by Warren Ray
“But he’s one of them, right?”
“Oh, gosh yes, he’s like thirty and she’s only sixteen.”
Winters shook his head in disgust. He slipped back down the hall to find Owen still on the couch with her. Finley followed and scurried around him as they came into the living room. She grabbed a tall wooden candle holder that held a lit candle and swung it at Owen. The blow landed on his back as the candle went flying.
“What the hell?” yelled Owen as he turned around to see Finley holding the makeshift club. “Whaddya go and do that for, Wannabe?”
Finley swung it again, but he blocked the blow and jumped off Laney. He stood up in his birthday suit and hadn’t yet noticed Winters, who stepped back having decided to see just what Finley was made of. She was full of energy but did she have the nerve to follow through with her mouth? He would let her have another minute or so before taking Owen out.
She swung again but missed as she wasn’t close enough to him. He then rushed her, but Finley stepped to the side and landed another blow on his back as he stumbled past her. He came at her again and she danced to the side again. His reflexes were dulled by whatever he had taken.
“What the hell you doing, Wannabe?”
“What I should have done a long time ago.”
Owen had a scowl on his face. “You’re dead. You hear me, dead.”
Finley started laughing while swinging the club back and forth. “No, Owen, you’re the one who’s dead.”
“Brave words, little girl.”
“Are they?” she asked pointing the candlestick at the bloody corpse on the loveseat.
Owen turned to see blood running down his friend’s neck. His jaw fell open as he asked, “Is he dead?”
“Damn right he is.”
Winters looked over at his handiwork and grimaced at how much blood had oozed out after he left. It looked gruesome enough to shock anyone. He then caught a movement in the corner of his eye. Laney sprang up from the couch and jumped on Owen’s back wrapping her bare legs around him while pulling his hair.
The quick action surprised Owen and Finley took advantage by charging him. She used the candlestick holder as a battering ram and belted him in the stomach knocking out his wind. He collapsed to his knees. Finley swung at him but Owen managed to grab onto the makeshift club. He pulled hard to wrestle control away from her as she leaned backward while still holding on. Laney got off his back and started punching the side of his head with little effect. All three began screaming at each other.
Winters stepped back amazed as he watched the struggle unfold before him. It was like watching a wresting match on television. The two girls were battling a common foe and appeared to be in control. Winters figured they both needed this, and he decided to allow them to take it as far as they could.
With her blows not having much effect, Laney reached for a vodka bottle that was sitting on an end table. After grabbing it, she wound up and hit him across the head. It landed with a loud thud, but it didn’t break. Laney tried again, striking him on top of his head. The bottle still hadn't broken. The blow caused Owen’s arms to go limp, and he let go of the candlestick making Finley fall over backward. She scrambled up, and both girls looked encouragingly at each other before striking him again. Their blows landed one after another. Laney finally broke the bottle on the next try. Glass and vodka shot out in different directions as blood poured down the side of Owen’s head. He fell over and Finley gave him one final blow.
Chapter 19
Winters wasn’t sure if he was more surprised at the viciousness of these two girls or the eagerness of the attack on Owen. He had only met Finley, but she didn’t seem to be a violent person. However, escaping the bonds of slavery is such an overwhelming sensation that it puts you in a different frame of mind. He’d witnessed it with Reese when she killed three of her oppressors as soon as she was released. These two didn’t seem much different from Reese. Winters had been confused when he learned what was going on and how the girls handled it. He wasn’t sure if or how much it bothered them, but having seen these two in action, he realized they hated it.
Winters stepped into the living room where the two girls were breathing rapidly over their victim. His movement startled Laney and her eyes grew wild as she flung her hand up using the broken neck of the bottle as a defensive weapon.
“It’s okay,” said Finley. “He’s with me.”
Laney's light brown hair was shoulder length and had blonde streaks running through it. She stood five-foot-two and although skinny, she had the muscular build of an athlete. Not only did her legs and arms have more muscles than Finley but her bust size was bigger. She also had the same butterfly tattoos running up her thigh. Her deep blue eyes glared at Winters ready to pounce if provoked. She heaved in lungfuls of air as she swayed from side-to-side while keeping the jagged glass aimed at him.
Finley dropped the candlestick “Laney, this is Cole Winters.”
She darted her eyes between Finley and Winters and began nodding in recognition. She then realized her state of undress and dropped the bottle before using her hands to cover her chest. She stared at Winters as he bent down to check on Owen.
“Is he dead?” asked Finley.
“Not yet.”
“Oh man, did you see us? I mean, I can’t believe we just did that. And Laney, the way you jumped on him, I mean, like, that was so friggin awesome. I knew we could get him, and Cole, I’m so glad you, like, didn’t stop us. I so wanted to do this,” said Finley without taking a breath.
Winters shook his head slightly at how fast this girl talked. Of course, she had good reason to. It wasn’t every day you had an opportunity to beat on someone who has been tormenting you.
“Laney, I mean, wow, what gave you the courage?”
She looked at Finley. “I didn’t want him to hurt you.”
