Tsunami

by Benton, W. R.

  “Our society was messed up, with people protesting little things like trophy hunting and the rights of criminals. There were thousands more things they marched for, but few true Conservatives would have thought twice about, especially if the item was already legal or enforced. At one point a huge crowd gathered in Washington, D.C., to protest the killing methods used in the poultry business, and that was too much. They were carrying signs that read, ‘Chickens have Rights Too’ or ‘Protest the Murder of Chickens.’ It was just stupid.” Dan said and then shook his head at thought of how the marchers had been so serious. Now, most of them were dead.

  They bounced into the barnyard, Dan got out of the truck and moved to Jonas' door to help him out. He helped him into the house and when June neared he said, “Bullet wound to his left thigh. Fix him up as I take a captive to the empty bedroom.”

  “Captive?” June asked.

  “One of the men that killed Jonas' mother and aunt. We brought him home for Terry to have a talk with at some point. I shot him twice so let me get him in the house and then I'll tell you what happened.”

  Chapter 12

  June asked, “Do you think the rest of his buddies will come here to free him?”

  “You know, I never gave that a second of thought. If they do, we might just kill him and throw his worthless body out the door to them. In any case, he'll never leave here alive. The souls of those murdered women are screaming for Jones to pay for his crimes.”

  “I can only imagine their fear and pain as they died. Jonas' wounds looks good, but I need to open the hole in the leg and place a plastic straw in the wound to allow drainage, I think.” June said.

  “Do what you think will help, because you know more than the rest of us. Not many of us went to college for more than a couple of years. Well, I did, but my major was agriculture.” Jonas said and then grinned.

  “Mine was military studies.” Dan said.

  “You do what is needed and I'll survive.” Jonas said and then asked, “Do you have a bottle of booze around? I'm in some serious pain.”

  “I'll go fetch Jones.” Dan said and walked outside.

  “Here, drink from this bottle. It's the one your father left in the room when he was hurting. He's almost back to normal so far, and I think we can quit worrying about his recovery.”

  “Pa is a strong old man and not a quitter, so he'll be fine. Jones needs to pay for what he did to pa too, and he will if the old man gets his hands on him.”

  Less than an hour later, with Jonas sipping the whiskey for pain and everyone else busy around the house, Dave rushed in and said, “I just watched a flatbed deuce and a half unload about twenty men. I have a feeling they are coming for us. I saw they were packing red gas cans, so they must be planning to burn us out of here.” He had been outside roaming around checking to see all was well, as he watched the cattle and horses.

  “Place me and my chair near a window. Everyone else needs to move to your assigned battle positions and fire when you get a clear target and can kill. Make every shot count if you can. Now, move!” Jonas said.

  Even the women were armed this time and each had a window. June had no fear of shooting someone to protect herself and family, but Carol wasn't sure if she could be a killer. She hoped the first shot would be by one of the others.

  There sounded a horrifying cry of pain and fear, and then an unknown man screamed, “Get them off me! Get them . . . off . . . me now! Oh, God no, they're biting . . . me. Help me, please!”

  Seconds later a loud explosion was heard and two others began screaming and pleading for others to help them. Two shots were heard and the screaming stopped.

  “I see flames near the barn, Dave, so they set off the fire bomb we had for them, and I think the first man found our pit of copperheads and rattlesnakes.”

  “Both are bad ways to go.” Dave said and then unknowingly smiled, because he'd helped save his family.

  “I got one lined up.” Terry said and then his shot was heard. A loud scream was heard outside and then bullets began to strike the house.

  “He'll die, only he don't know that yet. I got another coming too.”

  Terry fired again and another scream pierced the air. Both would not stop until the injured died and that might take some time. The old man worked the bolt on his deer rifle and slid another round into his rifle.

  “I got one moving toward me!” June said, feeling her heartbeat increase and a small animal began chewing on her stomach. She aimed at the man's head, fired and when she checked him, half his head was missing and he was not moving on the grasses.

