Grid Down Perceptions of Reality

by Bruce Buckshot Hemming

  He heard a horse galloping along the road and saw a lone man coming quickly down the road. He thought nothing of it, thinking it must be somebody that got a late start getting to the meeting.

  Joe turned and started walking back into the yard, thinking, “Great, one more voice to be squabbling and bickering over the booty.” He was on the long driveway, about 50 feet from the road, when he heard the horse start galloping down the driveway.

  He turned to look and see who it was, just as the man raised his rifle up and started firing. Joe dove for the ground and rolled, bringing up his rifle. He tried to get the man in the sites as he race past, but he was moving too fast.

  The man was screaming, “You killed my brother. You’re all going to die.”

  It dawned on Joe that it was the man that got away, the night they took out those four other mercs at the millionaire’s house.

  The man raced toward the women and children, firing away. Joe fired at him, as two of the children were cut down screaming for their mom. One woman was hit while racing to pick up her child. The place erupted in chaos and men poured out of the house.

  It was pure pandemonium. Shots were being fired, women and children running, and all of them were screaming, trying to find cover.

  The man was knocked off the horse by a shotgun blast to his stomach. He laid on the ground screaming, as Joe ran up to him, seething with anger and emptied the magazine into him, from his belly to his head. When he hit the man’s head with three shots at that range, brain matter, pieces of skull and blood splattered all around the area.

  A crowd gathered around him and the man who lost his daughter, the one Joe had punched in the face, stepped out in front of the crowd. His nose was still bandaged and his eyes blackened. He pointed his finger at Joe and yelled to the crowd, “These people are too brutal for us. They’re nothing but brutal savages and I don’t want them around my family. I don’t care what they’ve done for us, I don’t want this man teaching our children how to be savages.” He then pointed down to the man who had cause the chaos and said, “Take a good look at what’s left of this body. The man was dead after a few shots.” He lifted his accusing finger back up, pointing right at Joe. “That’s not a normal behavior. This man—he’s a psychopath and will kill us all if we don’t get rid of him right now.”

  Joe was stunned by the man’s words. Granted, he did let his anger get the best of him and he had lost control. He clearly had overreacted, but my God, this guy was shooting women and children. Any normal man protecting his family would’ve done the same thing.

  Joe looked around at the other faces to see how the man’s reaction and words were being taken. He saw what he was afraid of, fear and loathing, not in all of them, but enough that he knew their time here was over.

  Philip stepped up and cleared his throat saying, “Listen here folks. Joe and his wife Jane have helped us immensely. We are now free of the warlord, thanks to their efforts. And this is how you want to repay them? Ban them, throw them away like trash, because we no longer need them? And if it wasn’t for Jane’s help we would have never gotten into that safe. Because of her, we have arms and ammunition to protect our community from now on. I for one will not stand for this, they have earned their right to be part of our community and I say they stay.”

  A few of the men nodded their heads in agreement, but before Philip could say another word the man interrupted. “This is not just up to you. This is up to all of us, and I and my wife vote that these two be banned from our community forever.”

  Philip started to say something, but Joe pushed the magazine release on his rifle, pulled the empty magazine out, placing it in his pouch he grabbed a loaded one and smacked it in place, hit the release lever to load a fresh round, and then placed the safety on with a loud click. He then slung the rifle over his shoulder.

  A hush fell over the crowd and Joe looked at all of them. Deep in his heart he knew no matter how it turned out there would always be problems if they stayed here. It was time for him and Jane to move on. Who knows, maybe Preston, Amy, and Michael were already waiting for them at the hunting camp.

  Joe looked around and said, “Thank you Philip, but we will not be staying where we’re not welcome.”

  Jane had come running up to him. Joe continued, “If it’s all right with you people, all we ask for is somebody with the wagon and horses to help carry the supplies that we earned, and take us up to the camp we’re traveling to. It’s right around a hundred miles, maybe a little more from here. Either way, Jane and I are going back to camp, so you folks decide.”

  He added, “We’ll come talk to Philip about it in the morning.” With that, Jane and Joe walked over to the barn, picked up their bikes and rode off.

  Philip was totally disgusted with the crowd and let his anger be known. “You people are disgusting,” he said, “if it wasn’t for Joe, we’d still be slaves to a warlord and shaking in fear every time they rode into our yards. He came here and taught us how to stand up and fight. He warned you people right from the beginning that freedom comes at a cost, and you knew people could die. Remember that, each and every one of you. Now get off my property, go home and think about it.”

  One of the men asked about the weapons and Philip said, “We’ll figure out how to distribute the guns and ammunition later. I’m in no mood to hear anything else from anybody tonight. Now LEAVE.”

  He turned his back on the crowd and stormed off to his house. The remaining people helped collect their dead and left. Nobody touched the body of the shot up merc.

  After everyone was gone, Philip and Jacob went outside and collected the body. Using the wheelbarrow they haul it back to a brush pile and set it ablaze. Philip pulled out a flask, took a shot and then handed it Jacob. “Good medicine for calming your nerves.”

  Jacob took a shot. “What are we going to do dad?” He asked as he handed the flask back.

