by A J Newman
Sharon was in bad shape and should be in bed resting for several days before being moved, but there we were driving down the highway escaping from any more gang attacks. Sharon was in the back of the Jeep Cherokee with Davi tending to her while Aaron drove. I was driving the other Jeep with Sally in the front seat and Geena sitting in back watching behind us. Aaron was driving at 20 mph to avoid hitting any stalled cars or rough spots on the road. We were both driving with the aid of the night vision goggles and no lights on the Jeeps. We didn’t want to make ourselves any bigger targets than necessary. We had to take back roads and dirt roads to get around. Aaron supplied walkie talkies for both Jeeps and Sally, and Davi handled communications. We would only drive at night at a low speed so that we would not jostle Sharon and as important, we wouldn’t run up on any ambushes. You could see a lit cigarette over a mile, and with a clear sky, it was almost like daylight.
I saw numerous raccoons and opossums on the road, but no humans. Animal’s eyes glowed like a full moon. Once I saw a light come on in a house as we passed, but no one attempted to follow us. I’m sure a lot of people heard us drive by in the dark and we probably scared the crap out of most of them when they didn’t see lights attached to the sound of passing cars.
“Sally, it’s almost daylight, and we are only north of Effingham and Highway 70. Dad will pull off at the next abandoned house or barn so we can rest until tonight. I’ll signal when we get ready to pull off the road.”
“We’ll be ready when you call. I’m tired and ready for some sleep.”
“Zack, can we trust these strangers? They seem so perfect.”
“I trust everyone until they prove otherwise, but I also keep a watch on their actions more than their words. These people risked their lives and save our butts. I think they are more than they appear to be. Davi and her dad are highly trained military. They have military weapons, and I think I saw a case of hand grenades and a LAWs packed in the Jeep. They are probably ex-Israeli and settled here to get some peace. Bad luck there.”
“It makes sense. What is a LAWs?”
“A Light Anti-Tank Weapon.”
“They are loaded for bear or terrorists. Maybe they are here under some kind of Israeli witness protection program.”
“Sally, we are pulling off to the right. There are a farmhouse and barn that looks deserted up ahead. Tell Zack to join me in scouting them.”
“Will do.”
Geena gritted her teeth and said, “I don’t trust her. Be careful.”
I almost laughed but kept my amusement to myself. What she meant was keep your pants on and hands off that hussy.
I went over to their Jeep and joined Davi as we crept up on the barn. She motioned me to drop to the ground and crawl the last thirty feet to the back of the barn as she walked around to the front door. She motioned for me to enter the back door on her signal. I crawled to the edge of the barn and stood just behind the backside watching around the corner for her signal. She waved and disappeared. I rushed to the door, and we both entered at the same time to find a horrible smell, but no people. There was a dead horse in one of the stalls and two more in bad shape.
I told her, “They are dying from dehydration. We will water them after we clear the house.”
“Let’s clear the house.”
“Hey, why did you make me crawl to the barn when you walked right over to it?”
“It was a test to see how you took orders from a woman. Besides, we women like to see men crawl every now and then,” she said as she walked away.
I popped her on the butt with my hand, and she quickly turned and said, “Don’t start something you have no intention of finishing mister, I'm focused.”
She left the barn and headed to the house with me tagging along behind her. She looked over her shoulder and smiled as though she just had to know if I was following her or checking her out as she walked away. Guilty on both counts. Damn, it just dawned on me, did she just come on to me or insult me? I thought it was a bit of both. I wondered if she’d make a good mother. Damn, she’s right, I need to pick one woman and stick with her.
“Zack, follow behind me as we enter. You watch the left side, and I’ll watch the right. Don’t shoot me.”
She slowly turned the knob on the door, but it was locked. She motioned, and we walked around to the back door, which opened when she tried the knob. The door creaked and made that annoying sound as it opened. The dead must be awake now along with everyone who wants to kill us. We searched the house room by room until we had cleared every room and closet.
Davi keyed the radio and said, “Come on in; the coast is clear.”
We pulled down the shades lit several candles and then started searching the house for food and weapons.
“Davi, I’m going out to give those horses some water.”
“Only give them a couple of quarts or so at a time. They will drink until they explode. Don’t feed them tonight.”
“Okay, Miss Vet.”
“I’m not a Vet, but I do know about people who were starved and well-meaning people gave them too much food and water before their systems could handle them.”
“The death camps in Germany.”
“Bingo, you aren’t as stupid as you look.”
She turned to reach up in a cabinet, and I looked at her and thought this might be the one. She filled out her jeans in a most remarkable manner. Damn, I have to get women off my mind. Callie! Callie! Callie! But, damn she filled them jeans out.
I watered the horses, brushed them down and was telling them about our trip when I felt a presence in the barn. I slowly pulled my gun out of my holster as I brushed one of the horses. There was a footstep to my left when I heard, “You are so gentle with the horses. I would not have guessed you to be an animal person.”
