War Dogs Trilogy: Wounded Warriors of the Apocalypse

by AJ Newman

  I walked around the warehouse and didn’t find anyone or any dangers. The employee breakroom was intact, so I pilfered several of the candy and food machines. The sandwich machine stunk to high heaven, but the canned soup and snack machines were half-full of edible food. I pulled the tab off a can of orange soda pop and washed down two bags of Chili-Cheese Fritos. A Hershey bar was my dessert. MMax enjoyed a can of beef stew and a bottle of water.

  After eating, I brought the truck into the building and rolled the overhead door down to avoid inviting thieves. Well, maybe to keep other thieves from fighting with me to steal the food. I didn’t think of MMax and myself as thieves.

  “MMax, did you like the beef stew?” I asked as I held up the empty can.

  MMax barked twice and wagged his tail, which usually meant yes. I loaded all the candy, chips, and canned food into the truck, along with several bundles of toilet paper. Then, as an afterthought, I filled my backpack with candy and canned food. A frown came over my face when I thought the truck could be gone when I got back with my sister.

  It was now two o’clock in the morning, and everyone should be asleep. MMax and I snuck out the back door to the warehouse and cut across a field to get on a side road leading into town. We walked close to the houses and stayed in the shadows as much as possible. A cat howling in the distance was the only sound in the night until a pack of dogs joined the cat in serenading the neighborhood. There weren’t any flickering candles or bonfires, other than the glow behind me from the fire at the roadblock.

  A half an hour later, MMax growled and sat with his nose facing up the street. I doubted if there were any IEDs so it must be an ambush. I led MMax into the alley behind a strip mall and continued walking northwest. MMax sniffed the air and alerted again. This time, he pointed behind us. Someone was trying to sneak up behind us. Lucky for me, MMax was the best at identifying ambushes and strangers. His one weakness was the wind direction. Someone downwind could attack without much warning. MMax had magnificent hearing as well as his ability to sniff out trouble. His ears saved my ass that morning.

  I dropped down in a cluster of bushes behind a house and MMax joined me. I moved behind a short wall for cover. Concealment was excellent, but it wouldn’t stop a bullet. A few minutes passed, and then the sound of muffled footsteps could be heard. MMax growled just loud enough to warn me that a stranger approached.

  I heard the footsteps as the person slowly shuffled their feet. A faint odor rode the slight breeze, and I saw the source. In front of me, was a small figure wearing a dark hoodie and packing a massive pistol in her hand. I say ‘her’ because there was just enough light from the moon to see her shape as she walked by my position. No boy had a figure like that in tight jeans, but she smelled like a sewer. Before I could decide if I wanted to approach the girl or let her disappear into the night, another shadowy figure emerged from behind her in the dark. It was a large man, about twenty feet behind her.

  Crap! What to do? What to do? If I went for the man, she might shoot me. If I tried to pull her into the bushes to safety, the man might see us and shoot. I stopped thinking and yelled, “MMax, get him!” as I lunged for the girl.

  I brought the young girl down with her hands pinned to her waist. She screamed obscenities at me that would make a truck driver blush. I’ll only mention the milder obscenities.

  “You son of a bitch, let me go. I’ll cut your balls off when I get free!”

  I yelled back, “I’m not going to hurt you! I saved you from a man!”

  “I don’t need a man to save me. Who the hell is going to save me from you? Prick!”

  I struggled with her and finally got possession of the pistol only to be rewarded by a swift kick to my gonads. As I held her with one arm wrapped around her waist and my other hand covering my privates, I heard MMax doing his thing. Did I mention that she smelled horrible?

  ***

  The stench of evil permeated the air around the man as MMax slipped up closer to him. MMax knew his human, Jason, would order him to attack this evil one, and he prepared to pounce. The order came, and MMax was only a few feet away. He saw the fire-belching gun in the human’s hand and bit down on the man’s arm just above his hand. MMax could taste the human’s blood as he increased his bite. This man had to die, and MMax hoped his human would let him complete the mission.

