Jon Smith

by Richard Proctor

  Chapter 16

  The late March sky in the morning was overcast and felt of a snow coming later in the day. While the days were warming and becoming longer, the season was bringing wet, heavy snows to the region. Jon as normal was up at dawn and enjoying a cup of coffee on the back porch. He stared out toward the back woods for sign of life and signs of the coming spring. The back stream had begun to bubble again and was sloughing of the ice of the heavy winter. Coming back in Jon headed toward the kitchen and fired up the stove in order to cook the family breakfast. He was in the mood for pancakes so he retrieved the large mixing bowl and pancake mix. He then found the old cast iron griddle and dropped a bit of oil on it. As the fire in the stove rose the griddle began to pop and was soon ready to produce golden and delicious cakes. As he dropped the first batter drop on the griddle a sizzle met his ears and a golden aroma filled the house. At once all the others seemed to awake and come out.

  “What are you cooking Jon, it smells delicious?” asked Catherine.

  “Yes dad that really smells good.’ said Amanda.

  “Well I am cooking up the biggest batch of pancakes you have ever seen and we have a big pot of coffee to wash them down. You all sit down and I will serve it up.”

  Chris, Amanda, and Catherine sat at the table as Jon brought over the coffee and three mugs. He set sweetener and cream on the table and let the three have at it. About twenty minute later Jon set out four plates, forks, butter and syrup. Then a huge plate of cakes was set out.

  “Damn, there is nothing better on a cold morning than a stack of pancakes.” said Jon.

  The four dug in and began to eat. Catherine had a few and ate fairly well even for her condition. It wasn’t long before the feast was over and the four sat back, fat and happy.

  “So Jon, what do you have in store for today?” asked Catherine.

  “Chores my wife chores. I need to go out to the pump house and clear away some sediment, then up on the roof to clear heavy snow off the solar panels. The clean some rifles and mop up the back room. Some time after lunch I need to head down and take a look at the ambush site again as well.”

  “Can I come with you dad?” asked Chris.

  “Well, let me talk to you about that later son.”

  “Ok dad.”

  Jon set about his work in the manner of a businessman going through a list of items in order to complete the day. As in his past he had worked in old corporate America, he took about any task in the same way as he had then. The pump hose and suction tubes had built up sediment over the winter and Jon cleaned these out as well as dug a bit to make the area deeper for the gathering of fresh water. He cleaned and mopped the back room and climbed on the roof to remove snow and ice from the solar panels. The solar panels provided needed electricity and it was important that they stayed in working order so that the batteries could be charged.

  He pulled out his 30-30 rifle and his 30-06 and began to clean and oil these. Rifles were very important to the valley folk as they not only were the tools for providing meat, but also served as protection against predators. It was now of course that the predators were not only animal but also were human. Jon took great store in his guns and took excellent care of them. Finishing that chore up it was already past noon so he grabbed a sandwich and ate. Chris came in while Jon was finishing up lunch.

  “So dad, can I go with you down to the ambush site?”

  Jon took a moment to finish the last bit of his sandwich before answering.

  “Son, I think it is important that one of us is always here with your mom at all times. I think it is also a good idea to spend as much time with her as you can. You have been running around with me for years and you will always be with me.”

  The reality of what his father had said to him hit Chris and he understood. He knew what the scenario was but like all young people did not always accept it.

  “I got it Dad and you are right. I think we should make sure that one of us is here with Mom and Amanda at all times.”

  “That’s my boy.” said Jon as he hugged Chris.

  “You know you are a great son, a great young man, and I am proud of you.” said Jon.

  Chris looked at his father and smiled. The man in front of him was a rugged strong man that loved his son and had done the best for him and Chris knew this.

  “Well I am off. I should be back in a few hours ok.”

  “Ok, Dad.”

  Jon stepped out side and headed for his truck. He stopped after opening the door and looked back at his home. He felt a contentment looking back knowing that his family was safe inside. He took a deep breath of the mountain air and thought that he truly did live a wonderful life. The grayness of the sky did not detract from his thoughts as it only made him feel that much more in tune with his home. He got in and turned the truck around and was soon headed out his driveway and down the valley road. As he passed each house and driveway he looked at each and thought what wonderful neighbors.

  He passed Doc’s, and then Mort’s and then Riley’s place and thought about what truly great friends he had here. His trip progressed until he would soon pass the last house in the valley, the Johnson’s. As he did he looked toward their home and slowed the truck as something just did not look right. The front door was open and there was no smoke coming out of the fire place. On such a cold day it would be certain that they would have a fire going to heat the house.

  Jon turned the truck up the drive and approached the house slowly. At once the strangest thing of all struck him as he saw objects lying on the front porch. Jon grabbed his rifle and stepped out of the truck. He slowly approached the house and as he did the reality of what he was seeing struck him like a ton of bricks. The objects on the front porch were bodies, the bodies of Royce and Claire Johnson. Jon looked down just below the porch and saw in the snow prints and spots of frozen blood. He carefully climbed the front stairs and stopped to look at his dead friends. Each of them had been shot in the abdomen and then looked to be shot in the head. The bodies were lying side by side as if someone had laid them so. Jon could not be certain about the situation so he looked about the yard and then peered into the dark house. Carefully he went inside and found a lamp and lit it. Looking around he found nothing that seemed out of place. Who ever had done this were not thieves as nothing seemed to be torn up or changed. There had never been a theft or a murder in the valley so this whole scenario was baffling to Jon.

