by AJ Newman
MMax shook the man’s arm with his mighty neck muscles when the man tried to reach for his knife. This sunk MMax’s teeth deep into the man’s wrist, slashing his tendons and muscles. The man cried out for MMax to stop biting him. This only made MMax bite harder.
The evil one lunged for his side to grab his knife, and grasped it while bearing the pain from the bite. MMax saw the evil one bring the blade up, released his bite, and ran into the woods, waiting for the man to follow. The man fell to his knees and ripped his shirt to make a tourniquet for his arm. MMax watched for a few minutes until the man walked back toward the cabin.
MMax wanted to kill the man now before he hurt Tina or Jason, but the man had retrieved the shotgun and kept looking behind him. MMax ran away to find Tina and help her get back home.
***
We were only halfway to the Shiver’s place when Karen spotted Tina lying on the ground. We walked up to her, and Tina raised her head for a second, then her head fell to the ground. I saw the bloody spots in her fur and inspected them. “She’s been shot. One wound is only a graze, but the other has a bullet in her hip. Please stay with her and keep the pressure on the wound until I come back.”
Karen ripped a piece of cloth from her t-shirt and pushed it against the wound, which caused Tina to whimper. “We’re just trying to help you, girl,” Karen said, and then added, “Hurry back, Jason.”
I ran toward the Shiver’s place, but before I made much progress, I saw MMax running to me. MMax’s gait was all wrong, so I knew he was also wounded. I took MMax in my arms, and he licked my face. I saw the blood on his shoulder, but the wound wasn’t very deep. MMax would be okay. I tried to pick him up, but he took off to find Tina.
Karen was relieved when MMax and I appeared in the distance and waved to get our attention. I approached and said, “It looks like they were hit with shotgun pellets. Let’s get them to Mom’s place, and then I’ll go find the bastard who shot them.”
I carried Tina as we discussed what could have happened. “Perhaps someone felt threatened by two strange dogs. Jason, be careful when you go back there.”
I promised that I wouldn’t go in guns blazing or get myself shot, but Karen was skeptical. “Jason, your army training is beneficial, but please remember the old saying every problem looks like a nail to a hammer.”
I gave her a dirty look. “Are you saying I’m as dumb as a hammer?” and then laughed.
“Darn you. You know what I mean.”
What she’d said actually made me mad. I guess people assume that because I’m a trained soldier, and I’m a trained killer, who can’t analyze an issue and use the proper force or discretion to resolve the problem. “Karen, I’m much more thoughtful than you think I am.”
“I think you normally are a man who won’t take unnecessary risks or use more force than needed, but I wouldn’t want to be the one who hurt MMax.”
“You’re right about that.”
Mom and the others greeted us, and were shocked to see the wounded dogs. “Mom, we need to attend to Tina first. Her wound is more serious.”
Billie and her brat didn’t show much interest, but at least, stayed out of our way. Everyone else pitched in and helped take care of MMax and Tina. I stared at Billie, and she glared back at me. I wondered why she hated me so much.
The combination of my veterinary training and Mom’s nursing skills enabled us to take care of the dogs’ wounds. Tina had lost a lot of blood we couldn’t replace and would heal slowly. Mom cleaned the injuries, and I dug the pellets out. I stitched Tina and MMax’s wounds. He wanted to get up and go find the one who’d shot Tina. I said stay and made the sign for stay. The look he gave me wasn’t nice. I think he dropped the mental F-bomb at me.
I doubled the guards for that night, and we all slept a bit uneasy. I planned to take MMax out in the morning and find the SOB who shot him. Yes, they would rue the day they shot my best friend.
I placed MMax on the couch and slept on the floor beside him that night. I know I might be accused of being crazy, but MMax was my best friend, and my only link to my past life. All of my army buddies were either dead or missing in action. I knew I had to make sure Mom was safe before I could leave to find them. All I could think about that night was finding Maria and Murph.