  MMax had killed several evil ones since the plane crash and was now on a mission to kill all of the evil ones. The woman had a neutral smell to MMax’s keen sense of smell. He had never experienced this before. Humans were either good or evil from MMax’s point of view.

  ***

  I saw that MMax had caught the man by surprise and clamped down on his right arm. The man dropped his weapon and fell to the ground in agony. Every time the man tried to move, MMax bit more fiercely. The man begged someone to remove the dog.

  I yelled, “MMax, hold him!”

  A scream from the burly man pierced the night as MMax clamped down harder on the man’s arm. The girl asked, “Who was that, your partner?”

  “No. It was the man who was about to attack you. I thought you were defenseless, so I ordered MMax to attack him while I got you out of harm’s way.”

  She said, “So, you had to attack me and grope me just to save me?”

  “I didn’t grope you. I saved your sorry ass from the man screaming at the other end of my dog. Calm down, and I’ll let you up.”

  “I’ll calm down when you take your hand off my left tit.”

  I recoiled as though I’d been hit by a train and withdrew my arm. I tried to stand up, but the girl whipped a leg around and kicked me on my shin. This pissed me off, so I lunged downward, grabbed her by the waistband of her jeans, and yanked her silly ass up in the air with her bent in double. She was a tiny thing, and I held her up with one arm.

  I grabbed the wrist that was pummeling my chest and twisted it until she cried for me to stop. I said, “You may be one bad assed bitch, but I’ll do what it takes to keep you from hurting me.”

  “I’ll stop. I promise.”

  I lowered her to the ground but kept her wrist bent until I could pull a hank of paracord from my pocket. I forced her hands behind her and tied them together. I couldn’t help but think the poor girl must be horrified, thinking she was about to be raped and abused. “Look, girl, I promise I won’t hurt you if you stop trying to kill me. I’m just in Clarksville to find my sister and take her home.”

  “Yeah, right. That’s why my hands are tied behind me with you on top of me.”

  “I’m not on top of you. I’m just pinning you down so you won’t run.”

  She laughed. “So, I’m not free to go?”

  “Not until we sort things out and find out why this man was following you.”

  I picked her up again by the waistband and helped her stand up while guarding against another kick to my balls or shin. I led her over to the man and pushed her down into a sitting position. The man begged me to release him, but I laughed in his face. I tied his feet before ordering MMax to release him, and then I secured his hands behind his back. MMax stood with his muzzle a few inches from the man’s petrified face.

  “Why were you stalking this little girl?”

  “That ain't no little girl. She’s a damned thief and a killer,” the man said.

  I asked, “Who did she kill?”

  The girl yelled, “The bastard who stole my gun.”

  The man said, “She killed my buddy.”

  “What did your buddy do to deserve getting killed?”

  “He was afraid she might hurt herself with such a big pistol and tried to trade a smaller weapon for that .50 Cal Desert Eagle. She went berserk and shot him for no reason.”

  I looked at the girl and saw the hood had fallen to her shoulders. She wasn’t a young girl but actually a grown although small woman. “Tell your side of the story.”

  “My friend and I stumbled upon this creep and his friend yesterday in Clarksville. They wanted us to party with them. We told t
hem we didn’t do drugs and walked on by them. His friend followed us and tried to take my gun away. Sally tried to stop him, and he hit her with the butt of his gun. She died instantly, so I shot his sorry ass. Sally was dead, so I ran as fast as I could to getaway. Apparently, I didn’t run fast enough or far enough.”

  Before the man could speak, I said, “Mister, if you don’t want MMax chomping on you again, tell me the truth.”

  “My friend just wanted to…”

  “MMax, watch him.”

  MMax moved closer to the man. “Mister, when I say the word, MMax will bite you until you tell the truth. I’d suggest the truth, but that’s up to you. MMax enjoys biting thugs and will bite you just for kicks. MMax…”

  The man was terrified by now. “My friend was wrong. He did try to steal the girl’s gun.”

  I asked, “What would he have done with the women when they were disarmed?”

  A smile crept over the man’s face for an instant, and then he grimaced. “Nothing, he just wanted the gun. We would have let the women go.”