“I spent a lot of time with my aunt and uncle on their farm. They had horses, pigs, and chickens to care for. They are so strong, but they depend on humans so much on a farm. I hope people are letting them loose to fend for themselves if they can’t care for them.”
“Sorry, Zack, but most are Barbeque about now as people run out of food.”
“Thanks for putting that in my head.”
I turned around to see Davi only a few feet from me. She still had a pistol on her hip, but she had taken her shirt off and just had a sports bra on. Damn, she looked good and filled out that top rather well. I had to get back to the house before something happened.
I dropped the brush and walked towards the house saying, “I’m hungry. Let’s see what’s cooking.”
Davi responded by mumbling something under her breath. I thought I heard, “Chicken.”
I entered the house and saw that Sally was helping Aaron with his wife while Geena was placing food on the table.
“Geena, I don’t know what's for lunch, but it smells darn good.”
“Dog food.”
“What do you mean dog food? Are you serious?”
“No, but it’s the best that I could put together with what we have. It’s beef stew, green beans, and some sauerkraut. I don’t have much to work with.”
“I wasn’t kidding. It really does smell good.”
“I’m sorry; I thought that you were being sarcastic.”
“Don’t worry. I’m hungry, and I appreciate you cooking for us. Are you all right? You seem a little down.”
“I’m fine. I think this whole end of the world as we know it just hit me between the eyes and suddenly I feel very vulnerable and alone. Zack, you were following that Davi like a puppy dog.”
“Geena, I care for you a lot and only need time to make sure my daughter is safe, and then you and I will cash in that rain check and see what comes our way.”
“I’m just feeling all alone, and I’m jealous. Sally is getting mad because she thinks I stole you away from her. I don’t want to lose her and find out that I never had you.”
I walked over to her and gave her a big hug as I said, “You still have Sally and me, and soon you will meet
Mike and Callie. We will all have your back. Mike will charm the pants off Sally by the second day.”
She sobbed and said, “Thank you. I needed that.”
I saw Aaron heading towards the kitchen, and I gently broke away from Geena.
“Aaron, how is Sharon doing?”
“Much better. She is in a lot of pain, but there is no infection so far, and she is not running a temperature.”
Geena hugged Aaron and then took a bowl of the beef broth to Sharon.
We ate, and since everyone was exhausted, we relaxed the rest of the day and turned in for the night at sundown. I took the first watch, woke Sally up in three hours and then slept until 5:00 a.m. The night was uneventful, so everyone got some rest and was ready to move on the next morning.
“Aaron, there is a large horse trailer behind the barn. I’d like to take the two horses and some of the other animals with us unless you object.”
“Good idea. Shouldn’t slow us down much and they will come in handy once the gas runs out. Hell, we might have to eat them. Load them up.”
“Thanks, I’ll load the trailer roof with hay bales and bags of feed for the other animals.”
Davi helped me load the feed, horses and other animals while Sally and Geena prepared a cold breakfast for the team and packed everything back into the Jeeps. We made small talk while getting the horse trailer loaded. Davi told me a brief history about her family and how they got to the USA, with no mention of any military experience.
“You didn’t mention your dad and you serving in the military.”
“Look back to the west. There is a storm heading our way. It’s cold this morning.”
“You changed the subject.”
“Yes, we both served in the IDF and saw action in several conflicts. No big deal. Everyone is a soldier in Israel.”
“But most don’t bring their toys home with them.”
“Well, dad has some friends in high places with big diplomatic pouches. Remember, we predicted this for years and were prepared.”
“I have been preparing for 10 years and don’t have a single full auto M4 or Claymore. Are ya’ll part of a special Israeli covert action in the USA?”
“No, we aren’t and if we were, do you think that we would tell you?”
“Well, I guess not.”
“Slowly look over to your two jealous women. They haven’t taken an eye off us since we started loading the trailer.”
I glanced over my shoulder, and sure enough, Geena and Sally were glaring at us while trying to concentrate on their work. Davi was right. This could develop into a hostile situation, and I had to admit that I sort of liked the attention.
“What we need some more men for them to focus their energy on and give me a break.”
“You use the word focus a lot. I agree with the more men comment, and we need some strong, handsome types.”
I caught the slur and poked her on the arm.
••••
We pulled out just as the sun poked its head out from behind some ominous dark clouds. We were skirting around the east side of Effingham heading east on Highway 33. The temperature had dropped 20 degrees overnight and by midday, the wind was growing stronger by the minute. We had gone from sweating to wearing hoodies as the temperature plunged.
“I don’t like this change in the weather. We are in tornado alley, and this is not good. We might want to find cover before we get caught out in the open,” Sally said over the radio to Davi just as the sound of thunder rolled towards them from the west.
Suddenly the Jeep swerved, and the trailer swung from side to side as a gust of wind shook them and almost ran them off the road. I grabbed the radio and said, “Tell your dad we need to find cover. That blast of wind almost turned us over. This storm is bad, and the worst is yet to come.”
“Dad agrees, and we are looking for shelter from a potential tornado and high winds. We are only a few miles outside of Vincennes, and he wants to shelter at the National Guard Armory until this blows over.”
