as they haul whatever is being collected.”

  “You better be ready to talk later.”

  When I walked back out, Mike and Red were just making it back to the house, as they ran up as soon as Jake and Ben had relieved them.

  “Wit, you and Red take your motorcycles. I want Mike to ride on the back of one of your bikes, and when we get there, I want you to drop him off so that he can work in through the wooded fence row. Don’t take very long as we need to move in quick and we don’t know for sure what we’re going to run into.”

  “Paul, I want you to stay here and keep a close eye out. If anything happens, you let us know.”

  Paul agreed even though he was frustrated that he wasn’t going along. I could see it on his face, and I said.” Paul, we need someone here that we can depend on. Your job is to protect the women,children and the house. Make sure everyone is armed and on alert.”

  “I know and I will.” He replied.

  I ran to the jeep and yelled, “Let’s go!”

  We all flew through the East roadblock. We were leading the way in the jeep, and Red and Wit were following on their motorcycles. While speeding down the gravel roads we had to take, I was a bit worried about Red and Wit as I had seen bad accidents happen to motorcycles on gravel roads when I was a police officer but you could tell that they were both very experienced riders.

  I said a fast prayer asking God for protection over all of us, and for Blake and his family. Some people, mainly non-Christians, scoff at the idea of anyone saying a prayer before going into battle. Of course, they do that just to try to ridicule Christians, usually by somebody that’s never served a day in their life or had ever been in a life or death situation. Almost every soldier that’s actually been in combat has said this type of prayer though. I’ve seen many self-proclaimed atheist saying a prayer before a battle begins. I don’t know of a better time to ask God for protection.

  Halfway down to Blake’s, I realized that our approach wasn’t ideal. I would’ve preferred to have a better planned approached where at least Red and Wit would come in from the opposite side, but we didn’t know what we were going to be driving into and Wit and Red didn’t know the back way.

  I did think about the layout of his property, though. On the east side, which we’d be approaching by, there was a small patch of woods running along the fence row where we’d make a right turn to approach Blake’s house, which was about a hundred yards to the west after we would make the right turn. I could have Red, Wit, and Mike, who was riding with Wit stop there and approach on foot. Mo, Tag, and I, if we could get away with it, could drive past Blake’s and do a fast U-turn and then we’d have both sides of the house covered and take away any escape route for whoever was there. It would be risky, as they’d hear our approach, but we may be able to do it fast enough that they couldn’t react. We had to do it quickly, so I had Tag pull over momentarily, and I explained the plan to everyone.

  I really hoped this was all just a precaution and the situation wasn’t going to be as bad as my gut told me it was going to be but I had learned many times in my past to approach a bad situation expecting the worse.

  As we approached the intersection where we were going to make the right turn, I told Tag to take the corner as fast as he could. Tag, grinned when I said it and he did just that. When we made the right, the back end of the jeep skidded towards the ditch and to be honest; I was scared he wasn’t going to recover from it. Tag was an excellent driver, but he did have a way of taking a vehicle to its limits and always scaring the hell out of you.

  As we flew by Blake’s, there were two guys running towards their bikes from Blake’s truck. Apparently, they’d been loading it with food and supplies that were in the house. I could also see a body laying on the porch, and I knew in my heart, it was Blake.

  Just past Blake’s house, Tag yelled, “Hold on!” and he slid the jeep into a perfect 180-degree turn where we were facing the house from the west side. Tag and I jumped out and hid behind the jeeps wheel wells, but Mo was still on the jeep standing behind the SAW with the protective plating.

  One of the riders had started his bike and was waiting on the other guy, who instead of getting on his bike, pulled up his rifle and opened up on us with automatic fire. Several rounds ricocheted across the hood when Mo immediately opened up with the SAW, and several rounds hit the shooter in the chest throwing him backward. He probably didn’t even have time to think before he died.

  The other rider took off on his dirt bike towards the east when he was cut off by Wit and Red that were aiming their rifles directly at him, he turned his motorcycle to the south and jumped the ditch, but when he landed, his back wheel landed wrong, and the bike flipped and threw him off the bike and into a large Oak tree.

  One of the ATVs came flying through the field and was shooting his handgun towards us while driving. Mike who had made his way to the edge of the field, took him out with one shot and the ATV slowed to a stop with his body lying backward on the seat.

  The other ATV rider was smarter, he had unhooked his trailer and cut across the field to the north and into the woods. Mo opened up with the SAW and Tag, and I both opened fire, but he apparently survived as we could hear the ATV keep going. I got on the radio and told Red to drive back down the road in the same direction and try and cut him off. He ran to his bike and was quickly flying down the road.

  After a long pause, Wit, Tag, and I worked our way towards the house while Mo covered us with the SAW. Not knowing if there was anyone else hiding in the house or even the area, we had to work slowly. Mike slowly made his way through the edge of the woods checking out the entire area. When we made it to the house, we found Blake laying face down in a large pool of blood. Wit checked for a pulse, but it was obvious that he was dead as you could see where he was shot in the head.

  “Motherfuckers!” I yelled.

  I had been trying to clean up my language, but it
wasn’t even an afterthought at a sight like this. I was filled with rage, and I could see the same feeling in the faces of the Wit and Tag.

  We worked our way into the house clearing each room and once we made sure it was secure, Wit grabbed a blanket off of one of the beds and took it out and covered Blake. As I walked out, I saw Mike approaching.

  “They were obviously taking all of their food, and Blake’s M-4 is laying on the back of the truck. I also checked the guy that hit the tree, I think it broke his neck but either way he’s dead.” He then looked down at Blake.

  “We have to get these bastards.”

  My rage was apparent, but my only response was, “Are we sure the area is secure?”

  Mike nodded his head, “As far as I can see anyway.”

  “Well, let's make sure,” and everyone spread out to double check the area.

  Soon Red came pulling back into the driveway, “Well, the son of a bitch apparently had some wire cutters as he made it through the barbed wire fence and tore off down the road. I knew I could catch him but then he took off across the woods to the east down a trail I couldn’t take. These slimeballs seem to know all the shortcuts around here. They knew to take the old railroad track earlier and now this one.”

  Red was right. Watching their reactions when we approached, I knew that they didn’t know tactics, but by what we’ve seen during both encounters, they seemed to know the area and they were equipped. I knew this was going to be a serious problem. They knew the area better than us, they obviously have the equipment, they outnumbered us, and they were all in their prime.

  I wanted to call Kim and let her know we were alright but I knew that this close, Laura and the kids would hear me on the radio and I wasn’t ready for them to come out yet.

  “Mo, do me a favor and hurry up to the house and bring Kim and Brandy back. I want them here when Laura and the kids come out. Let Jake know what’s up but don’t take very long.”

  Mo nodded and jumped into the driver's seat and tore off down the road.

  Looking at the guys, I said, “Let's secure the perimeter,” and I sat down next to Blake’s body.