by AJ Newman
***
Ray probed their defenses and found a couple of ways to penetrate the fences to get closer to the house. He knew he could get to the woman he wanted. If he were lucky, he’d get two or three others. He still had to figure out how to escape with three women in tow. He’d watched them for several weeks after Jason had left and saw something so obvious he slapped himself on the forehead. The women drove the old farm truck around the place at will but never left the area. He could kidnap the women, load them in the truck, and then drive away. They couldn’t catch him on horseback.
Ray grinned through his rotten teeth and slapped his leg. He was excited and couldn’t wait to capture Billie, the other woman, and her daughters. It was then, he took notice of the skinny blonde-haired young girl. She looked about fifteen, and he drooled when he thought about her coming to his place. He thought, “She’ll love me once she gets to know me. If she don’t, I’ll break her fool neck.”
☆
Chapter 19
The Walker place, Walter Hill, Tennessee.
On the day Jason and his dad left, Kat spent the morning in Jason’s old room. His mom had left it untouched since Jason had left for the Army. He was the youngest and only kid to have lived in the cabin. It was where Jason had spent his time when he was in town between deployments. Kat smelled his clothes and put on one of his t-shirts that had an Army logo on its chest. She checked all of his drawers but didn’t find anything that would help her get to know Jason better.
Jan gave Kat a couple of days to recover and then showed her a list of her new jobs and responsibilities. Kat was eager to help her new community and shouldered the burden with a smile. She did encounter a few awkward moments with Billie and Karen but handled them very well. Karen asked her how she’s met Jason, and Kat told her the truth; however, she’s let Karen think they were madly in love. Kat never lied; she just let people assume and didn’t correct their assumptions.
After supper on the fifth night, Jan began to ask intimate questions about Kat and her son’s relationship. Kat blushed. “Mom, are you asking if I could be pregnant?”
Jan blushed, “I guess I was prying a bit too much. I’m sorry.”
Kat reflected before answering. “Mom, that was a bit personal, but we’re family now, and I know you want the best for Jason and any children he might have. The answer is yes it would be possible but look at this under my arm.”
Kat showed her the bump from the birth control implant that Kat’s mom had implanted in her by the family doctor. Her mom had thought Kat was promiscuous when Kat was actually backward about sex.
Jan felt the bump. “I think it’s a good thing to avoid having kids now while the world is in turmoil, but don’t wait too long. I want some more grandkids.”
Kat said, “Jason doesn’t want them now, but I plan to have a houseful later. I don’t want kids to have to live through this mess now. We’ll think about it again in about two years when this implant wears out.”
Kat prayed every night that Jason would return and love her as she loved him. She was sure he had to miss her as much as she missed him. Kat also missed his goofy dog. She played with Tina some and took her on walks around the farm but still missed MMax and his goofy antics.
Jan, Michelle, and Kat soon became best friends, and Jan treated Kat like her second daughter. They met every evening after supper and played cards or just talked about the time before the bombs fell. Kat began to feel like part of the family. They were all about the same size and shared clothes and shoes. It was a good time for them, and they almost forgot the world had ended a few months back.
It was touch and go with Karen and Billie for the first week, and then they warmed up to Kat and her impetuous ways. Karen and Kat actually became good friends, and Missy and Chrissy went on long walks with Kat and Tina around the farm. Other than no electricity, TVs, cell phones, and video games, life was getting back to normal for the folks at the farm.
During one of their walks, they saw some people walking south on the road. Tina was back at the house, resting after playing with Kat earlier. They sought cover and watched as the group of half a dozen adults stopped to rest. Karen was close enough to hear them talking. She heard, “We can’t rest long. The General’s people will be in this area any day now, and I don’t want to work on one of his farms.”
One of the women said, “And I don’t want to work in a brothel. We need some food. Let’s raid the next farmhouse we come to today. These farmers always have food.”
A man’s voice said, “Bill, don’t kill them this time. We might want to come back this way someday, and they’ll have more food to take.”