  I pulled the massive pistol from my belt and placed it a couple of inches from the man’s head. “Anything you want to say to your god?”

  “Screw you and that whore.”

  I squeezed the trigger, the gun bucked in my hand, belched fire, and a big assed bullet took half of the man’s head with it downrange. Shooting the man with the girl’s gun made me feel good, but suddenly it dawned on me that the shot could be heard for miles. “What’s your name?”

  “Kat with a K. Short for Katherine. Shouldn’t we haul ass from here?”

  I cut her bindings and said, “I’m Jason. Follow me if you want to live.”

  ☆

  Chapter 2

  Southeast Clarksville.

  The Montgomery County Library was virtually unscathed by the riots and looting during the first weeks of the apocalypse. The employee breakroom had been ransacked, but the rest of the building was untouched. I ate a bag of potato chips and a Slim Jim. I hadn’t planned on stopping for the day, but she nearly fell asleep while walking to the library. No one chased after us, and I was hungry, so we stopped at the library and spent the night.

  “Kat, I’m untying you but keeping your pistol until morning. I’m putting it in my backpack, which I use for my pillow. Don’t try to get it because MMax will rip your hand off. MMax, watch her.”

  I was tired and fell asleep knowing that MMax would let me know if Kat or any strangers were about to cause any trouble. She was a few feet away, laying on a bench. She was fast asleep. Did I mention she stank so bad it brought tears to my eyes? I rolled over and tucked my nose into my shirtsleeve. I don’t know when, but I fell asleep and didn’t stir much until just before dawn.

  ***

  MMax lifted his head when he heard Kat moan in her sleep. MMax had watched her the entire time she’d slept on the uncomfortable library bench. Her smell had changed to a good person smell to him even though she’d barked at his man, Jason. She smelled like a cat but had a good person smell. She reeked with the smell of fear. This confused MMax because she barked like a ferocious person but had the stink of terror all around her. MMax wondered if Jason could smell the fear.

  Kat moved and then sat upon the bench. She stood up and walked over to MMax. He gave her the low growl, but she petted his head and then knelt beside his man, Jason. She started to tug at the backpack, and MMax growled. She backed away a bit and then cuddled up to Jason’s back. She fell asleep and softly snored the rest of the night. MMax liked her but wondered why she wasn’t afraid of him when she stank of fear.

  MMax crawled over to Jason and watched Kat through the night. He noticed the stench of fear had all but disappeared a few hours after she laid down behind Jason. She still smelled like a cat but no fear. MMax thought she wasn’t afraid of Jason either, but what had caused such fear in this strong-willed human?

  ***

  I felt a warm body curled up against my back and thought it was MMax at first until I felt her hand move across my chest and her smell slapped me in the face. I’d be lying if I said she didn’t feel good against me. Her warm breath on the back of my neck felt a bit too good, but the stink was terrible. I lifted her arm and crawled away without waking her. MMax saw me get up and watched my every move. He then laid down beside the young woman. I thought this was strange. He had become closer to Karen than he ever had Maria. Now he had cuddled up to Kat. This was weird behavior for MMax or any Military Service Dog. Oh, well, MMax was no ordinary dog.

  The sun had risen, and a narrow shaft of light struck the white wall behind her. It was enough to allow me to study her features. I couldn’t help but look at her. She was a very petite lady who stood about five feet tall and weighed less than a hundred pounds. I didn’t care for her short blonde hair that was ragged looking like someone had cut it with a butcher knife. It was short, and I liked my women to have longer hair.

  She wasn’t really skinny, even as small as she was. She was compact and damned good looking for such a foul-mouthed person. I noticed she was dirty and her clothes were tattered. That didn’t make sense to me because clothes were plentiful now since there were probably five to six billion fewer people in the world. My gaze turned to her neck, and I saw bruises that had just about healed. Someone had tried to strangle Kat.

