by A J Newman
I doubled the guards for that night, and we all slept a bit uneasy. I planned to take MMax out in the morning and find the SOB who shot him. Yes, they would rue the day they shot my best friend.
I placed MMax on the couch and slept on the floor beside him that night. I know I might be accused of being crazy, but MMax was my best friend, and my only link to my past life. All of my army buddies were either dead or missing in action. I knew I had to make sure Mom was safe before I could leave to find them. All I could think about that night was finding Maria and Murph.
☆
Chapter 18
By the time I woke up and attended to MMax, Mom and the other ladies had prepared a modest breakfast. I wasn’t hungry, but ate a couple of eggs and toast with jelly. Mom sat beside me. “Hon, do you have to go find the person who shot at the dogs? They’re probably gone by now.”
I answered. “Mom, they could be hiding in the woods watching us right now. I should have gone last night, but I wanted to give MMax a little time to recover.”
Karen chimed in on Mom’s side. “You should stay with us. We need protection.”
I laughed and pointed at each of the women who were armed to the teeth. “Y'all look like female gangsters from a Bonnie and Clyde movie. The bad guys should fear you.”
Karen said, “I know you are bound and determined to go, but please come back in one piece.”
MMax lay beside Tina until I donned my backpack and borrowed Mom’s 12-gauge shotgun. I used a piece of rope for a leash, and we left for the woods. I didn’t want to go directly there, since we had to cross a meadow and an open field.
Jan saw Karen watching her son leave. “You like my son, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. He saved our lives.”
“Don’t play word games with me. You know what I mean. You like him a lot, and wish he’d pay more attention to you.”
“Jan, yes, I like him a lot, but I’m not ready for a boyfriend, and he loves that dog more than he could any woman.”
Jan laughed the laugh of a woman who knew her son. “He might surprise you, and besides, I want some grandkids one day.”
Karen choked, and her face blushed. “You might be waiting for a long time.”
“Well, while he’s gone, let’s get you moved into the trailer.”
***
We hid in the woods about A hundred feet from the cabin for a long time. I didn’t see any movement in or around the cabin for several hours. MMax appeared to be confused by something he smelled. I was tired of waiting, so I released MMax and said, “Search for Man.”
MMax searched around the cabin and led me to the dilapidated barn where he sat at the barn’s entrance. I barely opened the door and said, “Come out with your hands up, or I’ll sic my dog on you.”
Nothing happened, and I didn’t want to risk losing MMax. I made a torch out of a stick with some dried grass and soon had it blazing. “Come out, or I’ll burn the place down around you.”
There was no answer, so I tossed the torch into the barn and backed away from the door along the side of the barn. I had made a critical mistake and paid for it a few minutes later. MMax barked, and something fell, knocking me to the ground. The person had me in a chokehold, and I couldn’t breathe or give MMax commands. I threw an elbow to the man’s ribs, and the man groaned and released his grip. MMax bit the man on his free arm and pulled him away from me.
I jumped to my feet as I drew my pistol to kill the varmint who’d just tried to kill me. Just then, the man yelled, “Don’t shoot me, Jason!”
I held the gun on the man. He looked up and into my eyes. “Dad? Why did you jump on me?”
“Call your dog off. He’s ripping my arm.”
“MMax, out!”
MMax released his bite and stood beside me. He looked from Dad to me, and then back to Dad.
“MMax, heel.”
“How is your mom? I’ve been worried to death about her.”
“Dad, she is doing okay. She is worried about you, but tries to hide it by staying busy taking care of the others.”
Dad sighed. “Thank God.”
I shook my dad’s hand and then looked at his arm.
“MMax barely broke your skin. Hey, that’s my old jacket. I’ll bet he smelled my odor on you. You are lucky. You only need to wash the area and apply some antibiotics, but MMax needs rabies shots.”
Dad gave me a scowl. “Son, how did you get back here from England?”
“Dad, it’s a long story full of lucky events.”
I told him a short version of what happened, and he said, “The only thing lucky was you finding your mom and me.”
I said, “Dad, if I hadn’t been wounded, I would still be in Europe. I think that was luck.”
Dad asked, “I assume finding two women was also luck?”
“One was good luck, the other was bad luck.”
Dad laughed and slapped his knees. “Don’t tell me which one is which. Let me guess.”
“It will be easy, even for you. Dad, that’s my story, and I will flesh it out for you later. Now, what happened to you? Mom thinks you could be dead.”
