War Dogs Trilogy: Wounded Warriors of the Apocalypse

by AJ Newman

  Ann frowned. “Most of the women have skills that will come in handy for our survival, but yes, only a few have ever shot a weapon. Marge was a cop somewhere in Kentucky, Kira was on her high school’s archery team, and Beth is a black belt karate instructor. She has been working with some of the women to help them defend themselves.”

  I saw the frown. “Look, I hope I didn’t offend you. I’ve fought side-by-side with women soldiers and found them to be equal in battle to men. Their only weakness is upper body strength, and karate will help them with half of that issue. My concern was their lack of training and experience. We have the makings of a great little army. What was your rank?”

  “Major.”

  I slammed on the brakes and saluted her. “Yes, Ma’am.”

  She nutted up, laughing as I sped back up to speed. “Jason, I’ll take charge of weapons training, but I don’t have as much field experience as you do, you will be promoted to captain and be in charge of our fighting forces.”

  “Yes, Ma’am.”

  “Cut that crap out. We’re civilians now, and our Army days are behind us. We both have skills that are useful to the team. I think your dad will be our Commander and Chief when we get to Walter Hill, and we’ll do his bidding.”

  I said, “You don’t know my dad. Why so much trust?”

  “Because you told us about him, and he wants good people to join him. I trust you and your judgment, so by extension, I trust your dad,” she said.

  “What you didn’t say was that you trust us but will watch us closely until you’re sure.”

  She said, “Of course.”

  “Same here. One can’t be too careful.”

  We arrived at the U-Haul dealership, and I backed up to the nearest six by nine trailer while Ann watched for people. I was busy and didn’t hear the sound of the truck approaching. Ann tapped me on the shoulder and said, “A vehicle is approaching. We need to bug out now.”

  “It’s hitched, let’s go,” I said on the way to the driver’s seat. We barely turned the corner when bullets peppered the back and side of the trailer.

  Ann said, “Take the next left turn and slam on the brakes just before the turn.”

  I said, “But, they’re on my ass.”

  She yelled, “Just do it!”

  The turn came up, I stood on the brakes, and the small pickup careened into the back of the trailer. The collision jarred us, but neither of us was hurt. Ann began shooting as we went around the corner and hit the windshield several times. The truck bowled through a line of bushes into a parking lot. It hit a Cadillac SUV and flipped over, throwing the occupants onto the parking lot. I pushed the gas pedal down, and we sped back to the warehouse.

  Michelle greeted us upon our return. “I’m glad you made it back safely, but couldn’t you find a trailer with more holes. Hey, those are bullet holes! Did you run into …?

  I winked and responded, “We put them into the trailer so the folks would get plenty of air.”

  Ann stifled a laugh. “That’s your brother. He’s always thinking of others. Round everyone up. We need to leave now!”

  ☆

  Chapter 5

  Northwest of Pleasant View Tennessee on Highway 41.

  I pulled off Highway 41 and headed south a short way on Oak Lawn Road. We had to drive during daylight to escape the gang but were now about eighteen miles from their neighborhood. We were long gone before the gang woke up, so I began to feel a bit safer. The area consisted mainly of small farms with a couple of small country subdivisions. I found a large abandoned barn and hid the truck and trailer.

  I held a short meeting with everyone. I told them they needed to get some sleep and that we would drive only at night from here on until we arrived at the farm. I asked for volunteers to stand guard duty and was pleased all but two of the ladies raised their hands. Ann took the two that didn’t raise their hands and had a come to Jesus meeting with them. After a brief training session, she assigned them to be our first guards.

  MMax and I curled up on a stack of hay and settled in for a long nap. Of course, my mind raced from one worry to the next. What had happened to Maria and Murph? What had happened to the U.S.A? Will Mom and Dad be happy to have all of these people? I fell asleep thinking about Karen and the girls.

