by AJ Newman
John snickered when he saw the men and women on fire. They screamed in agony as some tried to roll on the ground to put the fire out. The flames joined in the middle of the road and consumed all the oxygen. The raiders’ lungs were seared when they sucked in the flames. John saw the flesh melt and run down a woman’s chin. This sickened him. John’s men were faced with a turkey shoot, and they mowed the dying men down.
Maria saw men running east toward them on Enon Springs Road and had several men hurl the Semtex packed bowling ball bombs down the street. The first bomb bounced from curb to curb, and one exploded too soon, but the rest rolled into the men and exploded. The attack ended, and it was quiet for a few minutes.
Just as the large mass of men charged John’s position, the napalm jugs and pipe bombs began decimating the enemy. His men picked off the ones who broke out of the carnage, and the battle was soon over. The General went from inevitable defeat to victory in less than an hour. It took another two hours to mop up the survivors and gather any useable weapons and ammo. Then the General went behind the headquarters and looked for Jason Walker. John thought his feeling about Jason were much like the battle when it had changed from doom to joy. His feelings had turned from hate, to neutral, to needing Jason and his friends.
“Jason, hello, I can’t thank you and your team enough for saving us. Those crazy slingshots really worked. Give a medal to the man who came up with that idea.”
I said, “Mark, come here and meet John Long. General, this is the man who thought of and made the first prototype of the slingshot.”
John was taken aback by Mark’s youth. “Son, I would be proud to serve with you in any army. Well done.”
They shook hands, and John said, “We still owe you a debt of gratitude.”
“John, we couldn’t have survived the recent attacks without the ammo and rifles you gave us. We’ve saved each other. That’s what working together is all about.”
John walked up closer to me and said, “I don’t see Karen. Is she okay? I need to talk to her.”
I looked around and then asked Ross. “Have you seen Karen?”
“She’s leading the scavenging team out to pick up weapons. It appears that only about half aren’t damaged, but many parts can be used from the damaged and burnt weapons.”
I’d just finished speaking when a truck pulled into the area with guns, ammo, and other supplies piled high on the flatbed. I saw Karen in the passenger seat. She waved at me and then saw John. She jumped out of the cab of the truck and ran to Missy and Chrissy.
Chrissy said, “Mom, we’re okay. Go see John.”
“No, I don’t want the General in your lives,” Karen said.
Missy said, “You’ve been acting like a lovesick schoolgirl since you found out he was the General. He’s turned out to be a nice guy, and without him and his men, we’d be in a pile of crap.”
Chrissy said, “Mom, we’ll be married and have kids soon, and you need someone to love and care for. Go to John.”
Karen slowly walked over to John. She said, “John, I like you and want to give you a chance to show me that you’ve changed.”
“Darling, I love you and will do anything to prove I’m worthy of your trust.”
A grin came over her face, and she leaped into his arms. She knocked him down and fell on top of him. John grimaced in pain when his butt hit the ground.
“Oh, I forgot you’re wounded.”
John took her in his arms and kissed her.
***
We didn’t talk too much on the way home. I thought it was odd that Charlie, Miller, and several of their soldiers who had served at our farm came back with us in their own Humvee. I should have smelled a rat. I knew they had to have a good reason to leave a great party with beer to come home with us. We arrived, Miller ran to Maria, and they embraced then went to Maria’s trailer. All of the soldiers scattered to meet the women they had met while serving with us. The four of them ran straight to their sweethearts and disappeared.
What surprised me was when a young, good-looking soldier walked up to me and said, “Captain Walker, I love Kira and want your permission to ask her to marry me. I know she loves me and will say yes.”
I started to screw with the boy just to mess with him but said, “That’s up to Kira, I’m not her father. She’s a big girl and can choose her man as she sees fit. I just want you to know that I’ll beat the dog shit out of you if you ever lay a finger on her.”
The soldier, Jim Wilks, said, “I love her and would never hurt her. Besides, she’d kick my ass first.”
I laughed and sent him to find Kira.
I saw Charlie hanging around and said, “Go ahead and find your sweetheart.”
He stuttered and turned red. I heard Mom greeting and then hugging Kat. I turned to see Mom pass by me and embrace Charlie. I had a WTF moment. I thought, “That’s my mom, and my dad has only been dead a few months.”
Kat came up behind me while I stared holes in the back of Charlie’s head. I asked, “Did you know Mom was seeing Charlie?”
She said, “Yes, everyone knew that. We need to get a shower and get naked in bed while we can still have fun. No sex for you in about three to four months until way after I deliver. Besides, leave your mother alone. She needs a bit of happiness.”