☆
Chapter 18
By the time I woke up and attended to MMax, Mom and the other ladies had prepared a modest breakfast. I wasn’t hungry, but ate a couple of eggs and toast with jelly. Mom sat beside me. “Hon, do you have to go find the person who shot at the dogs? They’re probably gone by now.”
I answered. “Mom, they could be hiding in the woods watching us right now. I should have gone last night, but I wanted to give MMax a little time to recover.”
Karen chimed in on Mom’s side. “You should stay with us. We need protection.”
I laughed and pointed at each of the women who were armed to the teeth. “Y'all look like female gangsters from a Bonnie and Clyde movie. The bad guys should fear you.”
Karen said, “I know you’re bound and determined to go, but please come back in one piece.”
MMax lay beside Tina until I donned my backpack and borrowed Mom’s 12-gauge shotgun. I used a piece of rope for a leash, and we left for the woods. I didn’t want to go directly there, since we had to cross a meadow and an open field.
Jan saw Karen watching her son leave. “You like my son, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. He saved our lives.”
“Don’t play word games with me. You know what I mean. You like him a lot, and wish he’d pay more attention to you.”
“Jan, yes, I like him a lot, but I’m not ready for a boyfriend, and he loves that dog more than he could any woman.”
Jan laughed the laugh of a woman who knew her son. “He might surprise you, and besides, I want some grandkids one day.”
Karen choked, and her face blushed. “You might be waiting for a long time.”
“Well, while he’s gone, let’s get you moved into the trailer.”
***
We hid in the woods about a hundred feet from the cabin for a long time. I didn’t see any movement in or around the cabin for several hours. MMax appeared to be confused by something he smelled. I was tired of waiting, so I released MMax and said, “Search for Man.”
MMax searched around the cabin and led me to the dilapidated barn where he sat at the barn’s entrance. I barely opened the door and said, “Come out with your hands up, or I’ll sic my dog on you.”
Nothing happened, and I didn’t want to risk losing MMax. I made a torch out of a stick with some dried grass and soon had it blazing. “Come out, or I’ll burn the place down around you.”
There was no answer, so I tossed the torch into the barn and backed away from the door along the side of the barn. I had made a critical mistake and paid for it a few minutes later. MMax barked, and something fell, knocking me to the ground. The person had me in a chokehold, and I couldn’t breathe or give MMax commands. I threw an elbow to the man’s ribs, and the man groaned and released his grip. MMax bit the man on his free arm and pulled him away from me.
I jumped to my feet as I drew my pistol to kill the varmint who’d just tried to kill me. Just then, the man yelled, “Don’t shoot me, Jason!”
I held the gun on the man. He looked up and into my eyes. “Dad? Why did you jump on me?”
“Call your dog off. He’s ripping my arm.”
“MMax, out!”
MMax released his bite and stood beside me. He looked from Dad to me, and then back to Dad.
“MMax, heel.”
“How is your mom? I’ve been worried to death about her.”
“Dad, she’s doing okay. She’s worried about you, but tries to hide it by staying busy taking care of the others.”
Dad sighed. “Thank God.”
I shook my dad’s hand and then looked at his arm.
“MMax barely broke your skin. Hey, that’s my old jacket. I’ll bet he smelled my
odor on you. You are lucky. You only need to wash the area and apply some antibiotics, but MMax needs rabies shots.”
Dad gave me a scowl. “Son, how did you get back here from England?”
“Dad, it’s a long story full of lucky events.”
I told him a short version of what happened, and he said, “The only thing lucky was you finding your mom and me.”
I said, “Dad, if I hadn’t been wounded, I would still be in Europe. I think that was luck.”
Dad asked, “I assume finding two women was also luck?”
“One was good luck, the other was bad luck.”
Dad laughed and slapped his knees. “Don’t tell me which one is which. Let me guess.”
“It will be easy, even for you. Dad, that’s my story, and I will flesh it out for you later. Now, what happened to you? Mom thinks you could be dead.”