  “I don’t know son. I’ve never been so embarrassed, angry, disgusted, and fed up with our neighbors as I am right now. Part of me says you and I should hitch up the wagon in the morning and take Joe and Jane over to the house, loading everything in the safe. Load the whole damn thing up on the wagon and then escort them to where they’re going and to hell with these people. They wouldn’t have any of those things if it weren’t for Joe and Jane. But I know that’s just my anger talking. After we sleep on it I’m am sure I’ll calm down.”

  He looked at his dad, a long silent look, and then he finally

  asked the question he had been thinking about. “Why don’t we

  just pack up and go with them?”

  “Don’t tempt me. If it wasn’t for your mother and sisters, you and I would be packing right now, and leave with them in the morning, but this is your mother’s home. This is our farm and our community. For better or worse, it’s best that we stay. But you’re old enough to decide for yourself if you want to stay or go. I will not hold it against you if you choose to leave. I would prefer you stay, but I understand if you wish to move on with your life.”

  Jacob thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know dad. That’s a big decision. Something I don’t want to make in haste or anger. If I had to decide right now, I would leave, but that wouldn’t be fair to you or mom.”

  After a long period of silence Jacob asked, “Dad. Do you think I should go, or should I stay here and help you work and protect the farm?”

  Philip smiled, “Son, that is your decision. Of course I’d prefer you to stay. You know how to work the farm and you know how to keep things in working order. If anything happens to me, the more men we have around, the easier it will be to defend and hold this property. Don’t make a decision in haste right now. Sleep on it. I’m sure that we’ll use our wagon and horses to take Joe and Jane were they want to go. I know that it will be a long five-day ride, giving you plenty of time to make your decision.”

  They left it at that, and once the fire had died down, they called it a night.

  The next morning, when Joe
and Jane arrived, there was a big breakfast spread of homemade sourdough pancakes and fresh bacon. They all sat down and ate.

  Philip kept apologizing and trying to talk them into staying. Jane smiled and said, “We thank you Philip. You are an honorable man, but it’s just not wise to stay. The whole community will be watching us, waiting for another excuse to get rid of us outsiders. If it wasn’t this, it would be something else. This is going to fester in that man’s mind so the longer we’re here, the more he can blame us for his daughter’s death. When we go, he can be at peace, mourn and accept his loss.”

  Philip said, “I was afraid that’s what you were going to say, that you are leaving no matter what. Jacob and I will hitch up the wagon and help you load up what you’ve chosen to take, and then we will take you where you’re going.”

  After they finished their breakfast, the men walked outside while Jane and the Misses said their goodbyes.

  They all rode down to the millionaire’s house, and once inside, Jane unlocked the safe again. They took one AR-15, 10 magazines, some stripper clips, 2000 rounds of ammo, two of the space age shotguns along with 500 rounds of buckshot and slugs. They also loaded up six months’ worth of food. The good #10 cans of the Mountain House food and 20 pounds of the good coffee.

  Joe said, “If I were you Philip, I would stash the sniper rifle, three AR-15s, two of those space age shotguns and lots of ammo for each, in a hidden cache in the woods, but that’s up to you. Jane gave you the combo to the safe, so it will be up to you what happens with the rest of the stuff.”

  Philip nodded and told Joe thanks for the suggestion. He planned to do just that.

  After gathering and loading all of the items, they headed out. Joe and Jane rode their bikes, with Philip and Jacob in the wagon.

  As they rode off, Jane thought, “Is this our new life, helping people but never really welcome? God how I hope Preston, Amy and Michael are alive and waiting for us when we get there. Oh it would be so good to see Amy again. I sure miss our chats.”

  The miles clicked by and before they knew it, darkness was setting in. They stopped and made camp, found a pond for the horses to drink from, and allowed them to graze the grass along the road. They shared one of the cans of Mountain House Beef Stroganoff with Noodles, and Jane brewed a pot of coffee.

  They took turns standing watch. Each of them taking a two hour watch. The only thing that happened that night was a pack of coyotes howling and yipping in the distance.

  In the morning, Jane cooked breakfast over a fire. Well, she really just boiled water and poured in the Mountain House freeze-dried breakfast mix, but it tastes good and there's plenty to satisfy everyone. She made a second pot of coffee to put in the thermos to take with them.

  On the fourth day, they ran into two men pushing a shopping cart. They chatted back and forth, trading news. They were warned not to go north because there were men patrolling the area that did not allow outsiders in their territory.

  Over dinner that night, they talked about what the men had told them.

  “Ten men on horseback?” Jacob began looking at Joe and said, “Sounds like you’re jumping out of the frying pan and right into the fire. Maybe another warlord for you to clean out?”

  “I don’t know, but I do believe once we’re within a few hours of the place the men told us about, we should stash the wagon and you two stay with it to guard the food and weapons. Jane and I will go forward on the bikes and scout the area. It’s the only safe way to do this.”

  Phillip said, “That sounds like a smart idea. We’ll get out of sight and protect the supplies while you check out what’s going on.”