  More pops of rifles were heard and then an occasional boom of a shotgun. Jonas heard the men on the porch by the front door, so he fired twice with his rifle and heard loud moans and then two bodies hit the wooden porch.

  A big man kicked the door in and entered shooting. Jonas took a bullet to his chest and fell from his chair and Dave ducked down behind a wooden bar and hoped the thick oak would protect him from most bullets.

  Freeman began to slosh gasoline around the living room and even poured some on Jonas. The man was unconscious and was not able to protect himself. Then the killer yelled, “Everyone back! Pull back to the truck and do it now!”

  He ran a match head down the door frame and when it lit, he tossed the fire to the gas. There came a loud wham sound and half of the room was instantly in flames. He turned and as he was going out the door, Dave raised up and fired, striking the man in the middle of his back. He fell limply to the hard wood floor and two of his men packed him from the burning house. Once outside, they saw he'd live, so they packed him toward the truck.

  A loud shriek was heard and it sounded as it someone was experiencing horrible pain. The scream warbled up and down, but over time it grew weaker.

  “Someone found your ‘sweep the trail’ booby trap. The one with the limb held back to swing forward when the trip wire was touched. I suspect the victim has three or four long sharpened stakes through his body. I can only imagine his pain.” Dan said to Dave, as the young man fought the spreading flames.

  A gunshot was heard, and the screaming stopped instantly. The attackers were all gone minutes later, leaving their dead littering the farm.

  As soon as the attackers broke off the attack, Dave pulled Jonas from the flames and beat the flames on his burning body with his bare hands. Jonas, still unconscious, never moved or made a sound.

  “Dad! We need to get out. The house is on fire! Dad!”

  “I hear you, son, now you get out. June, you take Carol and leave now, right now! I'll get Terry and Jones, now move!”

  As Dan moved for the two men he noticed smoke was getting thicker and the fire below them was in full blaze now, with the wood popping and cracking as it burned. He soon had Terry beside him and Jones on his back as they made for the stairs. Once there, Dan saw the bottom of the stairs was in flames, so they were too late to use this escape route. He moved to a second floor window and saw the porch wasn't in flames yet so he sent Terry out first, then placed Jones on the shingles, and then he exited. Terry moved to the front of the porch and slid down a support pole near the front steps. Dan tried to lower Jones, but he lost his grip and the man fell to the grasses.

  Dan then slid down a support pole like Terry and when he checked Jones, the man was still alive.

  “Dad, you should have left Jones to die. He's going to die anyway.”

  “No, he doesn't die until Terry gets to ask him a few questions. Then, I'll give the worthless man to Terry and let him do as he wishes.”

  “The house is a goner, we can't save it now.” June said and then asked, “Where do we go now? All our food, clothing and other items, including a lot of ammo, is gone.”

  “W . . . we . . . we can move to the barn and one of you can pull guard from inside the RV. We'll plug your power cord into the generator near the barn.” Jonas got out slowly. “My legs hurt, but why?”

  “They were burned before Dave pulled you from the flames.” D
an said.

  “How come you have generators around this place?” Dave asked as he looked at the bleeding man.

  “Your gun shot wound in through you’re shoulder and you’ll live.” June said as she placed a bandage on the wounds of Jonas.

  “Dad got the urge about five years back to get the automatic generators that come on the minute power fails. They cost us a bit of money but we were tired of every time the power went out we lost electricity and air conditioning. Without lights we had to stop what we were doing and wait until the power was back on. We never dreamed we'd be using it around the house and barn like we are. We have two old air conditioners in the barn and they may not even work. But if they do, we need to close the main door and turn them on. It will never be as cool as the house was, but it'll keep us alive in some high heat.” Jonas said as June neared him and began looking his burns over closely.

  “When you get done with Jonas, mom, can you look my hands over? I didn't have anything to put the flames out on him, so I beat them out with my hands. I took a few burns doing it, but I did the job.”