“Yeah, but Laney, I knew Cole was there, like, the whole time, but you didn’t, I mean you were so awesome to do what you just did. You’re the brave one here.”
Winters stood up. “Girls, believe me, you’re both incredibly brave. This isn’t even something a lot of guys can do.”
“Seriously, Cole, you’re not just saying that?”
“Oh, no. You two remind me of a couple of badass girls I know.”
“You hear that, Laney? We’re a couple of badass chicks,” said Finley in an excited tone.
Laney had a confused look on her face and turned to Winters. “Why are you here? How do you know Finley?”
“He's gonna stop everyone so they can't rape us anymore.”
“Really?”
Finley put her hands on Laney's shoulders and shook them. “Yes. Besides all the assholes here, he's already killed Randy and that dirtbag Jimmy Boyd and his fat ass wife.”
A smile began to form on Laney as she finally understood the gravity of what was happening. She threw her arms around Finley and picked her up off her feet while hugging her.
Finley laughed as Laney lifted her up. She let go of her and kissed her on the cheek.
Joy shot through Winters' veins watching the two girls celebrate. It was just what he needed to help him through his sadness. It meant everything to him knowing that he could help these girls out of a bad situation.
However, he also wanted to get out of there. He looked over at the sleeping girl, who still hadn’t moved. He would need to get her to safety before going after his next target.
“Finley, can you wake her up?”
“Probably not.”
“Well, give it a try, okay? Cause we need to get out of here.”
Laney grabbed her clothes off a chair and ran to the bathroom while Finley attempted to wake the girl, whose name he hadn’t learned yet. He now had three passengers and decided to take one of the vehicles in the driveway. He’d have to take the sleeping girl back to where he was staying and have Ashley look after her for the night. In the morning, he’d have to find out where everyone would want to stay while he took out the remaining bad guys
. The faster he moved tonight the less difficult it would be to take out the rest tomorrow. He considered hiding the bodies, but there was so much spilled blood to clean up that it wouldn’t be worth the effort.
“Blair isn’t waking up.”
“Okay, I’ll carry her then,” said Winters learning the girl’s name. “We need keys to one of those cars. Can you help me?”
“Yep.”
Winters trotted down the hallway and rifled through the bedroom looking for keys. He knelt down beside the dead bodies and went through their pockets coming up empty. He found Derek’s pistol, a Sig Sauer .380, on the dresser and put it in his jacket.
“Found ‘em,” yelled Finley.
Winters headed back to the living room where she handed him the keys. They were to a blue four-door Impala, which would be perfect to get them out of there.
Laney came out of the bathroom dressed in jean shorts and a red tank top. He hadn’t realized just how small she was until then. Finley’s extra three inches over Laney made a big difference. Winters looked at the small butterfly tattoos on her leg and hoped they weren't some kind of a slave brand.
After picking up Blair and putting her in the back seat, Winters went back inside to finish off Owen, who still hadn’t died yet. He didn’t want him to somehow survive and tell the tale.
Winters powered up his night-vision goggles and drove the Impala back to where he left Ashley and her daughter. The two girls chatted non-stop about what they just did and how much they wanted to keep helping. Winters wasn’t too sure he should involve them any further, but both continued to work him over.
“We won’t get in the way, and besides, we know who everybody is,” begged Finley.
“And you could use the lookouts,” appealed Laney.
Winters shook his head knowing he was about to give in to them. Their pleading reminded him of when Cara would work him over. He had a weakness for her wishes and always gave in when she was younger. He decided to make it conditional, however, because he wanted to know about the butterfly tattoos.
“Alright, I’ll let you guys come along,” said Winters.
“Yes,” said Laney from the backseat.
“I swear, you won’t regret it,” promised Finley.”
“But.”
“But what?” asked Finley.
“First ya gotta tell me about the butterfly tattoos.”
Laney leaned forward. “That’s easy.”
“Yeah,” said Finley.
“They’re a reminder for us,” said Laney.
“That we can, like, have a rebirth when all of this is over and leave all of it behind us,” said Finley.
“And…to not give up hope that it will end,” added Laney.
“Yeah, and something tells me we’re gonna have our rebirth tonight,” cheered Finley.
“I’m already feeling it,” said Laney, grabbing Finley’s hand.
“Me too. I mean, it’s like we’re already starting to come out of this disgusting cocoon that we’ve been, like, locked in.”
“Right,” said Laney, “it’s why we want to help you. It means everything to us to help.”
“Does everyone have them?” asked Winters.
“No, not everyone, just some of us,” said Laney.
“A friend of ours did ‘em. They’re not fancy, but we like ‘em,” said Finley.
“Well, I like ‘em too,” said Winters. “A good reminder to hang tough and to stay united.
Winters leaned his head on the backrest absorbing everything they said. They had great attitudes and looked forward to the future figuring their current situation wouldn’t last forever. They were hopeful and in the country’s current situation, sometimes hope is all you have to rely on.
They arrived back at the new hideout and Ashley was happy to look after Blair and any others that might be arriving tonight. He kept the visit short and ushered his new fighters back into the car. He was glad to learn Laney knew how to shoot. Her father had taken took her hunting at an early age, and she had done considerable target shooting as well. Winters handed her the Sig Sauer. She did a proper check of the weapon when he handed it to her much to Finley’s amazement.