  Satisfied that the murderers were gone Jon went to the bedroom and pulled a blanket off the bed. He walked out to the porch and covered the bodies of his dead friends. He noted that the blood on the porch was frozen and that both bodies were cold meaning that this had taken place quite a few hours ago. Jon took a moment at the bodies and felt an immense sadness. His whole world seemed to be changing all at once and he wondered what would be next. He had no idea who could do something like this.

  To that end Jon walked off the porch and began to examine the snow. He noted the scuffed up area and blood and saw many footprints. Then looking down the yard he saw what appeared to be a trail of prints headed toward the road. He bent over and examined one of them and it was clearly a treaded boot print, very similar to a military boot. Then a flash caught his eye and about two feet away he saw a rifle bullet casing. Jon went over and picked it up.

  “Clearly a military round.” he said.

  He followed the track and it appeared that the group was made up of three as a bit further they appeared to all be walking side by side. Jon crossed the road and continued tracking the trail for about ten more minutes. He noted that the tracks were not crisp meaning that they were quite a few hours old. At once he looked up and saw that they continued into the woods and followed the road in the direction that would take them further into the valley. Then a thought came to Jon and a sick feeling overcame Jon. He began to understand what all this meant and possibly why the Order had sent these assassins.
He had a clear vision and the vision caused him to run back toward the truck. They had come for him.

  Jon jumped into the truck and soon quickly had it grinding up the road. He was probably driving faster than he should but he was on a mission to get back home as soon as he could. As he passed Doc’s he thought of stopping to let Doc know about the Johnson’s, but that thought left him as there was nothing more he could do for them and now his concern was his family. Jon quickly pulled in his drive way and brought the truck to a stop. He grabbed his 30-30 rifle, jumped out, and bounded up the stairs. Upon opening the door he saw Chris sitting on the sofa reading. He then looked around for Amanda but she was not in sight.

  “Where is Amanda?”

  Hearing the noise Catherine came out of the bedroom.

  “Jon, what is wrong?”

  “Where is Amanda?” he asked again.

  “She said she needed air so she left about ten minute ago and headed out the side toward the stream.” said Chris.

  “Oh no” said Jon.

  “Dad, she has her rifle and she knows how to use it.”

  Before Chris could finish Jon was back out front and headed down the porch. He headed toward the side of the house and soon had Amanda’s footprints in sight. He slowed his pace a bit as he began to track as he wasn’t sure that the predators that now roamed his woods were not eyeing him while he was tracking his daughter. Five minutes later everything became apparent. At first he heard a loud gunshot which he figured had come from Amanda’s 30-30. A hunting rifle makes a quite distinct sound when compared to firing a military weapon. The next sound was the much muffled sound of a second rifle and he thought he heard a yelp of sorts. With this Jon began to run for the sound as he feared what he might find. It was not more than a minute later when he came upon the scene.

  He looked out and Amanda was lying in the snow holding here leg. Jon turned toward the woods and caught what appeared to be shadowy figures retreating from the area. He ran next to Amanda and kneeled down to look at her, being careful to keep his rifle ready in case. Feeling that the shooters were gone Jon turned toward his daughter. She had been shot in the leg and was bleeding and in pain.

  “Father is hurts, I have been shot.”

  “It’s alright honey, I’ve got you. Daddy’s here.”

  Jon tore back her pants and saw where the bullet had entered from one side and had gone out the other. The wound was bleeding but was not pouring blood which made him certain that the bullet had not hit the femoral artery. His next concern was whether it hit bone, but then he reasoned if it had it would have not come out the other side. Jon tore off enough pants to make a wrap and tied it tight around his daughter’s leg. He then slung both rifles on his back and lifted his little girl up and headed for the house. She was in pain but he felt that she would be ok. Seeing the blood on her though began to have a different effect on him. Jon’s eyes began to gleam and his insides began to sear like a volcano. Jon had always been slow to anger all of his life but when he did get angry he was the type of man you wanted to stay away from.

  Jon approached the house and made his way to the front porch. He reached and opened the door and quickly ran inside and set Amanda on the sofa. Chris was there and jumped to attention at once.

  “Dad, what happened?”

  Catherine came out and saw Amanda and yelped.

  “She has been shot, but I don’t think it is too bad. Chris, go to the back and get our med kit.”

  Chris came back shortly with the kit and Jon opened it and began to work. He took a pair of scissors and removed the rest of Amanda’s pants leg. He then treated the wound with antiseptic and put gauze in both holes. He then tied a nice bandage around the wounds.

  “Amanda, are you ok?” asked Catherine.

  “Yes Mom. I am ok.”

  “What happened?” asked Chris.

  “It seems the Order decided to send some Commandos to make short work of us. I have a feeling Amanda was sort of in the way as I believe I was their target.”

