by Newman, AJ
Tom nodded. “I was taught by the best. I’m taking Jackie and Rick with me so Jackie can clean the cabin of any sign we’ve been there.”
Granny B then hugged her grandson. “I’m fixing to go with Jack over to the north pasture to check on the cattle and horses. Have you given any thought to bringing a few horses down here for transportation?”
“I have, but we’ll need to figure out how to hide them. If we put the stock in the corral or barn, any strangers would know someone’s caring for them,” Tom replied.
Later, Jackie walked up to Tom. “I’m taking Brenda with us so she can help me clean. Let’s go. We’re burning daylight.”
Tom suddenly turned to Jackie. “Wait! This Jack and the barrels thing is bothering me. It looks like they dug up over twenty barrels without Jack knowing. That doesn’t pass the smell test.”
“Grampa always said – fire usually follows smoke or something like that.” Jackie agreed.
Tom frowned. “Who can we trust?”
Jackie answered, “With our lives? You, me, and Granny B. We don’t really know the others.”
*
Chapter 23
Southern Oregon – Corral Creek Road near the Clark ranch.
Tom stopped the truck short of the turn onto Corral Creek Road and switched the engine off to see if the coast was clear. Rick jumped out of the pickup’s bed, walked to the road, looked both ways with the night vision scope, and listened for any traffic before motioning Tom to proceed. Rick jumped back into the back of the truck with Jackie. Tom saw Rick in the back with an arm around his sister and took off down the road.
Tom turned onto an old fire road about a mile from the ranch and worked his way up the hillside on the rough dirt road. There were many washed out ditches across the road from the snowmelt during the spring thaws. No one maintained the roads, so they’d fallen apart over the years. Tom had to crawl along the switchback road most of the way but soon made it to a place to turn off that he and Jackie had ridden horses on many times over the years. One of the bumps threw Brenda into the air, and she landed against Tom. “Sorry about that,” Tom said.
Brenda cringed and felt her side. “Your elbow caught me in the side. That’s no way to treat a lady. I know you don’t like me, but hammering me with your elbow is just plain wrong.”
Tom looked at her with a puzzled look. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean …”
“I was just yanking your chain. I’ve noticed that you seem to avoid me. If you and Sam have hooked up, just let me know.”
Tom had this picture in his mind of a fish with a hook in its mouth. He thought, Damn, what’s a guy have to do to be left alone?
“I hate that phrase, hooked up. I ain’t ready yet and probably in denial about my wife being gone. I miss her so much.” Tom said, and then thought, That will shut her up and make her feel bad enough to leave me alone for a while.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean anything by my comment. I like you, and I hoped you liked me. I’ll shut up from now on.”
She moved away from Tom and pressed herself against the door. Tom heard her sobbing. “Look, I didn’t mean to sound so mean, but I still love my wife, and I’m just not ready to see anyone. Not Sam nor you. Let’s just be friends. Okay?”
Brenda didn’t look at Tom. “Okay.”
“What did you do to Brenda? Tom, look at me. What did you do? She looks like a whipped dog.”
“Look, Jackie, I don’t want anyone playing cupid. I also don’t want women flirting with me right now. What do I have to do to get that across to you?”
Jackie moved closer to face her brother. “Damn it, Tom. I know you’re lonely and need companionship. Remember, we are so much alike. Your heart is broken, but it’s more than time to move on with your life.”
Tom huffed. “At least you didn’t say – ‘get back on the horse.’ When Granny said that last week, I imagined me riding Sam with a saddle on her back.”
Jackie snorted. “That’s funny, but a bit kinky or maybe perverted comes to mind.”
“Sorry for putting that image in your mind. I feel like I’m in a soap opera lately, and everyone is either flirting with me or trying to push a woman at me,” Tom said in frustration.
“Well, don’t worry about Brenda flirting with you, but don’t walk in front of her if she’s driving a car.”
Tom changed the subject as he usually did when he didn’t want to talk about his feelings. “The truck and trailer are loaded. Please go help Brenda finish cleaning up the cabin so we can leave.”
