by P. A. Glaspy
Mike stepped up his work on the solar and wind power setups. It felt like he was trying to hurry it up so he could leave us. As much as I wanted the power to be on in any capacity, that chore being done could signal Mike’s departure from our family. I wasn’t sure if the tradeoff was worth that. I told him as much.
“Do you really have to go, Mike? I mean, if all of our troops are back here and fighting the enemy, why do you have to join them?” Yes, I was being selfish.
He looked up from the controller he was hooking up and smiled at me. “Because not too long ago I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. That oath doesn’t have an expiration date. Our country is at war with its own government and entities it is in cahoots with to destroy our freedom and our way of life. I have already been trained and can help with the battle. I can be an asset out there.”
“But you’re an asset here! You know that, right? We need you, too!”
Mike shook his head. “Not as much as those fighting men do, Anne. They need seasoned veterans to help. According to Dane, there are quite a number of troops in the militia that were still in boot camp when everything went down. They need help to finish their training. I’ll be back when I can. You can’t get rid of me that easy,” he said with a teasing tone.
I went to him and hugged him fiercely. As I leaned back and looked him in the eye with tears streaming down my face, I replied, “You damn well better come back as often as possible. You will always have a home here. Always.”
He smiled again, his eyes shining. “Thank you, Anne. I’ve tried to imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn’t met you all. I would probably have made it for a while, but one man alone wouldn’t last long in this world, not the way it is now. That’s one of the reasons I have to go. They did this to us. They turned our lives upside down. They can’t get away with that. I need to do what I can to make them pay and secure our freedom. I will come back. I promise.”
I hugged him again, then walked away, tears still falling. War was here, whether we liked it or not.
Chapter 17
Alan and crew had walked a couple of miles from where they stashed the trucks to the Thompson place. Silas was wheezing like a three pack a day smoker as they got to the driveway. “I … don’t … think … I … can … go … any … farther …” he managed to get out before collapsing to the ground. The group of men stood there staring at him lying on the ground gasping for breath. After a moment, Alan barked, “Well don’t just stand there. Help Tubby get up. We’ll take five on the back porch over there.” He motioned to the house. “We’ll decide who’s going where once we get inside while we wait for him to either catch his breath or keel over.”
Two of them grabbed Silas by the arms and pretty much dragged him across the yard. They dropped him on the bottom step, where he fell over still gasping for air. Les laughed. “You look like a big fat fish that jumped out of the bowl, sucking air.” Les’s men laughed. Alan didn’t, so neither did Steve or Rich. Alan addressed the group.
“Yeah, funny. Look, when we get in there, we’re going to need to get everybody in place as fast as we can. We’ll split up. Half goes left, half goes right. Two at the back, two in the middle, two at the front on each side. Once everybody’s in place, we attack.”
“How will we know when everybody’s in place?” Les asked.
“The ones in front start shooting. If they don’t, I’ll find them and shoot them myself,” Alan replied. “I’ll start in the back and work my way toward the house. You want middle or front?”
“I’ll take the middle. Maybe we can take the house fast.”
Alan nodded. “Cool. Who you got you trust to start shooting up front?”
Doug raised his hand. “I’ll take the front. I don’t give a shit about any of these people. They can all rot in hell for all I care.”
Alan grinned. “Good for you. Guess you figured out there ain’t too many people left in the world you can trust.”
Doug had a hate-filled look on his face. “The whole town shunned me after they found out I took the food from the school. Screw ’em all.”
With that settled, they set out for the former clearing to gain entry to the farm. The battle was about to begin.
****
They seemed to be coming from every direction. How was that possible? How did they get through the overgrowth without us knowing? But then again, maybe they all came in from the back and spread out before they got to the house. It was that time of the evening when the dusky dark plays tricks on your eyes. We had tried to stay on alert since Gary had told us about possible trouble from them. There was gunfire coming from the fence line behind the campers, the front by the gate, the back side of the barn, and the house. The house! The kids! Millie!
I practically leapt from the tree house overlook, shouting for Russ. “Russ! They’re at the house! Millie is there with the children! I’m on my way! Send back up! Nothing here is worth dying over except for the people in that house!”
He yelled back, “Go! Matt and Nick should be right behind you! I’ll be there as soon as I can!”
I nodded and kept running as fast I could. My mind was racing with all the horrible scenarios that could possibly await me when I got there. Tears were streaming down my face making it hard to see. I stumbled over rocks and tree roots that seemed to jump out in front of me, as if they were trying to slow my progress. My son, my only son, was in that house, trying to grab a nap before his sentry duty in a few hours. He would have heard the shots. He would be rushing headlong toward them, toward the danger. Oh God, please keep him safe!
As I got close to the house, I heard crying and shouting—crying from the kids and shouting from unknown male voices. I didn’t think I could run any faster, but it certainly felt like I picked up some speed. Just as I rounded the corner, I heard a bone-chilling scream. It came from Rusty.
****
“Look old lady, just let us in! I hear kids in there, hollerin’. You don’t want nothin’ to happen to them, do ya? Just put the gun down and chill the fuck out. We just want your supplies. Nobody gotta die over some tuna and jerky.”