  MMax’s low growl woke me up several hours later when Ann and Michelle sat down close to me on a bale of hay. I woke up rubbing the sleep from my eyes. It must have been night outside because it was dark inside the barn. During daylight hours, there were several beams of sunlight cutting through the dust. Ann said, “Jason, it’s midnight. We need to get on the road.”

  I said, “I need a bio break, and I’ll be ready to travel.”

  Ann said, “I’ll get everyone to load the truck and prepare to leave. We’ll carry the supplies in the back of the truck and all of the people in the trailer.”

  I went out the back door to the barn and took care of business. The sky was dark, and clouds blocked the moonlight. Suddenly, I saw something out of the corner of my right eye that excited me and then scared me. It was a light traveling just above the treetops about a mile away. Then I heard the familiar wump, wump, wump of helicopter blades. My heart pounded as I thought this could be salvation, or FEMA trying to force people into an internment camp. I decided it would be best to avoid contact until I knew more about what they were actually doing.

  I got behind the wheel with Ann riding shotgun and MMax in the middle. I said, “Did you hear the …?”

  “The helicopter. Yes, it has been searching for something north of here. I thought about attracting it to us, but who knows who could have captured the helicopter or even if it is one of ours. One assumption we have to face is the U.S.A. could have also been invaded,” Ann said.

  I said, “Good thinking. I heard rumors about the Army working with FEMA to force people to relocate to internment camps. One guy said they even took farmers and ranchers from their land to work on big collective farms.”

  Ann said, “That just can’t be true. I don’t think our troops would do such a thing.”

  Michelle said, “Let’s avoid them and not find out.”

  We drove without any lights on and only drove about thirty to forty miles an hour. We rounded a turn east of Joelton, and I saw a fire in the middle of the road. “It’s a roadblock.”

  Ann yelled, “There are headlights behind us! Take the next right turn up there!”

  I turned abruptly, and we made the turn on two wheels slinging the trailer back and forth. I felt sorry for the women and children in the trailer. I got the truck back under control when I saw another fire with a dozen people around it blocking our escape. The headlights were close behind us, and we had no side streets to escape from our pursuers. I aimed the truck up a long driveway and crashed through a fence before I hit the brakes and came to a stop. I got Michelle out of the trailer and told her, “Get in the truck and head to Walter Hill. We’ll stop the gang and join you later.”

  “Ann, let’s cover them while Michelle drives away. Michelle, we’ll see you in a few days. Go to the farm.”

  MMax joined me as I watched the truck pull away. Ann had her pistol and jumped behind a car. I waved as Michelle drove through the back yard and then through the yard to the next street. A bullet whizzed by my head, causing me to seek cover. We carefully aimed and began killing thugs as they approached without cover. I still think to this day the bastards were high on something. A big four-wheel drive pulled up across the street, and all hell broke loose. Three or four fully automatic rifles began chewing up everything around us. I saw one of the men turn in my direction and aim a Squad Automatic Weapon at me. I ducked behind a concrete retaining wall as the 5.56 bullets ripped into the wall and the home behind me. Crap, I was pinned down.

  Just when I thought I was dead, there was an explosion behind the SAW, and the man dropped dead. Then I heard a scream and silence for a minute. Three men with SAWs began strafing the wall that gave us cover. Ann said, “Damn, I’ve been hit.”r />
  A bullet ricocheted off something behind me, and something slammed into my head. That was the last thing I remembered about that fight.

  I woke up several days later with a colossal headache and didn’t see MMax or Ann. A pretty blonde nurse was changing my IVs, and a doctor and an intern were comparing notes. I sat up quickly and said, “Where’s MMax?”

  This scared the crap out of the nurse, and the doctor dropped his clipboard. Both doctors rushed to my bedside, and one said, “We didn’t think you’d come out of the coma so quickly. What is your name?”

  “I’m Sergeant Jason Walker. Where is my dog MMax?”

  The doctor said, “Jason, you’ve had a severe injury to your head and brain. We didn’t know if you’d survive, much less be speaking to us. What do you remember?”