Jackie glared at her brother. Tom grinned. “Pretty please.”
Brenda hopped in the back of the truck when they were ready to leave, and Jackie sent Rick to the cab to ride with Tom. Tom began driving a different path to meet up with Corral Creek Road. Neither Rick nor Tom said a word until Rick loudly cleared his throat. “Tom, what happened to …?”
“Rick, I just don’t want to discuss Brenda, Sam, or my dead wife. I just need to keep my freaking mouth shut. I keep hurting people by trying to be left alone. If we stop this discussion now, I won’t piss you off.”
Rick mulled over the situation for a few minutes. “How about them Cubs? I think we can win the division this year.”
A burst of laughter roared from Tom. “Rick, I know less about football than I do about women.”
Rick chuckled. “I guess so since the Cubs are a baseball team.”
“Uncle George, please slow down. You’re going to kill both of us. Let the truck go.”
He screamed over the engine’s roar. “No, it has to be the gang from Ashland! They killed your family and my wife!”
Kate only heard ‘no.’ She’d tried to stop her uncle from roaring out of their hiding spot after the old pickup. They only had two rusty .22 revolvers and couldn’t match the gang’s firepower.
Kate tapped her uncle on the back. “Stop!”
The ATV came to a halt. Kate unloaded on her uncle. “Uncle George, we only have these dinky pistols. The gang has AKs and ARs. They’ll chew us to pieces. Besides, I’m certain they turned off this road a couple of miles back. We should have run into them by now.”
“Why didn’t you say so back when you knew that?”
“You’re trying to attack people and aren’t sure who they are. Could you live with yourself if they’re innocent?”
Her uncle replied. “No one else has a running vehicle but the gang. It has to be them, and I’m going to kill them. Don’t you remember when your parents were butchered?”
Kate beat on her uncle’s back. “Don’t you dare question me on vengeance for my parent’s deaths! I’m not going to kill everyone I meet just to maybe kill their murderers!”
“Show me where you think they turned off or get your ass off this ATV!”
Kate didn’t know where the people had turned off the road but knew her uncle was blinded by rage, so she led him back to the second turnoff on the right. She hoped they would run up the mountain on a wild goose chase and give him time to cool off.
A few minutes later, her uncle yelled. “There they are!”
Tom and his team were all too distracted by the drama going on in the truck's front and back to notice the ATV following them after turning onto Corral Creek Road. Tom slowed abruptly and drove off the road into a stand of trees. “Sorry Rick, I just remembered to stop and make sure we aren’t being followed.”
Before Tom could say the next sentence, they heard the small engine's muffled sound as it passed the truck on the road. Tom got out of the vehicle and said, “Grab your rifles and backpacks and be ready to fight.”
Tom and Rick moved closer to the road and heard the ATV return toward them at a slower speed. Tom saw a person stop and look at the faint marks on the road where the truck had thrown some dirt and leaves on the edge of the road as Tom turned off the highway.
The engine revved up, and Tom yelled, “Here they come!”
The two people on the ATV wore helmets and had holsters on their tactical vests. Th
e one behind the driver had a pistol ready to shoot and searched the surroundings as they drove slowly through the woods. The driver stopped and pointed in the direction of the truck. The ATV’s engine died, and Tom heard the driver yell, “We found the raiding bastards! Shoot them on sight!”
Tom drew a bead on the passenger since a tree blocked his shot at the driver. Several shots rang out before he could shoot. Tom saw the driver shoot, and Brenda fell. Rage filled Tom as he pulled his trigger several times and riddled the man with his gunfire. The passenger on the back of the ATV fell to the ground just as Tom began shooting. “I got both of the bastards.”
Tom stooped and kicked the dead man who’d been driving the ATV and then ran on to check on the women and Rick. Rick was ahead of him and dropped to his knees on the other side of the truck. Tom rounded the hood and saw Brenda in Rick’s arms. Tom’s heart sank to his stomach.