The people finished their break and continued walking south. Karen told the others, and the women checked their weapons and followed at a distance to make sure these people didn’t find their farm. They were soon a half mile past the farm, and Kat said, “We need to attack them and wipe them out before they raid any of our neighbors.”
Karen was astounded that anyone would think that way. Billie said, “Karen, you stay back here, so Kat and I can take care of them. Come on; let’s get rid of the vermin.”
Kat crossed the road and came up behind the people, so Billie and she could get them in a crossfire. Billie was to take out the man who appeared to be the leader, and Kat would take out the other man. That left the four women to deal with. Kat heard the shot and saw the leader grab his chest and fire. Kat shot the other man, just as the group turned to shoot in Billie’s direction. Her man dropped to the ground with a bullet in his back. The bullet ripped his guts on its way through his body. The man was dead, but he didn’t know it as he clutched his stomach.
The women panicked and shot in all directions as Kat and Billie shot from behind cover. They took careful aim and killed the four women. Kat walked up to the dead and dying and finished off the living. “That will teach you to raid innocent farmers. I hope God sends you straight to Hell.”
Karen walked up as Kat fired the last shot into the gut shot man. She doubled over and vomited. “How can you shoot them in cold blood?”
Kat said, “Billie, come here. I want to say this one time, and then we’ll never discuss it again. Karen, Billie, I was raped repeatedly by four FEMA assholes before I met Jason. I killed every one of them later. The day I met Jason, several men had killed my friend and tried to catch and rape me. I almost killed Jason thinking he was one of the men. Jason saved my life. I owe him and thank God every day for bringing him into my life.
Now, you don’t need to be raped to know that killing these dregs of the earth that prey on innocent people is the right thing to do. I’ll kill them every chance I get.”
Both women stared at Kat with their mouths open. A minute later, they hugged Kat and cried with her. Karen sniffled and said, “I get it now. Give me time, and I’ll help you rid the face of the earth of this vermin.”
***
The three women didn’t see Ray sneaking up on them, and Tina wasn’t with them to sound an alarm. Just as he was about to pounce on them with guns drawn, the people could be heard. At first, he thought they were people from the farm and didn’t want to tangle with that many of them. He felt safe getting the drop on three women. What he saw a few minutes later scared the crap out of him. Two of the women massacred the six people who were casually walking down the road. Ray saw the young, blonde girl walk among the wounded and shoot them in the head. Ray got the hell out of Dodge as fast as he could without making enough noise to alert the women.
Now, Ray knew not to take for granted that these women would be easy prey. He had to work on his kidnapping plan and ensure they didn’t kill him.
***
Jan left the living room and came back with a bottle of homemade elderberry wine and two glasses. “Kat, I really like you, and I think you’re perfect for my son. You wouldn’t give up on him if he were away longer than expected.”
“I love Jason with all my heart. If he was very late, I’d go find him.”
“Find
who?” Michelle asked as she walked into the room and then asked, “Where’s my glass?”
“It’s in the cupboard. Sorry for not inviting you. Get a glass and join us. I’m getting to know my new daughter.”
Michelle fetched a glass, and Jan filled it. Michelle probed Kat. “Jason told me about this woman he’d met a few days before finding me that drove him crazy. He said he’d only known her for two days, and she’d left him with aching balls but wanting to get to know her better.”
Jan said, “Michelle, that’s no way to talk.”
Kat said, “Sorry, Mom, but Jason told her the truth. I fought him when he was trying to save me and kicked him in the shin and in the balls. I thought he was a rapist. He tackled me, knocked me to the ground, and then lay on top of me for a long time while MMax kept biting the stalker.”
Tears came to her eyes as Kat remembered the FEMA men who had raped her before she met Jason. She said, “A couple of weeks earlier several, FEMA thugs caught me and … well … attacked me. I wasn’t ready to be saved by a good man like my Jason. Anyway, I was mean to him and cursed at him to get off me. I was rude and nasty to him at first. I would have shot him if I’d had a chance. Then we talked, and I began to see what a decent man he appeared to be. I left him but followed him from a distance.”