  “MMax, Ann, and I were in a firefight with some men who tried to recapture some nuns we were taking to a safe place. I was hit by several bullet fragments, then something hit my head, and I blacked out. Where is my dog?”

  “Son, we only saw you and the Major in the back of the truck. The Major, or Ann, as you call her, only had a flesh wound. She reported for duty with the Army Company attached to our FEMA group. We’re very short handed, and you will be a welcome addition. ”

  I started to let him know that I ain’t staying in no damned Army when my parents and Karen could be in trouble. I chose my words carefully. “Could I see Major Tidwell? I think she can help me fill in the gaps in my memory. She also might know where my dog could be.”

  The doctor turned to the intern. “Charlie, go see if Major Tidwell has time to visit with the Sergeant.”

  ***

  Kat had followed Jason to make sure he was a good man before she joined his family. When she ran up across the way from Jason, she quickly saw the men hiding in the windows and took careful aim. They died, and she knew she had made a difference.

  When the group pulled away in the truck and U-Haul, she climbed in the bed of the truck just before it pulled away. It was a horrible experience, but she didn’t want to lose Jason and MMax. Then the chase started, and she was thrown from the truck just before Jason crashed through the yard. Kat was lucky and landed on top of some shrubs. She only received scratches and bruises. She recovered quickly and joined the fight until she ran out of bullets.

  Kat tucked the large .50 caliber pistol in her waistband and searched two of the dead gang members. She found an AR15, two 9 mm Glocks, and several extra magazines. Before she could rejoin the fight, there were several explosions, and two helicopters buzzed the area, mowing the gang members down with door-mounted machineguns.

  Kat moved closer to where Jason lay wounded, but two men jumped from one of the helicopters and placed Jason on a stretcher. They loaded him onto the helicopter as another man helped a wounded woman climb into the same aircraft.

  Tears ran down Kat’s face when she saw the helicopter take off and leave. A thought suddenly jumped into her head. She dusted herself off, searched every dead man, and gathered all weapons, ammo, and all other useable items. Kat found a place to hide her booty and then went back to make sure she hadn’t missed anything.

  She rolled several bodies over and found more ammunition and a couple of pistols and knives. She heard a whimper behind some bushes and drew her new Glock. Kat cautiously moved around a garage to the other side of the bushes and saw a dog trying to stand.

  Kat called out to the dog. “MMax, is it you?”

  The dog turned his head to Kat and lay down. Kat moved closer to MMax and placed her hand out in friendship. MMax licked her hand, so she moved closer and patted him on the head. She saw two wounds and knew she had to do something to help save his life.

  ***

  MMax lost a significant amount of blood from his two wounds. He had been unconscious for over a week when he finally came to beside the good woman. He smelled the broth, and that woke him up. MMax lapped the salty chicken soup from the ladle and looked up to see the small blonde woman. She smelled terrible but wasn’t evil. She was dirty but not evil. MMax licked her hand, and when it came to him that he couldn’t smell his human, Jason. MMax became anxious and tried to move. Pain shot through his back and rear left hip. The small woman rubbed his ears and tried to soothe him, but MMax had a burning desire to be with Jason.

  MMax was in pain because he’d been hit with two small caliber bullets. The broth had half a pain pill mixed in, and MMax soon fell asleep.

  ***

  The trip to Kat’s hideout was rough on her. MMax only weighed about forty-five pounds, but that was half of Kat’s body weight. She was afraid someone would see them and attack since she walked so slow carrying MMax. A large pack of dogs approached from a side street, but MMax’s fierce growl scared them away.

  MMax laid his head on Kat’s leg, and it made her feel good. She had been alone for many weeks and just having to care for MMax made her feel less lonely. She didn’t have any medical training but had read a few first aide books since the shit hit the fan. She stopped the bleeding and then dug the bullet from his hip. The other shot scraped his ribs, and the bullet passed through under the skin. Kat cleaned the wounds and applied antiseptic liberally.