Rick held her bloody head close to his chest. “She’s dead! Brenda is dead! I’ll kill all of the bastards!”
Tom rushed past Rick but didn’t see Jackie. He looked around and still didn’t see her. Then he heard a moan coming from under the truck. “Did you hear that?”
“Tom, help … me.”
Tom dropped to his knees and found Jackie’s outstretched arms reaching for him. He pulled her to him and saw the blood on her right thigh. “Rick, grab a blanket from the truck.”
Rick was still in shock and didn’t move. Tom jumped up and retrieved two blankets. He rolled one up and placed it under her head. He put the other one, so it covered her except the wound. Tom cut Jackie’s pants leg to reveal the bullet wound. “Hey, we’re in luck. It’s a through and through and missed the bone.”
Jackie’s eyes opened. “Then why does my head hurt?”
Tom kept the pressure on her wounds until they stopped bleeding and then examined her head. “You hit your head on the truck when you fell. I’m putting Wound Seal on the wounds now that I stopped the blood flow. You’ll be up and dancing in no time.”
“That’s great since I’m the only girl in Oregon who can’t dance. I’m looking forward … damn, that hurts. What are you doing?”
“I just bound the wound tighter to make sure it doesn’t bleed on the way up the hill.”
Jackie gasped, and her eyes grew large. “Gun,” she said and pointed behind Tom.
Tom whirled around, saw the ATV passenger reaching for a pistol, and raced the fifteen feet to the person on his hands and knees. He was too late, and the gun rose to fire. Tom hit the person with his fist in the gut, and the pistol fell to the ground. The person moaned and then passed out. Tom rolled the person over, saw the bullet hole in the person’s shoulder, and unzipped the leather jacket.
“Well, son of a biscuit eater, this bitch is a woman.”
He unfastened her helmet and saw a cute pixie-like face with short black hair. She was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Her hair was raven black and shimmered blue-green in the sunlight. Tom shocked himself by the attraction he felt for this strange woman. Then her eyes popped open. Tom saw pure hate in her stare. This froze him for a second when suddenly her arm flew up, and she lashed out with her blade.
“You bitch! I’m trying to help you!” Tom said while wrenching the knife from her grasp. He then rolled her over and sat on her back.
“You killed my uncle, bastard.”
Tom pulled his backpack from his back and saw where the knife had pierced a plastic water bottle. He then opened a flap and dug deep where he found the zip ties and bound her feet and hands. “Now that you can’t try to kill me, I’ll patch you up.”
“Keep your filthy hands off me.”
Tom cut her jacket and T-shirt away to expose the wound on her upper arm. The bullet didn’t go through, and he was surprised the bullet was just under the skin. “Hey, this is a .22, and you were shot in the back. We don’t have any .22s with us. I think your uncle accidentally shot you.”
“That’s BS.”
Tom poured alcohol on the wound, which resulted in him receiving a good cussing from the girl. “Do you kiss your mom with that mouth?” Tom asked as he pulled the bullet out with a pair of tweezers. He then used the rest of his Wound Seal to clot the wound.
“You’ll live. Now, why did you attack us?”
“Asshole, you know why!”
“Maybe you should treat me like I don’t know, so we can get to the bottom of this,” Tom pleaded.
“The gang you belong to burned down my friend’s ranch and killed a dozen of my friends and family,” the girl said with tears forming in her eyes.
Tom was confused. “Where is this ranch?”
“It’s the old Clark ranch. Jack told us the Clarks were dead or stuck in Hawaii. We moved in and had a good life if you can have a good life in an apocalypse.”
“Oh,” was all Tom replied and then stuffed a pill into her mouth to help with the pain. “Drink this to wash the pill down.”
She continued to resist. “Screw you.”
“Ok, but the pill is very bitter.”
Tom returned to Jackie and Rick. Jackie sat on the ground, trying to console Rick. “We need to get Jackie and Brenda back to the ranch. I’m also taking the bitch with us. She was one of Jack’s friends at the ranch. She thought we were the gang members searching for them.”