In a daze, I said, “That’s my Mom … err… no sex…do what? Are we pregnant?”
“No ding-a-ling. I’m pregnant, and you are a ding-a-ling. Mom and Michelle knew two months ago.”
I picked Kat up and raised her to my lips. We kissed passionately, and I held her close for a minute. Then I said, “But that’s my mom with Charlie. This ain’t right.” I said while following Kat.
Kat said, “I guess I can go take a cold shower, and the sex can wait.”
“No, let’s go now.”
Kat asked, “Do you want a boy or a girl?”
I said, “I just want a healthy baby. It would be nice to have a bunch of boys since there are three women to every man now.”
☆
Chapter 28
The Walker farm - Walter Hill, Tennessee - February 2042
MMax pawed the bed beside me to wake me up. I ignored him until he pawed my arm. It was four in the morning, and little Jan cried her little head off for attention. I didn’t have what she needed since there wasn’t any formula these days. I crawled out of bed, turned the light on, picked her up, and placed her on Kat’s chest. Kat gave her what she needed, and Jan stopped squalling. Suddenly there was a blur behind me, and something jumped into my bed, followed by another blur. MMax sat there, allowing the attack to continue.
Michael and his puppy snuck under the covers by his mom and baby sister. The three-year-old was a terror and kept the house hopping. I yawned when I heard footsteps. Jay said, “Pop, do you want me to take Michael and Jake back to Michael’s room?”
Jay was now eleven or twelve I thought, and was a big help to his mom and me. He tended the cows and hunted for squirrels and rabbits when he could. He was only three inches shorter than I was and had already started filling out. He would be built more like my brother than me, but I made sure he’d have some strong muscles.
“Son, the rascals are already snuggled up against Mom, so let’s let it slide tonight. Thanks for checking on us.”
Jay asked, “Dad, can you give me more lessons on driving the tractor tomorrow? Grandma Jan says I can help plow this spring.”
“Go back to bed and get some sleep. I have to drive up to Nashville in the morning, but I’ll be glad to give you some seat time on the tractor tomorrow.”
A little less than four years had passed since my plane crashed into the field over by Lebanon, and life improved every day since then. Yes, we’d fought and killed bad men and killed wild dogs and lions, but we always took three steps forward for every step backward. We had rebuilt numerous old cars, trucks, tractors, and even some airplanes. We had electricity, indoor plumbing, and good government. Our Army was second to none, and just our reputation for b
eing fierce warriors kept the thugs away. Life wasn’t back to normal, but it was our new normal, and life was good. Not great, but good.
We struggled with diseases that had been conquered over a hundred years ago. The main difference was we knew the value of clean, safe water, proper disposal of waste, and proper food preparation. We used home remedies to treat fevers. Honey was applied to wounds to stop bacteria, and numerous herbs were prescribed to treat other maladies.
I can’t say that everyone lived happily ever after, but our community flourished over the years. John and Karen were married a few months after the last battle and now have two young children. Mark and Chrissy married, and Missy and Bob are expecting her second baby this fall. Yeah, the Bob who helped John and Karen get home. He’s a nerd, but a good worker.
We never saw my brother, Michael, again. Mom always prayed for him and told us that he was doing well up in Kentucky, but I knew better. Michael would die trying to get home to Mom and me. Mom raised Michael’s son as her own and told him what a hero his dad was.
We didn’t need the resistance plan because John promised to turn the government back over to the people after one year. He did, and we had a smooth transition. Mom was elected to be the mayor of Walter Hill. Karen was elected to be the governor of our southern area, and Ross was elected to govern the area north of LaVergne. Sergeant Miller became the governor of Nashville, and I was elected to be the Leader of all of our territories. We didn’t use ‘President’ for the name because we still hoped the USA would recover and go back to a regular Constitutional Government with a real president.
Major Tidwell became the commander of our armed forces, with Captain Miller being his second in command. Maria is the leader of all military training but would turn that duty over to Captain Brown in three months before her first baby is born. She married Captain Miller. Billie married Ross and said hell no to any more children.
Kat and I had Michael two and a half years ago, and Jan is only eight months old. Our son, Jay, has grown into a good lad and helps around our farm and business. Father James and I are teaching him how to make weapons and gunpowder. My mom is teaching Jay how to farm and take care of the gardens. My presidential duties only take a couple of days a week, but we had to move to Smyrna to be close to the home of our new government.