“Son, like you said, this is the short version. I walked into town and found the police had their hands full, just keeping people from rioting. I saw a scumbag try to kidnap a young woman and saved her. I kicked the crap out of him when he pulled a knife on me, and then had to draw my pistol on his friends to keep them from killing me. I took the man to the police, and they locked him up. His friends saw me leaving town and ambushed me. They beat me within an inch of my life and left me for dead.”
My dad wasn’t a badass type, but he could handle himself. “I’ll bet they were sorry they messed with you.”
“No, son, they hit me on my noggin from behind and beat the crap out of me. A farmer heading back up to Kentucky found me on the roadside and took me home with him. His wife took care of my wounds, and I just gained enough strength to start walking home a couple of days ago. That reminds me we need to get a car or truck running. Walking sucks.”
We hadn’t noticed, but MMax kept looking at Dad, and then lay down with his head on Dad’s lap. “Dad, you are only the third person MMax ever cottoned to. The other two are Maria and Karen. Maria was one of the soldiers I need to find from my squad. Maria and I became very close over in England. The other is Karen, a lady I saved from a thug.”
Dad grinned. “Very close.”
I blushed. “Yes, that close. I didn’t realize how much I liked Maria until I thought she might be dead.”
“Son, you need to go find your lady friend and the other soldiers. No man or woman left behind. Hurrah.”
“Hurrah!”
Suddenly, Dad was in deep thought. “Son, while I was recovering, the farmer’s brother stopped in and told him that some outlaw had kidnapped some people and had made them into slave farmhands. His gang couldn’t make much money selling drugs anymore, and he saw the famine approaching, so he wanted to corral all the local food supplies to take over lower Kentucky. The man mentioned some wounded soldiers were working at his farm.”
I blurted out. “Sis lives in Clarksville. We need to go get her. I don’t know what to do about Mike and his family. Mom said they were somewhere between here and St. Louis. Oh, Dad, we have an old truck that runs, thanks to the Shivers.”
Dad had a look of surprise. “Were the mules okay? I was supposed to tend to them.”
“I said, “Don’t worry. Mom fed and watered them. Karen and I went over and scavenged the place for what we could use.”
Dad chuckled. “Did you find anything weird there?”
“Do you mean anything other than the illegal pot farm?”
Dad and I caught up on things as we walked home, and his story was much the same as mine. He’d been in a few fights and had saved a family. I guess Walkers can’t pass by trouble.
I saw Karen peeking out from behind the barn when we arrived at the back of our property. She waved and yelled for the others. “Jason and
MMax are back, and they have a strange man with them!”
Mom took Karen’s binoculars. “That’s no stranger. That’s my Zack.”
Mom came running to meet us and jumped in Dad’s arms, smothering him with kisses. I walked on to Karen and the girls. Chrissy and Missy both hugged me and told me they were glad I’d returned unharmed. I endured the hugs and smiled at the young ladies.
Billie and Mark just stood there without any emotion until Mom introduced Dad to everyone. Billie shook his hand and welcomed him back. Karen gave him a big hug. “Jan has been worried to death about you. She has told us so many stories about Zack Walker that I feel like I know you.”
Dad winked at me. “Karen, Jason has told me about you and the girls. I am very thankful you were there for him when he needed doctoring.”
Dad turned to Billie and Mark. “I’m pleased to meet you, Billie, and this must be Mark. You are a big strong lad. I’m glad you two have been so much help to Jan in my absence.”
Dad, Mom, and I sat up for a while after the sun went down, discussing the apocalypse and the people who had entered our lives. Dad said, “It only took me about a minute to tell which lady was which. Karen is very personable and warm. Billie is cold and standoffish.”
Mom scolded, “You are right about Karen, but don’t judge Billie so harshly. She’s had a tough row to hoe. Her husband was a mean drunk who abused her. She doesn’t trust men, and she sure doesn’t trust men who look like her husband. Yes, Jason, she showed me a picture of her dead husband. You could pass for him at ten feet.”
That surprised me. “I thought Billie hated me because I’d run into her that night. No wonder she is skittish around me. I don’t know what I can do to help her get over it.”
Mom said, “Just be yourself, and not the sarcastic butthole you’ve been to her since you got here.”
Dad laughed and changed the subject. “Jan, we have to go find Michelle very soon and Michael after that. I barely made it here, due to my injured leg. Son, you’ll have to go alone to find your sister.”
“Dad, you know Sis. She might not want to return. She is very stubborn.”
Dad smiled, “Son, start off nice, but hog tie her if you have to, just get her back home. I don’t care what you do with that scumbag she lives with.”
Mom joined in the conversation. “Jason, I don’t want you to go, but poor Michelle might be in danger and need our help. You have all the training and MMax to watch your back. Please find my little girl and bring her home safe.”
