The Peacekeepers. Books 1 - 3.

by Ricky Sides

  “The name’s Jim Wilison, Ma’am.”

  “My name’s Lina, Jim. Thanks again.”

  Jim was about to say something else to the woman but he was forced to put down the mike and use both hands to dodge a huge pothole in the road. By the time he had the truck straightened out again, he could see the group of vehicles that he was looking for.

  A man’s voice came over the air sounding very excited when he said, “Holy shit! What the hell is that at the top of the hill, a tank?!”

  Jim grabbed the mike, keyed it up, and responded, “That’s just me, Jim Wilison.” He hung up the mike then and concentrated on driving the big truck down the hill.

  He could see that the girl was well ahead of the marauders. Evidently, they didn’t have enough brains to back off. Jim reached for the mike and said, “Lina, I’m going to ram the guys chasing you. I want you to stay on your side of the road until you pass me.”

  “You’ve got it, big guy,” was the girl’s cheerful reply.

  The marauder leader said, “We have guns. We’ll use them.”

  Jim just smiled. Apparently, the guy was just plain stupid. Why did he think the truck had all of that armor?

  He sat tensely behind the wheel as the truck gained speed going down the hill.

  As Lina shot past his truck, she waved at him. Jim just nodded his head. He didn’t have the time to wave back. The marauders had finally had one good idea. They drove their cars side by side but they were so far apart that the truck could hit only one. The other would try to continue the chase.

  When the vehicles were about a thousand feet away, they started firing at Jim’s truck. Jim had time to see a single bullet hole appear in the passenger side of the windshield and then he felt the impact of the car slamming into the blade attached to the front end of the truck. The shocks that he’d installed did their jobs and absorbed much of the impact. Still, it was a bone jarring collision, and Jim was glad that he was wearing his safety belt. The crash jarred him so hard that he almost lost control of the truck, but somehow he managed to keep it on the road and bring it to a safe stop.

  As soon as he stopped, he reached for the mike and said, “Lina, one of them got through. If you can make it past him come back here and I’ll help you.”

  For a second there was no reply. Just as Jim jumped out of the truck with his rifle, Lina said, “The dummy just shot past me. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Jim didn’t pause to reply. He cautiously moved forward to see if the marauder in the car he’d hit was still a threat. He quickly confirmed that the man was dead and no longer presented a danger. The car was just a pile of wreckage in front of Jim’s truck.

  He wanted to check to see if the truck was damaged in any way but there was no time. The girl and the other marauder would be here any minute.

  Jim ran toward the back of the truck as soon as he saw the girl’s jeep start down the hill. The marauder was right behind her and he was pouring fire in the direction of the girl’s wheels. Even as he watched, Jim saw one of the tires blow on the jeep and it careened off the road. The jeep rolled over several times before coming to a stop upside down.

  Jim angrily raised the rifle to his shoulder. The man in the car picked up speed, coming down the hill with the apparent intentions of running Jim down.

  He coolly waited until the car was at the bottom of the hill and heading for him before he fired the first round. His rifle was a semi-automatic, and he knew its capabilities as well as he knew his own. He fired fifteen rounds in rapid succession and had the satisfaction of seeing the driver’s side windshield disintegrate under the impact of the bullets. The man in the car never had a chance. His body was riddled with bullets from Jim’s sustained attack.

  When the car was three hundred feet away from Jim, it swerved off the road and plowed through a field where it came to rest.

  Walking swiftly to the stalled car, with his rifle at the combat ready, Jim saw that the driver was dead. He returned to his truck and got on the radio but Lina failed to answer his calls. He decided to risk leaving the truck alone and unguarded for the moment and ran back up the hill to check on the girl.

  He was winded when he reached the wrecked jeep. He found that the girl was struggling with the seat belt harness that had kept her in the seat as the jeep had rolled coming to a rest upside down. Evidently the seat belt was jammed and wouldn’t release her. He pulled a knife and began cutting at the restraining strap. He noted the smell of gas, even as he began to saw through the tough belt.

  “The gas tank ruptured. Give me the knife and get away from here. There’s no sense in both of us dying.”

  Jim ignored the woman and continued to work on the harness. He was about three quarters of the way through the harness when he smelled smoke. He glanced around and saw smoke coming from the engine compartment. Evidently, something was burning under the hood of the jeep.

  “Hurry up, mister. I can’t hang around here all day you know,” the girl said with a touch of nervous humor, though for the first time he did detect a slight nervousness in her voice. He smiled and sliced at the harness faster.

  Seconds later, the last threads of the harness parted and the girl would have fallen on her head if Jim hadn’t been ready to tuck his arm under her to break her fall. He dragged the girl from the jeep and got her to her feet. They both ran as fast as they could away from the jeep.

  They stopped breathlessly about four hundred feet away from the jeep and Lina asked, “Well what do we do now?”