  June replied, “Sure, son, I'll fix you up, and his burns are light, probably due to your quick action. You're a lucky man too, when it comes to bullets. Your shot to the chest is a high wound and merely burned a hole through some flesh near your collar bone. Oh, I imagine it hurt a bunch, but you were knocked out by your fall, not the bullet.”

  Terry neared and handed a bottle of whiskey toward Dan.

  “I'm proud of you, son.” Dan said, and then took a sip from the bottle Terry passed him. When the whiskey reached Dave, he looked at his father and Dan shook his head. Dave handed the bottle back to the old man and said, “I ain't old enough for booze yet.”

  Terry's eye narrowed and he said, “Your daddy might still consider you a boy, but by God, I don't. You did a man sized job and to me you're a man, son.”

  “It had nothing to do with his age or actions, Terry. I just don't think we need to be drinking right after an attack like that. They might hit us again in a couple of hours. Surely they will suspect the survivors are now in the barn.”

  “One snort won't get the young man drunk. You need to realize, Mister Wolf, your son is as much a man as any of us here. I say the man deserves a drink. If not for his quick warning, some of us would have died in that fire. Drink, Dave. You're a mighty fine young man.” Terry said, and he handed the bottle to the Dave again.

  Dave met his father’s eyes and Dan nodded his approval.

  Raising the bottle, the young man opened his mouth and accidentally took in more booze than he'd intended. He lowered the bottle, gave a series of coughs and his eyes watered as he fought for air. The strong amber colored drink was hard on him. He wiped his mouth off with the back of his hand and then said in a cacophonous tone, “Mighty, uh, smooth whiskey.” He then broke out coughing.

  He handed the bottle back to Terry.

  There came a loud crack of thunder, as they all laughed at Dave, and a light wind began blowing toward the barn door. Walking to the barn door and sticking his head out, Dave said, “We have a storm coming and it looks rough, with all the clouds being black and moving like they are.”

  “Moving? Then we need to keep an eye posted on that front, and Terry, do you have a storm cellar?”

  “I have one, but we'll have to sit with moonshine and canned fruit I have in there. I'd forgotten all about that place with the excitement we've been having lately. Of course, sitting a tornado out is better in a room full of 100 proof mountain dew.”

  “When do you want to go?” Dan asked.

  “Let's move there now and get organized inside. Follow me.” Jonas said, and then hobbled toward the cellar. Dan moved to the injured man's side and placed his arm around the man to help him move faster. The door had a padlock but it wasn't locked, so Jonas opened it and everyone started inside.

  Dan then said, “Dave, you go in and I'll watch the clouds. I hope this thing misses us if a tornado does hits. It won't hurt us, but it'll probably destroy the barn, the truck and even the smoke house. Do me a favor and all of you pray for the winds to miss us and for God to keep us safe. This doesn't look good to me.”

  “What about the house? It's still on fire.” June asked. She then moved a few bottles of a clear liquid to the floor, under the bench. Then she and Carol sat down.

  “Easy with those bottles Missy, they're full of mountain dew.” Terry said.

  “Mountain dew?” June asked.

  “It has many names, mountain dew, panther pee, white lightening, corn squeezin's, but you may know it as moonshine.”

  She nodded.

  Dan said, “It's likely the winds and rain will put the fire out and even if it scatters the hot coals, I don't see them being a threat with the rain as hard as it is right now. Listen to it hitting the cellar. Save me a seat beside you, June, and I'll be back.”

  The thunder was loud and the rain beat on the ground on top of the cellar hard, with the pounding indicating the strength of the storm. The winds were heard clearly and the steel plate that was the door was not a tight fit, so the outside noises became super loud. At that moment, Dan came in, locked the door behind him, and he was soaked in water.

  “Well?” Terry asked

  “It's headed this way, and I left because the wind is getting so high and hail the size of chicken eggs were falling. I thought they'd beat me to death before I got in here. It's bad, and it's surely causing damage in Rolla, because that's where it's coming from.”