The man who had spoken appeared to be the leader. Millie wasn’t impressed. “The only supplies you’re getting from this house is some double ought buckshot if you get anywhere near this door. You’d best clear out before I decide to give you some.”
The man yelled back from behind the tree, “That’s how you wanna play it? Fine! Let’s dance, bitch!”
He pointed a pistol at her and started firing. Millie stepped back inside the doorway and shut the old, heavy, solid wood door. She could hear bullets hitting the door and was thankful at that moment there was no window in it. That’s how doors were made back when the house was built. Still, she instinctively flinched as each one hit and stepped back away from it. Thank goodness he was out as far as he was. She hoped she could keep him there.
Rusty skidded around the corner from the stairs. “Are you alright, Aunt Millie? Are you hit? How many are there?”
She turned to him with a concerned look. “I’m fine, child. I don’t know how many there are. I only heard and saw one, but I also heard a good deal of gunfire so …”
“Okay, you head down to the basement with the little kids and I’ll—”
“I’ll do no such thing. Right now, you and I are the only thing between those marauders and our home. Until someone gets up here to help, I will be right here with you. I—”
The sound of breaking glass preempted the look of shock on Millie’s face. She looked down and saw a bright red spot spreading across her abdomen. The shot through the kitchen window had surprised her since there were some thin curtains over it. It was easy to overlook a weak spot when you couldn’t see out well. She dropped the shotgun as she went to her knees with both hands on her stomach. Rusty rushed to her side and yelled, “Aunt Millie! No! No! Kate! Carrie! Somebody—help!” He laid his rifle down and put his own hands on her wound in
an attempt to stop the bleeding, tears streaming down his face.
Millie looked into his eyes and smiled. “There, there, honey. It’s okay. I know what’s waiting for me and I’m ready. Tell everyone I love them. Tell Monroe he was my life. You’ll tell him that for me, won’t you, dear?”
As her eyes closed and she slumped against the wall, Rusty laid his head on the shoulder of the only grandmother he had ever really known and released a keening wail. “Nooooooooo!”
****
I stopped at the tree closest to the front door as bullets whizzed past me. I stooped down behind the tree trying to make myself as small a target as possible. Staying where I was while hearing my son’s cry was one of the hardest things I had ever done. Just as I thought to myself, The hell with it, that’s my baby in there and I’m going, Matt and Nick ran up behind me.
Matt whispered in my ear, “We’ll distract them. I’ll tell you when to go.”
I nodded, every muscle in my body poised to spring me toward the house as soon as he said the word. They both looked around the tree, which immediately sent shots our way. They ducked and looked at each other.
“You got yours, Nick?” Matt asked of his brother.
“Got him. You go left, I’ll go right.” Nick checked his rifle. Matt did the same.
“On three. One. Two. Three! Go now, Anne!” Matt stood as he said it and fired wildly in the direction of the incoming rounds earlier. When there was no return fire, I took off like a relay racer. I hit the middle step and was in the front door in another two steps. I slammed it behind me and screamed for my son.
“Rusty! Rusty, where are you?” I tore through the living room into the dining room screaming his name.
“In here, Mom! Hurry!”
I found him in the kitchen with Millie, just as Kate and Carrie came rushing through the door from the basement, each with their homemade medic kits, and Carrie with a rifle slung over her shoulder.
Kate’s hand flew to her mouth as she saw Millie. She quickly knelt down and put three fingers to Millie’s neck, checking her carotid artery for a pulse. There was none. She turned to Carrie with tears in her eyes and said quietly, “She’s gone. Please go back to the kids, keep them safe. You’re a much better shot than me and you’re in no shape to be running around out there. I’ll stay up here in case we have any injuries.”
Carrie nodded, kissed her fingertips and placed them on Millie’s forehead, then headed back downstairs with tears flowing. Kate looked at me and asked softly, “Is anyone else hurt?”
I was numb. I was definitely in shock. I stared at Millie’s body lying on the floor of her kitchen. How could she be gone? She was our mother, grandmother, aunt, sister—so many things all rolled into one wonderful person. She still had so much to teach us. Who would show us the old ways she hadn’t gotten to yet? How would Monroe go on without her? Monroe. He was at the barn. He could have heard Rusty’s screams coming from the house. He would be trying to make his way here to her to make sure she was alright.
“I don’t know yet. I haven’t heard. I need to find Monroe. He’ll try to get here, to her. We don’t know where all these people are. It’s dangerous to be anywhere outside.”
Rusty knelt next to me, back straight, face resolute. “I’ll go, Mom. You may be needed here to protect the kids. I’ll find Monroe and get him back here safe.”
I looked at him like he had grown a third arm. “You most certainly will not! It’s dangerous out there! You’re a kid, too! You’re my kid! No!”
He smiled a sad smile at me. “I’m sixteen, Mom. I’m not a kid anymore, not in this world. We’ve been training in case something like this happened. I can help out there. There’s nothing I can do in here.” He looked down at Millie’s still form. “Besides, it’s dangerous in here, too. You guys keep your heads down. See if you can find something to cover that window with and douse the lanterns. I’ll be back with Monroe as quick as I can.”