  Jane said, “I sure hope Preston, Amy and Michael are there, and everybody’s okay and safe.”

  Joe said, “Well, we will find out tomorrow.”

  Jacob asked the question he’d wanted to ask for the past four days now. “I’ve been trying to decide if I should stay with you guys, that is if you want me to?”

  Joe looked at him and smiled, “Of course we’d love for you to join us, but that’s not practical for several reasons. The main one being your family, it’s the only thing you have right now and you should stay with them to protect your folks homestead. Unfortunately we no longer have that luxury. We would have never left our homestead if we had not been forced to. The best decision you can make, is to stay with your family.”

  Jacob sighed and said, “That’s what I’ve been leaning towards. I believe that the old man,” looking at his dad, “needs my help.”

  Philip laughed and said, “I may be old, but I can still whip your young ass.”

  They all laughed and called it a night, taking the same watch as they had on previous nights.

  The next day around 1 o’clock in the afternoon, they reached the spot that was roughly 10 miles from the camp. Jacob and Philip took the wagon down a dirt road a couple of miles and waited for their return.

  Joe and Jane rode right through the area without seeing a soul. They rode down the dirt road and right up to the hunting camp. They had smelled the burning long before they reached the camp. A little smoke still whispered up from the smoldering timbers of what was once their deer camp.

  They got off their bikes and Joe called out. “Preston. Amy. Michael. Is anyone here?” He was met with silence, except a few chickadees flew through chattering back and forth.

  Jane broke down with tears streaming down her face. “Is this our new world? All of our property burned to the ground, all our friends dead? Are we doomed to wander the earth as Gypsies, trying to survive? I can’t take any more of this. I’m sick of the dying, sick of the burning, sick of watching children die, and for what, stupid people that can’t shut up and get along, working together as a community?”

  Joe walked up and put his arms around her. “We don’t know that they are dead. We don’t even know if they made it here. All we do know is the camp was burned down. They might have moved to a different house, we just don’t know what’s going on, so don’t jump to conclusions.”

  “You don’t understand. I’m sick of this. I hate this new world. I want to talk to Amy. I want to hug Michael. I even want to hug Preston. I want to be with friends, people we can trust. Don’t you understand?”

  He could see that she was at the end of her rope and ready to melt down. He said, “I know. I want to see all of them too. We can stay here for a couple days and then go out searching for them. Maybe we can find this patrol we were told about and they might know what’s going on. Let’s not give up right now. Okay honey?”

  Jane got her emotions under control and they rode back to where Jacob and Philip were waiting. They gave them news and told them that they were going to wait until morning to make a decision.

  Philip said, “Maybe we should find you some vacant house so you can stash your supplies, because we have to get back to the farm. We have our own family. I hope you understand.”

  Joe said, “Of course we do, and we really appreciate all you’ve done for us. We’ll look for a place in the morning and then you and Jacob can head back home.”

  Chapter 21

  Burnt Out Again

  Hope rises like a phoenix from the ashes of shattered dreams.

  ~S.A. Sachs

  After the hunting cabins front door had been breached, one of the teargas grenades caught the couch on fire. This quickly spread to the drapes and up the interior wall. The Raiders quickly searched the cabin and left as the fire spread. They circled around the back looking for survivors, but found none.

  Preston had made it to where Amy and Barry had hidden. They retreated further into the thick brush of the woods. They were a good 300 yards back in when Preston called a halt. They each took up defensive positions and waited. He was betting that they wouldn’t dare search for them in the woods.

  Within 10 minutes they saw the glow of the fire. Amy whispered, “I thought the place was fireproof?”

  Preston had a stupid grin on his face and said, “The whole outside was painted with
fire retardant, which is good for preventing fires, but we never painted the inside. They must have started the fire from the inside. Once the fire has been burning for so long, the fire retardant will burn off and the whole thing will burn to the ground.”

  He added, “But this is our chance to sneak up and use the light of the fire to shoot them down, that is if they’re dumb enough to still be there.”

  They snuck up to the back of the camp and flames were quickly eating through the roof. With the bright glow of the fire, they could now see all around the camp, but nobody was on the backside, that they could see. Before they could do anything else, they heard horses coming. They heard shooting and saw five men running behind the cabin for cover. They let them get really close and when they were sure that they were the bad guys, they cut them down.

  Holding their position, they waited. When Preston saw men flanking him on both sides, sneaking a long, he recognized one of them. He called out, “Scott. Is this the patrol?”

  Everyone froze in position. Preston called out again, “Scott, it’s Preston? Who’s out there?”

  A voice called out from the darkness, “Preston. Is that you?”

  Preston replied, “Yes it is. We have one injured. Did you bring a medic?”

  Scott walked out into the open and towards Preston’s voice. “Yes, we did.”

  They walked out to meet Scott, and Preston stuck his hand out to thank him for coming. They shook hands and Scott said, “What’s going on? Michael said they were SWAT team guys?”

  “The guy in charge said he was a retired police officer, and used to be in charge of a SWAT team.

  Scott said, “That’s too bad. I’m sure there are many fine police officers still out there and even though some are retired, they are still protecting and serving.”