  Smiling at the girl, Jim said, “Well I don’t rightly know. The jeep was supposed to blow up.” His smile was infectious and the girl matched it as he continued, “Remember all the movies where the hero saves the girl from a burning vehicle and they make it to safety just as the car blows up?”

  Laughing, Lina replied, “Yeah, I remember those movies.”

  They shared in stress relieving laughter then, and Jim said, “Well, since your jeep didn’t blow up, maybe I can salvage your things.”

  Lina glanced at the still smoldering jeep in apprehension and said, “That could be pretty dangerous. The jeep could still blow up.”

  “If it hasn’t flashed yet, it probably isn’t going to explode.” Jim observed.

  Lina shrugged her shoulders and said, “Okay, let’s do it.” Before Jim could stop her, she was sprinting for the jeep. He ran after her and caught up just as she reached the vehicle. Working together, they salvaged all of her things that had been in the jeep. Most of those items were scattered all over the ground around the upside down jeep.

  ***

  An hour later, they were in Jim’s truck once more heading down Highway 1. Lina had decided to ride with Jim for a while. She didn’t really have much choice. It was either ride with Jim or walk and though she had long legs she didn’t really want to walk.

  As they made their way to Highway 8, which would take them to Leesville, Jim and Lina each told the other what they were doing on the road. Jim explained that he was looking for his brother and Lina said that she was traveling across the country, just to see what was left of the United States.

  Jim tried to discourage her in continuing her adventures. He explained how dangerous it was for a lone woman to be traveling in these days of turmoil. Lina just laughed and said, “I know how to handle myself. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have lasted this long.”

  Jim stopped the truck at an abandoned service station on Highway 8. He explained that they’d better refuel while they could and pointed out that the extra fuel might come in handy.

  “While you’re doing that, I think I’ll find the restroom and see what I can do about my appearance.”

  Jim watched the woman as she walked to the restroom. He didn’t think she needed to worry about her appearance. He sighed as he thought of her long black hair, dazzling green eyes and olive skin. Lina was quite likely the most beautiful woman he’d ever met.

  When the refueling was complete, he went inside the store to see if anything useful had been
left behind. He took the usual things, such as soft drinks and candy. He was beginning to have quite a stockpile of those items in the back of the truck.

  He’d just finished loading those items when Lina came walking back toward the truck. She looked even better than she had before. Her long black hair was now secured in a ponytail and he noted the smell of perfume on her as well.

  When she got to the back of the truck, Lina looked inside and said, “You could open a store with all that stuff.”

  “You never can tell when that stuff might come in handy,” he said with a grin as he shut the doors. “If you’re ready, we better get going. I’d like to make it to Fort Polk today.”

  “Well let’s get going then. I’ve never been to Fort Polk, or any other base for that matter. It should be something to see,” she replied.

  “I like your attitude. I think we’re going to get along just fine.”

  Chapter 22

  According to the road atlas, it was forty-two miles to Leesville. A distance they should have been able to travel in two hours at the most, but the closer they got to Fort Polk, the more obvious the damage from the earthquakes became. In some cases, homes near the road were piles of rubble. In other cases, tall structures such as water towers and farmer’s silos had toppled onto their sides.

  Jim pulled the truck over to the side of the road and set the air brakes. Looking at Lina he said, “This is going to be a lot harder than I thought. If we have to get off the road to avoid potholes and cracks, we’ll probably be getting to Leesville shortly before dark. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting hungry. The next house I come to, I’m going to stop and fix something to eat.”

  Stretching languorously, Lina said, “I could do with a little rest myself and food sounds good.”

  Pointing to the sleeper behind him, Jim said, “You can take a nap in the sleeper if you like. I’ll wake you when the food is ready.”

  Lina gazed at Jim with her sparkling green eyes and replied, “You really think I could get any sleep back there with this tank bouncing all over the road?” She softened this with a sweet smile. “Besides, you need another pair of eyes to help you watch for obstacles when you have to go off the road.”

  “All right, hawk eyes; let’s find a place to have a nice quiet dinner. Then we can get back on the road again.”

  About fifteen minutes later, Jim pulled the truck onto a small dirt road and followed it until he came to a house. The house was a wood frame structure, which had sustained heavy damage during the earthquakes.

  He set the brakes and climbed wearily down to the ground. As he always did, he checked the welded seams of his armor plating to see if they were showing any signs of cracking or breaking. When he got to the front of the truck, he noted that the welds had broken in three places.

  He called Lina over to him and showed her the cracked welds and said, “It looks as if we’ll have to stay here at least a couple hours so I can repair this.”

  Nodding her head she said, “Yeah, if you don’t fix it, the entire assembly could shear away while we’re running down the road. That would be a bit bumpy at fifty miles an hour.” Then she said, “You should have used brass rods.”

  Jim stared at the woman in surprise and asked, “How did you know that? Are you a welder?”

  She shook her head and said, “No, I’m not, but my father was. He had a shop at home, and I used to help him out from time to time. You know what I mean, cleaning the place up and that sort of thing.”