Without waiting for my permission or a response, my not-so-little boy ran hunched down below the windows toward the front door. I looked at the spot I had last seen him in. When did it happen? When did my son become a man? I cursed whoever had put us in this situation that robbed my son of the last few years of his childhood. As if sensing my tortured thoughts, Kate laid a hand on my shoulder.
“He’s smart, Anne. He’s as well trained as he can be. He’ll make it back, I know it. Here, help me get Millie covered up and let’s see if we can find something to cover that window.”
As if in a trance, I let Kate lead me to the cupboard that held our biggest cookie sheets. We pulled two out and placed them side by side, which covered most of the window. We blew out the lantern and plunged the kitchen into darkness. I automatically pulled a flashlight from my pocket and handed it to her. She led the way to the linen closet in the hall and pulled out a sheet. We laid it gently over Millie’s body and hugged each other as we cried our sorrow at losing such a wonderful soul in such a brutal way. She was supposed to die peacefully in her sleep in ten or twenty years, after the world stopped being crazy and we had something akin to normal back. She didn’t deserve this.
I pulled away from Kate as a thought hit me. “What did you mean about Carrie being in no condition to be running around outside? What’s wrong with her?”
Kate smiled the smile of a woman with a secret. “Carrie’s pregnant. We just found out this morning, thanks to your forethought of stocking pregnancy tests. She hasn’t even told Ryan yet, so please don’t tell anyone else until she gets a chance to tell him.”
Voice full of dread, I replied, “Pray she gets a chance to tell him.”
****
Ryan was in the tree house crouched behind the sheet metal wall. Shots had been fired toward the area but nothing as high as he was. He hoped they didn’t know about the overlook as it would give him a distinct advantage in the fight. The sun was sinking fast and visibility was rapidly going to shit. He scanned the area with the night vision monocular we had brought with us and spied one of the marauders creeping along the tree line. He used a couple of large bushes as a focal point to target where the man was. He let the monocular drop to hang from the lanyard around his neck and set his target location through his scope. He fired a single shot, ejected the spent casing and quickly pulled the monocular back up. The man had stopped and seemed to be holding his side. Ryan sighted the approximate location of his head, and shot again. His third look through night vision showed a body lying on the ground, not moving. Ryan smiled to himself then felt a moment of … he wasn’t sure what it was, but it wasn’t pride or satisfaction. What’s wrong with me? This is it, this is what I’ve been waiting for—payback for Bill. He paused, in awe of the new emotions running through him. His next thought was of Carrie. He worried that she was in danger and he wasn’t there to protect her. At that moment, he realized that his need for vengeance for his brother’s murder was now outweighed and overshadowed by his love for Carrie. She had become the most important thing in his life and he wanted, no needed to live, for her; to find out where the future would take them. He definitely wanted to know how it all turned out.
With this realization on his mind, he wanted nothing more than to go to her and make sure she was alright. To do that, he had to help his family clear their home of the uninvited guests who were wreaking havoc everywhere. He started scanning for more targets. With Bob and Russ in the foxholes, the three of them cleared the front gate area in short order. Even without night vision, the muzzle flashes from the scavengers gave them a good idea of where they were located. The shots didn’t have to be kill shots. These guys pretty much dropped out of the fight when they got hit.
Mike had been canvassing the back section of the property looking for any weak spots when he heard the shooting. Running toward the sound, he called over the radio. “Sitrep!” Everyone knew that was short for situation report. The devil dog had taught us some military lingo, which we could use without feeling like we were dishonoring vets who had actually foug
ht for the right to use it.
Russ was the first to respond. “Quiet at the gate now. Looks like we had three unfriendlies. They are no longer firing, but we have not confirmed they are dead yet. We’ll give it a few more minutes and verify. I’ll let you know for sure.”
Mike keyed back. “Roger that. Jim?”
Jim replied, “Campground is under attack! House is under attack! Shots fired at the house! There’s at least three different groups coming at us! We need help up here!”
Mike answered, “We’re on our way, Jim! Russ, one of you guys head back, too! And be careful where you shoot—everybody looks the same in the dark.”
Russ responded, “Will do. Give us a minute to check these guys.”
Overhearing Jim’s frantic call, Ryan scrambled out of the tree house. He ran to the foxhole Russ was in and handed him the monocular. “I’m heading to the house. I’d say give it five minutes, check those guys for life then one of you head back, too. After another five, if there’s no activity, leave this and come back, whichever of you is left.”
Russ gave him a grim nod. “Keep your head down, Ryan. Don’t take any chances. Be safe.”
Ryan shot back a quick grin. “Mr. Safety, that’s me. I got my head on straight, Russ. I plan to keep my head and the rest of my body intact. You guys stay safe, too.” He held his fist up to Russ, who obliged him with a bump. Ryan took off for the house, running as fast as he could while staying as low as possible.
Russ called over to Bob. “Did you see that? I think he’s back. I think the old Ryan has come home.”