I held my tongue, but I knew my sister was an addict and not a very good person. We had nothing in common except blood, and a mother who loved us equally. Mom went on to bed, but Dad and I stayed up planning my trip. He was confident he could get his old truck running, so he told me to take the truck we’d borrowed from the Shivers. His plan was for me to head straight to Clarksville, get my sister, and bring her home. I wanted to search for my friends along the way, but he made me promise to go straight to my sister’s apartment.
I didn’t talk much at breakfast, as usual, so Karen asked, “Jason, is something wrong? Are you sick? This is the quietest you’ve ever been since we met.”
“I’m okay. I’m just thinking about a job I have to get done.”
I had barely finished talking when Dad hit his coffee cup with his spoon to get everyone’s attention. “Listen up, people. I have an announcement. I think you all know we have a daughter, Michelle, and another son, Michael. Michelle lives in Clarksville, and Michael and his family live in Atlanta. We need to go get them and bring them back here.”
There was murmuring around the table and surprised looks on everyone’s face. Karen said, “Zack, how can we help?”
No one else said anything. Dad replied, “There is a lot you all can do here to support the effort, but Jason will go get our daughter by himself. I’m confident he can handle anything thrown at him with MMax watching his back. We might need more help to fetch my son and his family. We will load the truck with supplies for his trip after lunch. Jason will be leaving tonight and take back roads to Clarksville. If all goes well, he should be back in a couple of days.”
Karen and the girls wished me well and said they would keep me in their prayers. Billie and Mark left and started their morning chores. Dad walked with me to the barn to help me clean my weapons and prepare for my trip. Dad said, “That Billie is a cold fish.”
I held my tongue for the first time concerning Billie. “I guess everyone has problems in this world. I hope she can solve hers.”
Dad then said, “I really do like Karen and her daughters.”
“Dad, you are about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Sure, I like Karen and could see myself with her down the road, but she isn’t interested in me, and I need to find Maria. Maria and I broke up over some silly little things, and I still care for her.”
Dad slapped me on the back. “Well, she will probably be here when you get back. I won’t meddle in your business. You are a grown man.”
I bit my tongue, because both Mom and Dad had a history of interfering in our lives. That’s why I’d left home and stayed away. I love them dearly, but mainly from afar.
Late that evening, I was in the barn checking the truck when Billie walked in behind me. MMax growled his low growl to let me know someone had entered the barn. She was in the shadows, but I saw a woman’s figure. “Karen, come on in.”
Billie answered. “I’m not Karen, but I’d like to talk to you.”
“Sorry, come on in and let’s talk.”
She walked in and stopped in front of me. “Jason, I’m not very good with words, but I want to thank you for helping Mark and me. I also want to tell you why I didn’t treat you so nice.”
She went on to tell me about me looking like her SOB of a husband, and that caused her to shy away from me. She said, “I know you mean well with Mark, and God knows he needs discipline, but I didn’t trust you. I trust you now, and need your family’s help. Please let Mark and me stay here.”
I said, “Of course you can stay. I don’t hate you, but I didn’t understand why you hated me. I overreacted and ran my mouth. I’m sorry about that.”
Billie extended her hand, and we shook hands. I felt better about her now, and was glad that we’d get along for Mom’s sake. She left the barn, and Karen and the girls walked in a few minutes later. The girls hugged me and asked me not to go. I liked that someone would miss me. I told them about my sister and why I had to bring her safely home. Karen gave me some cookies and a couple of sandwiches to take with me. She hugged me and left when she saw Mom and Dad enter the barn.
Mom gave me some homemade deer jerky and a jug of sweet tea for my trip. She hugged me and left the barn crying. Dad said, “Women. Crying all the time. Be safe, son. Now, go fetch your wayward sister and bring her back.”
“Dad, I promise I’ll do my best.”
“Love you son.”
“Love you too, Dad.”
I drove away thinking about the people I’d left behind, and the adventure ahead of me. I said a silent prayer; I would find my sister and not have to kill too many people.
The End
of
War Dogs Heading Home
Thanks for reading War Dogs Heading Home, and please don’t forget to give it a great review on Amazon. Book 2 should be published by mid-summer.
Remember to read my other books on Amazon.
AJ Newman
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A list of my other books follows at the end.
Thanks, AJ Newman
✪
Books by AJ Newman
War Dogs
Heading Home
EMP:
Perfect Storm
&nbs
p; 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 Adventures of John Harris:
Surviving
Hell in the Homeland
Tyranny in the Homeland
Revenge in the Homeland
Apocalypse in the Homeland
John 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?
AJ Newman and Cliff Deane:
Terror in the USA: Virus: Strain of Islam