  “Chris, get ready as I want you to take Amanda and your Mom down to Doc’s to have her properly taken care of.”

  Chris grabbed a coat as did Catherine. Jon wrapped Amanda in a blanket and lifted her up. The four went out the door and headed toward the truck. Jon placed Amanda on the front seat and then helped Catherine next to her.

  “Here Chris, take my rifle and don’t stop for any one.”

  Jon stopped for a moment and then spoke.

  “Also let Doc know that earlier these killers killed the Johnson’s.”

  “What. What, the Johnson’s.” said Catherine.

  “Yea honey they are dead.”

  Catherine looked down and shook her head. Then it struck her.

  “Aren’t you coming with us?”

  Jon looked at her with cold eyes.

  “No, I am going hunting for those killers. I can’t let them get away with this. They killed my friends and tried to kill my daughter. I pity them.”

  Catherine looked at her husband but knew it was no use to try to stop him. She had seen that light in his eyes only a few times but knew there was no way to stop him. She leaned forward and kissed him.

  “Kill them.” she said.

  Jon closed the door to the truck and soon it was headed down the drive toward Doc’s.

  Chris made the trip in about fifteen minutes and pulled the truck up toward Doc’s house and blew the horn. Doc came out on the porch with a smile when he recognized the truck. However his smile soon changed when Chris jumped out and yelled at him.

  “Amanda’s been shot and we need her taken care of.”

  Doc rushed down to the truck and first helped Catherine out. Catherine was moving fairly well but her advanced stages of cancer made her weak. Doc then looked at Amanda. He quickly picked her up and carried her into his house and back into his treatment room. Chris and Catherine followed in and joined them.

  “My God I haven’t had this many bullet wounds to treat in ages. What happened?”

  “I was walking in the woods when I saw three guys that looked like they were army. I figured they were troops and so I took a shot at one of them. Then they shot me back. I think they would have tried to kill me if Dad hadn’t run up.”

  “Where is Jon?” asked Doc.

  Catherine stopped for a moment and looked at Doc.

  “Doc, these men have killed Royce and Claire Johnson. Jon has gone after them.”

  Doc stopped his examination of Amanda and thought for a moment.

  “My god, I will be back in a minute.”

  Doc left and was gone for about five minutes. Upon his return he started working on Amanda again.

  “Well it seems your Dad did a good job and it seems the bullet did not hit a bone or an artery. I am going to wrap it again. I want you to rest and I am going to give you a pair of crutches but I would prefer you stay off the leg for a while.”

  “Doc, where did you go a few moments ago?” asked Catherine.

  “I made a radio call to JT. I told him what was going on and to get up to your place to help Jon out.”

  Catherine felt a bit relieved as she knew that JT would be a great help. That is of course if he got there before Jon found the Commandos.

  Jon watched as the truck pulled away. He knew that his family would be ok and that Doc would take care of Amanda. He ran up the stairs and into the house. He went to the gear closet and quickly pulled out what he needed. First he grabbed a hunting knife that he secured through his belt. Then he put on a hunting coat that was a mixture of white and mottled brown, a perfect color for the time of the year. He took out a small back pack that he filled with a rope, three magazines of ammunition, and a canteen of water. Lastly he picked up his AR 15. As he stepped out onto the front porch he slid in a magazine and cocked a bullet into the chamber.

  Jon surmised that th
e shadowy figures he had seen were the killers so he back tracked to the spot where Amanda had been shot. Again seeing the blood in the snow filled him with a rage. Getting hold of himself he realized that he needed a cool demeanor to accomplish the task so he stopped and took a deep breath. He put his mind and senses into the same mode he often used when hunting Elk. He began to view this as a hunting trip, however this time though the game was the deadliest of all and could shoot back.

  He headed for the spot where he thought he saw the men and sure enough he found fresh tracks in the snow. He followed the tracks for about ten yards when he noticed that the men stopped at a particular spot. It seems they turned around and waited, probably to make sure that they were not being followed. The tracks then continued and Jon followed them. Jon saw the same pattern for what seemed a quarter of a mile. Surmising that at some point he would overtake the men he wanted to make sure that it wasn’t at a point that they would be ready for him.

  It was late afternoon and the gray skies lent to a darkness that filled the woods in which Jon was hunting. With an extreme need to be careful Jon was tracking his game with a slow deliberation that would seem agonizing to most but was necessary to him. He had been tracking for about forty minutes when he noted the most recent tracks were extremely fresh. Another five minutes and Jon stopped behind some brush and peered ahead. Not more than fifteen yards away he saw his quarry. The three Commandos had stopped in a small clearing and seemed to be taking a break. Jon carefully crept another five yards and found a spot behind a log that provided a clear shot at the target. He looked at his rifle and made sure that is was set on semi-automatic as he surmised that single shots that were well placed would be better than spraying the area. He raised his rifle and drew down on his first target which was the back of one of the men as he was sitting. The woods grew quiet with the exception of the talking of the three troops. Jon paused a moment to listen to their conversation.

  “Well that was one piss poor shot you made at that girl. I don’t think she was killed, looked to be only wounded.” said the Sergeant.