Rick glared with fierce red eyes. “Give me five minutes with her.”
Jackie held Rick close. “No, Rick. That won’t bring Brenda back. We need to break the news to Greta and bury your sister. Killing the woman won’t help a bit.”
*
Chapter 24
Southern Oregon –the Clark ranch.
“Land sakes alive! What happened? Is Brenda wounded?” Granny B asked when they drove up with Brenda’s body in the trailer with Rick sitting beside her.
The emotion had drained from Tom, and he’d been quiet all the way back to the ranch. He helped carry Brenda’s body to a place under one of the many shade trees and slumped down beside her. He tried his best to console Rick.
Jackie hobbled to Greta to tell her what had happened. Greta was speechless and then screamed and knocked Jackie to the ground on her way to her mom’s body. “Mom! It can’t be so!”
Rick joined Jackie, and he held the poor girl close as she sobbed while holding her mom’s hand. Jackie stood behind Rick with a hand on his shoulder as he cried with his niece. Rick reached over his shoulder and held Jackie’s hand. “Darling, you’re wounded. Please go sit down. I couldn’t stand losing you, too.”
A few minutes later, Granny B saw Tom sliding a blindfolded and bound woman out of the truck. At first, the small lady resisted until Tom grabbed the collar of her tattered jacket and dragged her from the truck crying out in pain. Tom pulled the woman to his grandma. “This girl and her uncle attacked us. She’s one of Jack and June’s friends who took over the Clark place.”
Tom saw Jack walking toward them and motioned for him to be silent. Jack walked up and was surprised to see his friend bound and blindfolded. He frantically pulled Tom off to the side. “Why is my friend tied up, and who shot her?”
“She and her uncle attacked us. She says they thought we were part of the gang who attacked and killed your friends at the ranch. She won’t listen to me. I thought your only friends were James and Alice.”
“Kate Walker, her uncle, and her aunt showed up after our meeting. I tried to get them to go with us, but they stayed. Kate wanted to come with us, but her uncle liked the security of the ranch but just didn’t like how it was being run.”
“She tried to kill me twice, so I want to get rid of her ASAP. I don’t want her to know who we are. Are you sure you didn’t tell them about us?”
“Tom, I swear June and I didn’t mention any of the Clarks. We just told her uncle that we knew a safe place where we wouldn’t be under the thumbs of a bunch of power-hungry men.”
Tom rubbed his jaw and turned away to look at the woman lying on the ground with Granny B trying to talk with her. “
We’ll keep her and treat her wound until she’s healed, but everyone will be told to keep her from knowing our location. When we turn her loose, it’ll be close to Ashland.”
Jack said, “That sounds more than fair. You’d be within your rights to pitch her ass out on the road after she tried to kill you.”
Tom walked up behind Kate, who was now sitting up with Granny B, trying to get her to open up. “Child, my people didn’t want to hurt you. Tom said you attacked my family and killed Brenda. Listen to that girl over there sobbing? That’s Greta, Brenda’s daughter. Now, thanks to you, she’ll grow up without a mother.”
“We thought they were the same pukes who raided our ranch. Can’t you take the blindfold off?”
Tom placed his index finger over his lips. “The gang also killed the Clark family. We went there to live with them and found a burning slagheap. We want to kill them also, but couldn’t let you and your uncle kill us by mistake.”
Granny B got the drift of Tom’s line of thought but didn’t fully understand. She took Tom off to the side. “Son, what do we do with her?”
“We’ll take her back to our hideout and keep her from knowing us or the location of the hideout so we can release her later. I don’t want her to bring an army over there to wipe us out.”
Tom checked his captive’s bindings, picked her up, and placed her back in the cab of the truck after Jack had unhitched the trailer. Jack and Tom drove around the area for an hour on the old fire roads and then took a different route back to the ranch. Jack stayed silent while Tom talked. “We’re almost home. You’ll like the place. We might even take your blindfold off.”