Winters headed back to town toward their next target and took a right turn just as a pickup truck sped past him. A shock zipped through his body when he looked in the rearview mirror. The truck had stopped and Winters was supposed to do the same.
Chapter 20
Jackson Michigan
Bassett was running behind schedule for getting tonight’s operation together. He hurried down to the cafeteria to grab something before heading out again. He chose a ready-made sandwich and coffee then sat down to eat.
He thought about Scar’s suggestion that they take Nordell with them tonight. Scar had told him the man apologized for what happened this morning at the executions. Bassett took a bite of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich before washing it down with some coffee. Of course, if Nordell came with them, it would ensure he wouldn’t have a chance to cause any more trouble here. No telling what could happen if all the leadership was gone.
Nordell was proud and perhaps thought he was better suited to command than Scar. While Bassett had no doubt about the man’s experience and capabilities, he didn’t have the same rapport with the men that Scar had. He was still too new to everyone and besides; he had held a gun to Winters’ head when he first came on the scene. This was not something you forgot. While he had made up for it over the past week, some of the men didn’t care and didn’t trust him, and now that he had been the ringleader this morning, he would be even more distrusted.
Bassett finished his sandwich and headed outside. He exited the hospital and looked across the parking lot for his SUV. He noticed the old white Chevy pickup Winters had been driving still sitting in the parking lot with the windows down. He hoped Winters would find what he was looking for back in Iowa. Bassett’s mind drifted to his own family who were in Florida. After the Chinese invaded California, his parents took his two younger sisters down to Fort Myers where his grandparents lived. They had a home right off McGregor Boulevard, which ran along the river with easy access to the Gulf of Mexico.
Bassett had just come back from a tour in the Middle East and was only able to visit with them in Yoder, Indiana, for a couple of weeks before he received orders to report for duty at the Rock Island Arsenal, in Rock Island, Illinois. This was unusual as he was in the 101st Airborne Division and there was no active army unit he was aware of at Rock Island. Besides, the Army had been shipping most of its soldiers out west to fight the Chinese. The orders had given Bassett pause making him question why they were putting a unit together in the Midwest. Not trusting the new government, he suggested to his parents that they get to Florida while they still could. His mistrust of the government proved right and he was thankful they headed out of the area when they did. There had been a Patriot Center in Indiana and many volunteers had reported to it, of course, they were all now dead.
Bassett jumped into his vehicle and started it. As he pulled out of the parking lot, Major Green came to mind. Before being assigned to Rock Island he had never met the man, but quickly recognized him to be a stand-up soldier and was grateful he had been picked to help with the cause. Thinking back to their assignment in the Midwest now, it didn’t add up, but at the time with the country in the throes of chaos, it seemed plausible. The government wanted citizens to join the military, making perfect sense then because there were bands of marauders roaming the countryside killing innocent Americans. It was a sickening feeling to discover you were part of an evil plan to kill the volunteers. It was a just cause when Green killed Colonel Nunn. He never came right out and admitted it, but everyone knew he had done it and didn’t care. They were all glad he did it and would no longer have to be a part of the slaughter of patriotic volunteers. Bassett shook his head knowing the guys were reassigned out west and no doubt were at the front lines because they knew the truth about the Patriot Centers.
Chapter 21<
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Sabine Iowa
There were pros and cons of driving without headlights. The pro was no one would see the car unless they drove right by it, which was also the con. Winters didn’t expect anyone to be driving around and was surprised when one sped by without him noticing it beforehand. The truck had stopped, so knowing it was expected, he did the same. The truck didn’t back up and was waiting for Winters to move. With no other vehicles around it would be normal to approach each other’s side windows, which meant he’d be having a shootout. The last thing Winters wanted to do was shoot someone here. It would be loud and could possibly draw unwanted attention, which would also alert their targets that something was wrong.
“That’s one of them,” said Laney.
“If he sees me, I’ll have to shoot him, which I don’t want to do here.”
“I’ll go talk to him.”
“You sure.”
“Yeah, I know him.”
Winters didn’t like his options but this needed to happen fast. Before he could give the okay, Laney jumped out of the car. Winters turned to the rearview mirror and watched her run to the truck. She was talking and laughing with him. The occupant put his arm out and started to paw at her breast, which made Winters take a troubled breath. Not seeing any other passengers inside the truck he decided to take him out.
“Stay here, I’ll be right back.”
“Do you need help?”
“No, Laney seems to have it handled.”
Laney noticed him approaching and kept talking to the man. Winters jotted around to the other side of the pickup and could hear his voice through the open window.
“C’mon Laney, I’ll be real quick.”
“You know I want to, but Derek is over there waiting for me.”
“That douche-bag isn’t even on your list.”
“Neither are you.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t have what I have.”
Winters had heard enough and pulled out his knife before he opened the door. As he jumped in, the startled man turned his head. Winters backhanded the knife into his stomach before pulling it out and slashing his throat. The man moaned before his head hit the steering wheel.