  “Dan, we need to protect this barn, because when the barn is gone, we'll only have your RV. I don't want to be caught in it if bullets start flying, because the dang things are cheaply made, but they cost a fortune. I don't think all of us would fit in it comfortably, do you?”

  “Let’s worry about losing the barn after we lose it. Right now it's the best shelter we have and it's in no danger of being burned or destroyed. I grow tired of this stress since the rock hit earth. It seems as if it's us against the world.”

  “I . . . it is . . . my . . . man, don't . . . you . . . see it?” Jonas asked; his voice was weak but he managed to talk. The whiskey bottle was still with him and so were his guns. Dan glanced at the bottle and noticed in the last hour the man had consumed a fourth of a quart of whiskey.

  “You gonna make it, son? I'm worried about you.” Terry said, wearing a faint smile. Jonas had been just fine a few minutes ago but he'd been seen hitting the bottle hard. Terry knew burns and bullet holes slowed a man down.

  “I'll . . . I'll survive . . . dad. M . . . My . . . burns hurt.”

  “I have codeine but I'll not give it to you while you’re drinking. Why don't you have some more whiskey and try to sleep?” June said.

  “Jones, are ya fully woke up yet?” Dan asked.

  “I'm awake, and demand you let me go right now.”

  “What do you have say about that, Terry, since you're the only witness that saw him rape and kill Anita?”

  Pulling his knife, Terry moved to the man and asked, “Do you remember me, Isaac? I remember you very well, son, and I saw all you two did to Anita and my sister.” He placed the very tip of the knife in Jones' left nostril and when he finished speaking, he pulled the knife through the cartilage, cutting about a one inch long injury. Blood flowed freely.

  Jones screamed and began to cry. “Please, please, don't hurt me none, Mister Baker, because you have me mistaken for someone else. I didn't touch no woman of yours.”

  “I think I got the right man, because you and your worthless friend tried to cut my throat. You have an old scar on your butt, boy. It's from the time you were shot by your pa during a huntin' trip. It hit your left cheek and come out the right. Now, if you don't have that scar, then I have the wrong man. I saw that scar often enough when you two yahoos raped those two women. Drop your pants, son.”

  “Okay, okay, M . . . Mister Baker I'm guilty, but . . . but, I've repented and the Lord has forgiven me.” He gave a weak smile, hoping his begging and find
ing Jesus would change the old man’s heart.

  “That's nice son, I'll try to remember that later, when I place your head on the fence by the main gate. See, it's important that God has forgiven you, because I ain't. I want my revenge, and then me and God will talk. You're about as worthless now as your old man was. Your daddy was a lazy no account who was born into money and died in poverty. At one time, your papa own about 75% of the town, but now y'all are just white trailer trash, son, and that's the truth. I'll bet you couldn't put $100 out right now and money is laying all over the place.”

  “W . . . what are you goin' to do with me?”

  “Kill you eventually, and then post your head on a fence post by the main gate. Sooner or later, I'll get your nasty friend Freeman too.”

  I have to get out of here, Jones thought, but remained quiet.

  About an hour later, Dan stuck his head up from the cellar and looked around. The barn was still standing, but the barnyard was a mess with debris and dead animals laying around. A dead deer had fallen just a few feet from the door to the shelter.

  “How does it look?” Terry asked.

  “It's a mess, but we can get out of here now. We need to pick up all the dead animals and move them away from us. They will attract flies and small animals who will feed on the carcasses. We don’t need any new visitors, not even animals. The stink will be horrible in a couple of days too. Any animal, like a deer, that we can eat needs to be processed and the meat added to the smokehouse.” Dan replied.

  Terry said, “We don't need to save the meat. Gut and skin the dead animals and take the meat to town to give it away. I'm sure there will be a dead cow or two here as well as deer and smaller game.”