  I knew I had missed seeing all the death and destruction from the chaos after the lights went out but had seen evidence of the death and destruction since I’d left the farm to find my sister. Every town between Clarksville and Walter Hill had been destroyed by looting and riots when the food ran out. Neighbors killed neighbors for cans of beans; however, even with all of the destruction, there were still clothes in the shops. Women would have a rough time in this new world. Kat was a tough lady, and she would have to get tougher.

  I was deep in thought about Kat when MMax gave his low warning growl, which shook me out of my dazed condition. Kat stared into my eyes, and I knew I had been busted. I said, “Did you get enough sleep? You must have been worn out.”

  She snapped back at me. “I’m okay for someone who has been kidnapped. You were staring at me. Did you get your fill?”

  “I’m sorry. Yes, I was staring at you.”

  I paused, and then I lied when I said, “You look a lot like my missing sister, but smell like cat crap.”

  She gave me the finger and turned away from me. I munched on a piece of jerky and then realized I hadn’t offered her some. I offered her a part of my jerky, and she pushed my hand away.

  I gazed at her face and found it to be smudged with sweat beads on her neck. “I’m sorry that I didn’t offer you some food. Forgive my bad manners.”

  “I’m not going to beg for it or let you take it out in trade.”

  I was a bit caught off guard. “Ma’am, I … err … Well, that kinda shocked me. I’ll share my food with you because it’s the right thing to do but not because I want sex from you.”

  Her head dropped. “Can I please have some food?”

  I dug into my backpack and pulled out a can of Beanee Weenees, a slightly crushed bag of Fritos, and a half-melted candy bar. She opened the beans and looked up at me. I saw my spoon on the table. “Sorry, I only have one spoon. You’re welcome to it.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks.”

  She upended the can and allowed the beans to spill into her mouth. She took a handful of Fritos, munched on them, and then washed them down with a bottle of water I’d provided. I watched her eat and thought, “Damn, this is the third damsel in distress I’ve saved in the past month. I should apply for knighthood and get a sword.”

  She looked up at me, and I was caught staring into the prettiest green eyes I’d ever seen. “Do you always kidnap and gawk at women? I want my gun back.”

  “The women I’ve saved from being ravaged usually show some gratitude. Yes, you can have your gun back when I’m ready to give it back. What happened to you? Where are you from?”

  Her eyes teared up, and a droplet ran down her
cheek. She wiped it away with her dirty sleeve and tried to make her face look tough. She squinted her eyes and gritted her teeth. “I was in Nashville to apply for a job at Blue Sky Recording Studios. I didn’t get the job and was on my way back home when the shit hit the fan. I live in a small town in Western Kentucky. Henderson has about thirty thousand people and is a nice place to live.”

  I asked, “If it’s a nice place to live, then why leave it?”

  “I’m a country western singer and hoped to get a job in Nashville while I recorded some demos. What’s your story?”

  “Just a minute. I was wondering how a punk rock looking young lady could make it in country western music.”

  Kat said, “I wear a wig and shit kicking duds on stage. My uncle used to be in Garth Brook’s band before I was born, and I guess I got my love for country music from him. Now, tell me about you and your dog.”

  “I’m from Walter Hill, Tennessee, which is a small town southeast of Nashville. My parents, Zack and Jan, live northwest of Walter Hill and have a small farm. I was in the army in England just before the lights went out. MMax and I were on a plane home when the first EMP bombs detonated. We crashed, and I was injured. I made it home with the help of some people I met while heading there. Now I’m up here searching for my sister.”

  She whistled and shook her head, “Damn, you survived the war and a plane crash, just to make it long enough to die in the apocalypse.”

  I laughed. “MMax and I don’t plan on dying. I know how to fight and protect MMax and myself. We also have each other’s back. Do you have a place to go?”

  Kat had a puzzled look on her face, and her lips thinned out. “I was going to head up to Henderson, but it’s probably like Clarksville and destroyed.”

  “Don’t take this the wrong way, but my mom and dad would like to add some good people to our little community. We need some hard working folks to help tend the crops and animals. We also need people who aren’t afraid to fight to protect what’s theirs. I know you know how to fight. Can you work from sunup to sundown? Oh, and take a bath.”