Kat went on to tell them about their exploits and mentioned several times about feeling safe in Jason’s arms.
The wine made Kat sleepy, so she excused herself and went to her room. Jan and her daughter walked out on the deck to get some privacy. Jan said, “Kat and Jason’s relationship is very confusing. It would make a great daytime soap opera.”
Michelle looked up. “Huh, I think they make a great couple. She adores him and he, well, he’s Jason. I can tell he loves her, but … I don’t know how to describe it.”
Jan nodded. “Exactly, one minute they act like they’re madly in love and the next, I heard Jason tell her to find another man because he isn’t a good person.”
“What? When did you hear Jason say that?”
“The day before he left, I thought they were making love and a bit noisy at that. It turned out to be Jason trying to break up with her. Jason left their bedroom and slept in the barn.”
“Oh, crap.”
“Watch it daughter.”
“Sorry, well, they certainly kissed like lovers just before Jason left.”
“Maybe Jason’s heart will grow fonder. I really like this girl. Jason should too,” Jan said.
“I love my brother, but since he became a dog handler, he just hasn’t had much time for humans.”
“He forgot about MMax several times while he was here.”
“Mom, speaking of MMax, when will Tina deliver? I noticed she’s sagging a bit, and I felt her puppies move this morning.”
Jan pointed at Tina. “She should deliver in the next week or so. I hope the puppies don’t look like mongrels. MMax is a good looking dog, and Tina is beautiful, but mixing their genes could deliver some pug ugly dogs.”
☆
Chapter 20
Northwest of Nashville, Tennessee on Highway 24.
We prepared to leave Cletus’s home the next morning when Cletus handed a jar and two rolls of bandages to Pat. He said, “If anyone stops you along the way, pour this pig’s blood on you and the children and wrap your arms or legs with the bandages. Act real sick. If they force you to open the doors, they will take one look and wave you to go on down the road. Nothing scares people like mentioning Ebola or Dengue Fever.”
Pat kissed him on the cheek. “Cletus, you saved us, and I can never repay you but please keep our two horses. Perhaps you can trade them for something that you need.”
“No need to worry about me. Just pay it forward. Help some other unfortunate family.”
We pulled away with too much food, extra ammunition, and an ambulance all donated to us by Cletus. We’d tried to make the back end of the ambulance as comfortable as possible, but it was still hot and rough riding. We couldn’t drive very fast, but at least with the windows rolled down and the vents open in the back, Pat and the kids could survive the ride to Dad’s place.
We only encountered a few people on the drive to pick up the two women we had rescued from the FEMA thugs. Every one of the people who saw the ambulance stopped and read the signs before running or driving off the road to let us pass. The ruse worked much better than planned. No one shot at us, and no one challenged us. Dad got off Highway 24 and drove down the side roads until we arrived at the mansion in the woods.
We expected to be greeted as saviors and expected the two women to run up and hug us. Instead, several bullets hit the driveway in front of us and kicked gravel onto the ambulance. I started laughing at the situation. “Darn, this fake hazmat truck has fooled the women. Pat, give me a white cloth to wave.”
I opened the door enough to poke out a stick with the white t-shirt and waved it before stepping out of the vehicle. “Hey, stop shooting. We came back to pick you up and take you home with us. The ambulance is a fake we decorated to keep people from attacking us.”
The loud woman showed herself. “You almost got shot. We were scared to death you were bringing Ebola or something to us. Come on up.”
Dad parked the truck, and everyone got out to meet the women. I said, “Sorry, we didn’t get your names the other day. I’m Jason Walker; these people are my dad, Zack, my sister-in-law, Pat, and her two children.”
The loud lady said, “I’m Heather Dill, and she’s Darla Black. We honestly didn’t expect you to come back to get us.”