“Son, like you said, this is the short version. I walked into town and found the police had their hands full, just keeping people from rioting. I saw a scumbag try to kidnap a young woman and saved her. I kicked the crap out of him when he pulled a knife on me, and then had to draw my pistol on his friends to keep them from killing me. I took the man to the police, and they locked him up. His friends saw me leaving town and ambushed me. They beat me within an inch of my life and left me for dead.”
My dad wasn’t a badass type, but he could handle himself. “I’ll bet they were sorry they messed with you.”
“No, son, they hit me on my noggin from behind and beat the crap out of me. A farmer heading back up to Kentucky found me on the roadside and took me home with him. His wife took care of my wounds, and I just gained enough strength to start walking home a couple of days ago. That reminds me we need to get a car or truck running. Walking sucks.”
We hadn’t noticed, but MMax kept looking at Dad, and then lay down with his head on Dad’s lap. “Dad, you’re only the third person MMax ever cottoned to. The other two are Maria and Karen. Maria is one of the soldiers I need to find from my squad. Maria and I became very close over in England. The other is Karen, a lady I saved from a thug.”
Dad grinned. “Very close.”
I blushed. “Yes, that close. I didn’t realize how much I liked Maria until I thought she might be dead.”
“Son, you need to go find your lady friend and the other soldiers. No man or woman left behind. Hurrah.”
“Hurrah!”
Suddenly, Dad was in deep thought. “Son, while I was recovering, the farmer’s brother stopped in and told him that some outlaw had kidnapped some people and had made them into slave farmhands. His gang couldn’t make much money selling drugs anymore, and he saw the famine approaching, so he wanted to corral all the local food supplies to take over lower Kentucky. The man mentioned some wounded soldiers were working at his farm.”
I blurted out. “Sis lives in Clarksville. We need to go get her. I don’t know what to do about Mike and his family. Mom said they were somewhere between here and St. Louis. Oh, Dad, we have an old truck that runs, thanks to the Shivers.”
Dad had a look of surprise. “Were the mules okay? I was supposed to tend to them.”
I said, “Don’t worry. Mom fed and watered them. Karen and I went over and scavenged the place for what we could use.”
Dad chuckled. “Did you find anything weird there?”
“Do you mean anything other than the illegal pot farm?”
Dad and I caught up on things as we walked home, and his story was much the same as mine. He’d been in a few fights and had saved a family. I guess Walkers can’t pass by trouble.
I saw Karen peeking out from behind the barn when we arrived at the back of our property. She waved and yelled for the others. “Jason and MMax are back, and they have a strange man with them!”
Mom took Karen’s binoculars. “That’s no stranger. That’s my Zack.”
Mom came running to meet us and jumped in Dad’s arms, smothering him with kisses. I walked on to Karen and the girls. Chrissy and Missy both hugged me and told me they were glad I’d returned unharmed. I endured the hugs and smiled at the young ladies.
Billie and Mark just stood there without any emotion until Mom introduced Dad to everyone. Billie shook his hand and welcomed him back. Karen gave him a big hug. “Jan has been worried to death about you. She has told us so many stories about Zack Walker that I feel like I know you.”
Dad winked at me. “Karen, Jason has told me about you and the girls. I’m very thankful you were there for him when he needed doctoring.”
Dad turned to Billie and Mark. “I’m pleased to meet you, Billie, and this must be Mark. You’re a big strong lad. I’m glad you two have been so much help to Jan in my absence.”
Dad, Mom, and I sat up for a while after the sun went down, discussing the apocalypse and the people who had entered our lives. Dad said, “It only took me about a minute to tell which lady was which. Karen is very personable and warm. Billie is cold and standoffish.”
Mom scolded, “You’re right about Karen, but don’t judge Billie so harshly. She’s had a tough row to hoe. Her husband was a mean drunk who abused her. She doesn’t trust men, and she sure doesn’t trust men who look like her husband. Yes, Jason, she showed me a picture of her dead husband. You could pass for him at ten feet.”