  While waiting on the painkillers to work, she boiled some small diameter monofilament fishing line to sterilize it and then used a sewing needle and the fishing line to stitch MMax’s wounds. The stitches were still painful, and MMax flinched a few times, but Kat fed him some more broth and held his head in her lap while he rested.

  Kat was confused about what to do. She wanted to travel as fast as possible to Jason’s father’s home but felt he might not let her stay without Jason vouching for her. She also thought she had to do something to free Jason from FEMA. She hated them. Several men in black suits had forced themselves on her. It had taken several weeks, but she’d killed all of them. Kat took a nap with MMax and thought she’d decide what to do tomorrow.

  Over the next two weeks, Kat watched the helicopters come and go. They always headed toward Fort Campbell, so she took MMax and went to Fort Campbell to find Jason. MMax wasn’t totally healed but could walk for a few hours before long periods of rest.

  ***

  The cute blonde nurse flirted with me that day when no one was around even though I told her about Maria and Karen. One of the orderlies told me she was an officer’s woman, and he was one mean SOB. I took that to heart and didn’t flirt back even though she persisted. The next day she came in with thick makeup that didn’t do a good job of covering her black eye.

  I flirted with her. “What happened Beautiful? You’re way too pretty to have a bruise that big on your face.”

  “Don’t flirt with me. He’ll find out and finish the job. You’re lucky he doesn’t know I flirted with you, or he’d come in and kill you.”

  I behaved much better and left her alone from then on.

  The next day, I saw Ann talking with my doctor before she entered the room. She looked different in the camo Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), perhaps more authoritative, I thought. She smiled when she opened the door to see if I was awake. “Jason, you look much better today. The doctors didn’t give you much chance of coming out of the coma. I told them you’d been through much worse.”

  “Thanks, Ann. I feel like a train ran over me. Where is MMax?”

  Ann looked down and gripped the bed railing. “I’m sorry, but MMax didn’t make it. He was shot twice, and the rescue team thought he was dead. I know how close you were to him.”

  I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and I couldn’t breathe. Then I hyperventilated, and alarms sounded from the machines attached to me. My doctor and several nurses rushed into the room to attend to me. I took a deep breath and remembered back when I’d first met MMax. I was in a daze. The doctor gave me a shot, and a few seconds later, I felt calm. On a scale of one to ten, my give-a-shit meter dropped to minus ten.

  Ann held my hand and said, “I’m sorry about MMax.”

  Tears ran down my face, and I choked up.


  A couple of days later, Ann came to visit me again. She wore the BDUs and now had her major’s rank on her collar. She said, “Jason, you’ve been assigned to me. You will be my driver until you’re completely healed. Then you will be assigned to one of our rescue teams as a squad leader.”

  I said, “What’s with the BDUs? I kinda thought the Army had disbanded.”

  Ann replied, “Many of our troops walked away from their posts to be with their families when our nation was attacked. Our new president restructured our military and placed it under the direction of Homeland Security. Larry Nelson, the director of Homeland Security, joined the military and FEMA together and the military reports to the new FEMA director Maxine Tucker.”

  “Hey, hold the damned phone. That’s that wacky congresswoman who wanted to disband the military because she thought the military caused us to be in so many wars.”

  “Yes, that’s her. She’s our boss.”

  I laughed. “Ok, you got me, and that was a good one. Now tell me what’s really happening.”

  Ann’s jaw tightened. “Sergeant Walker, I’m not laughing. The chain of command is not a laughing matter. Get your mind on your job, and don’t worry about the command.”

  Ann wrote something on a scrap of paper and tucked it into my palm. “That’s the location address for my Command Office. Tent 42A–132. Be there on Thursday at 8:00 am sharp.”

  Ann left the room, and a nurse walked in as she left. The nurse said, “She’s all Army and stiff as a board.”

  I looked at the note and replied, “Yeah, I saved her life, and she reamed my ass out. But, the bottom line is that I’m a grunt who obeys orders, and it really doesn’t matter who gives the orders. We have to rebuild the country.”