Charlie and Mom’s relationship was the biggest surprise. They’re madly in love and share that love with four adopted kids. They’re a big part of our family, and Michelle and Barry bring their two brats over all the time for picnics and holidays with our big blended family.
Family life is much like you would have encountered back about 1890 or so. We have old technology and even have an old steam locomotive making runs from Nashville to Murfreesboro and on down to the bottom of Tennessee. We haul crops down south and other supplies back north. The train only runs the full length once a week, but it’s still a major accomplishment.
The sad thing is that we finally have a network of radio contacts all over North America and a few contacts in Europe and South America. Most of the people we contact are worse off than we are, and for most people, things are getting worse, not better. The US Military disbanded when the majority of our troops went AWOL to go home to their families. A few groups trade information with us on how to improve our lot in life. Most of the people we talk with are hiding in holes, and only come out at night once a week to get news.
We’re hesitant to give out our location and use the locomotive as a base for our long-distance radio to confuse anyone trying to trace our location. Paranoia is terrible, but it keeps us from being found and attacked by other large groups. We obviously don’t tell everyone how good we have it but do share tips on how to survive.
I guess that sums up our first four years after TSHTF or as Mom said ‘When the Lights Went Out.’ I was asked to write this document by my friends to chronicle our struggles, and it will be added to other documents like this one to be written by our citizens. We never want the story of our survival and struggle to survive to be forgotten by future generations. To forget our history would doom future generations to repeat our mistakes.
Jason Walker
Leader of New Nashville, USA.
February 23, 2042
The End
of
War Dogs
Thanks for reading War Dogs - Trilogy. Please don’t forget to give War Dogs - Trilogy a great review on Amazon.
Remember to read my other books on Amazon.
AJ Newman
To contact or follow the author, please like my page and leave comments at https://www.facebook.com/aj.newmanauthor.5?ref=bookmarks
To view other books by AJ Newman, go to Amazon to my author’s page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00HT84V6U
A list of my other books follows at the end.
Thanks, AJ Newman
Books by AJ Newman
Prepper’s Apocalypse
Prepper’s Apocalypse
Prepper’s Collapse
Prepper’s Betrayal - (mid-spring 2021)
John Logan Mysteries” The Human Syndrome
Extinction Level Event
Extinction
Immune: The Hunted
War Dogs
Heading Home
No One Left Behind
Amazon Warriors
War Dogs Trilogy
EMP:
Perfect Storm
Chaos in the Storm
Cole’s Saga series:
Cole’s Saga
FEMA WARS
American Apocalypse:
American Survivor
Descent into Darkness
Reign of Darkness
Rising from the Apocalypse
After the Solar Flare:
Alone in the Apocalypse
Adventures in the Apocalypse
Alien Apocalypse:
The Virus
Surviving
A Family’s Apocalypse Series:
Cities on Fire
Family Survival
The Day America Died:
New Beginnings
Old Enemies
Frozen Apocalypse
The Day America Died! Trilogy
The Adventures of Jon Harris:
Surviving
Hell in the Homeland
Tyranny in the Homeland
Revenge in the Homeland
Apocalypse in the Homeland
Jon Returns
AJ Newman and Mack Norman
Rogue’s Apocalypse:
Rogues Origin
Rogues Rising
Rogues Journey
A Samantha Jones Murder Mystery:
Where the Girls Are Buried
Who Killed the Girls?
These books are available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/AJ-Newman/e/B00HT84V6U/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
To contact the Author, please leave comments @
https://www.facebook.com/aj.newmanauthor.5?ref=bookmarks
About the Author
AJ Newman is the author of 36 science fiction and mystery novels plus 9 audiobooks that have been published on Amazon and Audible. He was born and raised in a small town in the western part of Kentucky. His Dad taught him how to handle guns very early in life, and he and his best friend Mike spent summers shooting .22 rifles and fishing.
Reading is his passion, and he read every book he could get his hands on. He fell in love with science fiction. He graduated from USI with a degree in Chemistry. He made a career working in manufacturing and logistics, but he always fancied himself as an author.
AJ served six years in the Army National Guard in an armored unit and spent six years performing every function on M48 and M60 army tanks. This gave him great respect for our veterans who lay their lives on the line to protect our country and freedoms.
AJ currently resides in Henderson, Kentucky, with his wife Patsy and their four tiny Shih Tzu’s, Sammy, Cotton, Callie, and Benny. All except Benny are rescue dogs.
AJ Newman, War Dogs Trilogy: Wounded Warriors of the Apocalypse