“I hope the bridge over the Wabash is still intact and isn’t guarded.”
“We’ll know in a few minutes.”
The wind continued rocking the Jeeps and trailers as they headed down 33 to the bridge.
“Hey, that sign says Vincennes is just a mile ahead. That means the bridge is just ahead damn, there it is, and there is a roadblock.”
“Sally, this is Aaron. Put Zack on. Zack let’s stop about a hundred feet from the roadblock and walk up with shouldered arms. We’ll try to charm them.”
“What if that doesn’t work?”
“Then we’ll pray for their souls.”
We pulled off the road as planned, I walked up to Aaron, and he handed me two hand grenades.
“Okay, now I get the praying part.”
“Son, sometimes you have to arrange their meeting with God. Now, pray that they are peaceful.”
We walked up to the barricade that was made out of two old cars and some pipes chained to the cars. Two men and a woman popped out and asked what we wanted.
Aaron replied, “We are trying to get to the National Guard Armory to ride this storm out. Some biker gang attacked my wife and us, and another lady is wounded. We won’t cause any trouble.”
“You can join us at the high school. We tried to get into the Armory, and without power it’s impossible.”
“I can open the door and provide shelter for your people. How many are left?”
“Only a little over a hundred. How can you get in?”
“I have a key.”
The wind picked up and almost knocked them down as the man replied, “Come on and try your key, but don’t get your hopes up.”
They moved the cars, locked the steel poles back in place, and we followed them to the Armory.
“Tell your people to get over here asap. I will have the door open in a minute. Oh, by the way, it will be a bit loud.”
Aaron waved for me to help him as he walked to a side door carrying a black bag. We arrived at the door, and Aaron handed me a paper wrapped block and said, “Cut the paper away and stick the detonator in the block. Now place the C4 on the door and light the fuse. Oh and run like hell.”
He took off at a dead run with me two steps behind him. He looked up and said, “Did you forget something?”
“Damn,” I said as I slapped my forehead and saw that I had run before I lit the fuse.
I ran back, lit the fuse and ran like hell back to Aaron who was hiding behind an army tank parked in the side yard. Just as I ducked behind the tank, there was a loud explosion, and I saw the door fly open. The door was still on its hinges but was buckled in the middle.
“Come on, let’s open the doors and get the vehicles in the basement. Be alert, there could be others.”
There weren’t any others, and we quickly opened the front doors and the overhead basement doors.
Sally and Davi pulled the Jeeps in and placed them by the back garage door so we could make a quick exit if the shit hit the fan. Aaron and I began exploring our new shelter and quickly saw the basement was very large and contained several large trucks and six Humvees. We searched the upstairs and found a supply room filled with the typical army supplies. There was everything from BDUs to MREs. There was a large safe built into the back of the supply room, and we assumed it contained the weapons and ammo.
“Will you have to use your special key again?”
“Only if we want to get into that room, I don’t need any more weapons or explosives, but could always use more .556 and 9mm ammo.”
“I never thought that I would need an army to survive, but after what we’ve been through, I’d like to take some weapons and ammo back to Owensville.”
“Well then let’s blow it and get what we want before the others get here.”
Aaron reached into his black bag and handed me some more C4. I quickly got it ready, placed it in the middle by the combination lock and ran like hell after lighting the fuse. Again, there was a tremendou
s explosion, but this time the door didn’t budge. There was a hole in the wall beside the door, and we could see into the safe. It was at least 30 feet deep and 15 feet wide and full of weapons and shelves of ammo.
“Damn son, we need a larger key.”
Aaron placed two more charges, one above and one below the hole in the wall. He lit the fuse, and we both hid around the corner on the floor with our ears covered. The explosions rocked the building, and a few tiles fell from the ceilings. When the dust settled, we walked around the corner to see the safe door still intact, but a new door in the wall beside the safe.
“Let’s go shopping. Grab two of those SAWs and come back quickly for the ammo.”
I picked up the SAWs, a can of ammo and headed back to the basement. I came down the stairs and saw Davi arguing with a big man with a badge and a gun. I heard, “We appreciate you opening up the Armory, but you can’t just steal government property.”
I loaded the SAW and walked up to them.
“Sir, I’m Zack. Have you seen the government? Have they tried to help you? Why are there only a hundred people left in this town?”
“Look you are right. The government disappeared with the event, and we lost thousands due to sickness, most left town to find food and more were lost to gang attacks. The bastards are better armed and raid us every month or so.”
“There is a safe full of M4’s, 9mm Berettas and other deadly and dangerous stuff. We can arm and train you so you can fight off these bastards. We just want two of the Humvees and a small part of the weapons and ammo.”
While I was talking, a small group of unarmed men walked up and listened to the conversation.
“Roy, the guy is right. Our best men were killed in that first raid. We lost all of the men who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan in that raid. We give in to the gangs and give them what they want. The only fights have been when they come to take our women.”
“Can you train us how to use these weapons?”
“I can’t, but Davi and her dad can.”