I said, “That’s okay. These days it’s hard to keep promises. We need you to gather your things and load them into the ambulance. I want to go through Nashville while the sun is up. This fake biohazard trick won’t work in the dark. We’d have some jerk trying to steal our ambulance and shoot us full of holes before he could read the signs.”
Darla said, “We can have all our stuff down here in fifteen minutes. We don’t have much.”
I asked, “Did the FEMA troops show up again?”
Heather said, “Yes, but we hid in the cellar. They only walked through the home and didn’t find any people or food, so they left. We slept in the cellar and kept all of our stuff down there, so it was easy to fool them.”
The women gathered their gear while the rest of us watched for strangers. We didn’t see anyone, and the ladies returned and quickly loaded their gear into the ambulance. My niece and nephew lay on a pile of blankets on the floor, and the women sat on the uncomfortable wooden bench seat that ran the length of the driver’s side in the back. I heard one of the women ask Pat if either Dad or I were married. I couldn’t hear Pat’s reply, but the lady said, “Too bad.”
We drove back onto Highway 24 dodging stalled cars and other debris as usual when we saw a roadblock up ahead. We were only a mile or so from the Packer’s stadium, and the barrier hadn’t been there when we came through heading north. The men wore army fatigues and were armed with M4s. We had to take the bluff through to completion when they didn’t crap their pants and wave us on through.
A man with sergeant stripes walked up to the ambulance but kept a healthy distance away. He asked, “What the hell are you doing, and where are you going?”
We had donned our gas masks when we’d first seen the barricade, so the man couldn’t hear Dad’s response. I opened my door and walked toward the man, lifting my mask as I walked. He said, “Stop, or I’ll shoot!”
I said, “We’re taking some bodies and a couple of live ones to the CDC in Atlanta. FEMA wants proof that the Syrians or Iranians launched a biological attack on several cities. They gathered the people in Indianapolis and asked us to come to fetch them. Boy, that was a mess. Millions of people died a horrible death when the virus consumed them. A hell of a way to die.”
The sergeant backed up a couple of steps. “How do I know you’re not a bunch of thugs trying to run guns or smuggle people past us.”
I thumped the side of the truck and
said, “I can open the backdoors and let you see the people. Well, what’s left of them after Ebola and Hemorrhagic Dengue Fever gets through with them.”
“Your story stinks to high heaven.”
I remembered to show him the fake documents. “Here, read these.”
I tried to hand the pages to him, but he made me hold them so he could read the small print.”
“Open the doors!”
Of course, I was stalling to give the others time to apply their blood and bandages. I fiddled with the latch on the back door and opened one door. A bloody arm fell out, and the sergeant jumped backward several feet. “Open the other door.”
The scene was gruesome. It would have fooled anyone but an expert on these diseases. The sergeant looked sick and struggled not to puke. “Close those doors and get your ass out of here. I’ll report this to HQ tomorrow.”
I said, “I’ve heard about him. Wasn’t he a captain a short while ago?”
“Yes, he got a battlefield promotion according to our Lieutenant. He’s one tough son of a bitch. Glad I don’t have to work closely with him. Get on the road. Now!”
I lowered my mask and climbed back into the passenger seat. Dad took off as soon as they pushed the sawhorses away and sped down the road. I said, “Dad, I thought I had killed the man they call the General. He was a mean and nasty soldier in our unit who killed just to have fun. He was the one who teamed up with FEMA at that camp I escaped from after rescuing Michelle. He’ll be looking for me to get even.”
“Son, let’s cross that bridge when we get to it. Let’s get everyone home safe, and then we can figure out what to do about this so called General.”
The sun was going down, and we cruised through Antioch looking for a wooded area to pull off the highway and spend the night. We couldn’t afford being caught out after dark because no one could see our biohazard signs. We couldn‘t pull off at any intersections because this was a highly-populated area. We passed Haywood Lane, and I remembered there was a large stand of trees coming up ahead on the west side of the highway. I saw it a few minutes later and told Dad to slow down and pull off into the tree line.