That surprised me. “I thought Billie hated me because I’d run into her that night. No wonder she’s skittish around me. I don’t know what I can do to help her get over it.”
Mom said, “Just be yourself, and not the sarcastic butthole you’ve been to her since you got here.”
Dad laughed and changed the subject. “Jan, we have to go find Michelle very soon and Michael after that. I barely made it here, due to my injured leg. Son, you’ll have to go alone to find your sister.”
“Dad, you know Sis. She might not want to return. She’s very stubborn.”
Dad smiled, “Son, start off nice, but hog tie her if you have to, just get her back home. I don’t care what you do with that scumbag she lives with.”
Mom joined in the conversation. “Jason, I don’t want you to go, but poor Michelle might be in danger and need our help. You have all the training and MMax to watch your back. Please find my little girl and bring her home safe.”
I held my tongue, but I knew my sister was an addict and not a very good person. We had nothing in common except blood, and a mother who loved us equally. Mom went on to bed, but Dad and I stayed up planning my trip. He was confident he could get his old truck running, so he told me to take the truck we’d borrowed from the Shivers. His plan was for me to head straight to Clarksville, get my sister, and bring her home. I wanted to search for my friends along the way, but he made me promise to go straight to my sister’s apartment.
I didn’t talk much at breakfast, as usual, so Karen asked, “Jason, is something wrong? Are you sick? This is the quietest you’ve ever been since we met.”
“I’m okay. I’m just thinking about a job I have to get done.”
I had barely finished talking when Dad hit his coffee cup with his spoon to get everyone’s attention. “Listen up, people. I have an announcement. I think you all know we have a daughter, Michelle, and another son, Michael. Michelle lives in Clarksville, and Michael and his family live in Atlanta. We need to go get them and bring them back here.”
There was murmuring around the table and surprised looks on everyone’s face. Karen said, “Zack, how can we help?”
No one else said anything. Dad replied, “There is a lot you all can do here to support the effort, but Jason will go get our daughter by himself. I’m confident he can handle anything thrown at him with MMax watching his back. We might need more help to fetch my son and his family. We will load the truck with supplies for his trip after lunch. Jason will be leaving tonight and take back roads to Clarksville. If all goes well, he should be back in a couple of days.”
Karen and the girls wished me well and said they would keep me in their prayers. Billie and Mark left and started their mo
rning chores. Dad walked with me to the barn to help me clean my weapons and prepare for my trip. Dad said, “That Billie is a cold fish.”
I held my tongue for the first time concerning Billie. “I guess everyone has problems in this world. I hope she can solve hers.”
Dad then said, “I really do like Karen and her daughters.”
“Dad, you’re about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Sure, I like Karen and could see myself with her down the road, but she isn’t interested in me, and I need to find Maria. Maria and I broke up over some silly little things, and I still care for her.”
Dad slapped me on the back. “Well, she will probably be here when you get back. I won’t meddle in your business. You’re a grown man.”
I bit my tongue, because both Mom and Dad had a history of interfering in our lives. That’s why I’d left home and stayed away. I love them dearly, but mainly from afar.
Late that evening, I was in the barn checking the truck when Billie walked in behind me. MMax growled his low growl to let me know someone had entered the barn. She was in the shadows, but I saw a woman’s figure. “Karen, come on in.”
Billie answered. “I’m not Karen, but I’d like to talk to you.”
“Sorry, come on in and let’s talk.”
She walked in and stopped in front of me. “Jason, I’m not very good with words, but I want to thank you for helping Mark and me. I also want to tell you why I didn’t treat you so nice.”
She went on to tell me about me looking like her SOB of a husband, and that caused her to shy away from me. She said, “I know you mean well with Mark, and God knows he needs discipline, but I didn’t trust you. I trust you now, and need your family’s help. Please let Mark and me stay here.”
I said, “Of course you can stay. I don’t hate you, but I didn’t understand why you hated me. I overreacted and ran my mouth. I’m sorry about that.”