  “Yeah, but the shop I got the stuff from didn’t have any brass rods. I suppose they almost exclusively welded with electric welders.”

  “You do have flux, don’t you?” she asked.

  “Yes, I have a bit left. Should be enough for what I need.”

  “You going to replace the shocks first?” she asked curiously.

  Again, the woman surprised Jim by noting the damage without being told. The force of the impact of the blade with the car earlier had damaged them. “I thought I might,” he replied.

  “Good, why don’t you take care of the shocks and I’ll see if I can find some brass in the house while you do that.”

  “You be careful in there. If you move the wrong piece of wood, the whole place could come down around your ears,” he cautioned.

  “Really, Jim, I’m not that new at this sort of thing,” she said. Giving him a dazzling smile, she reached behind her back and pulled out a set of slim bladed throwing knives. “In case I see any rats,” she said by way of explanation, and then she strode purposefully toward the house.

  Jim smiled and shook his head. The woman was amazing. She seemed capable of coping with anything.

  He turned his attention to the repairs at hand. He’d just removed the third damaged shock when he heard Lina scream. Jim’s pistol was in his hand before the scream stopped, and he was in the house seeking her seconds later.

  Jim carefully searched the remnants of the living room for Lina. He called out to her and she answered immediately. He followed the sound of her voice through the wreckage and soon found her. She was sitting on the floor not far from a dead rat that had one of her throwing knives embedded in its back pinning it to the floor.

  Jim walked up to her and breathed a sigh of relief. “You scared me,” he said and then he noticed that she was applying a bandage to her arm.

  He knelt anxiously on the floor beside her and asked, “Did the rat bite you?” and then he added, “Let me see the wound.”

  Lina irritably said, “No the rat didn’t bite me. I stuck a splinter in my arm when the rat jumped out of a cabinet I was searching.”

  Jim ignored her anger and said, “Let me see it.” He held out his hand and she hesitantly laid her wrist in his open palm.

  Lina winced as Jim removed the bandage as gently as he could. The wound was situated on the inside of her forearm about four inches from the elbow. He saw that she’d gotten the splinter out by slitting the skin open beside the splinter and pulling it out. The wound had bled profusely and it was still bleeding. He said, “I think this needs some stitches in it and I know it needs disinfecting.”

  Her arm trembled and Jim looked up at her face. He could tell that she was in pain. Tears welled up in her eyes and her beautiful face paled noticeably. He said, “Show me the splinter.”

  Lina nodded to the blood-covered splinter lying on the dirty floor beside her. Jim leaned down and picked up the splinter. He examined and then tossed it back down onto the floor. It was two inches long. He’d wanted to see it to make sure that it was just an ordinary splinter and not something worse like a rusted nail.

  He helped the woman get to her feet and gently led her out of the wreckage. Before they left the kitchen she said, “My knife. I want my knife.”

  “I’ll come back for it after I’ve treated your wound. I don’t want to handle it now. It’s covered in germs from the rat. Lord knows with things as they are these days, you don’t need that added risk of infection.”

  Lina nodded her understanding and Jim led her back to the truck. He sat her down beside the Peterbuilt and climbed inside to get his medical kit. When he came back out she was more composed, and she said, “I’m sorry about being such a baby. I’m normally not this bad.”

  “You’ve had an accident, and then you performed surgery on yourself to remove the splinter. I’d say you’re entitled to be a bit upset. By the way, I need to see the knife that you used to do that bit of surgery.”

  Lina meekly handed him one of her throwing knives and he examined it. She’d wiped off the blood. He examined it critically and saw that it was a stainless steel blade. “It was clean when you used it?” he inquired.

  She nodded her head and quipped, “Yeah, I wipe my blades down daily. It’s sort of a ritual with me.”

  He sat down in front of Lina and opened the medical kit, which he’d put together at right after the night of the quakes. He put on a pair of rubber gloves, then he removed a small sheet of white plastic from the top of the bag and sprea
d that out on the ground to his right. He then removed several items and placed them on the plastic.

  “My god, Jim, that’s a lady’s maxi pad!” Lina exclaimed, and giggled. “You’re kidding right?”

  Shaking his head Jim said, “No I’m not. For some wounds, they make the perfect dressing. Think about it. They are designed to absorb blood and they are sanitary.”

  “Are you sure about that?” Lina asked.

  Smiling, he said, “Well they are called sanitary napkins.”

  “I think that’s because they’re supposed to keep the woman sanitary, Hon,” Lina said and then she realized that he was attempting to ease her mind about the whole situation.

  Jim held out his hand, signaling her to hand him the injured limb. She complied and he removed the bandage that he had wrapped back around the wound before they had left the kitchen. Here in the light of the sun, the wound didn’t look quite as serious as it had appeared in the dim light of the dilapidated kitchen. He laid her wrist across his right knee and reached for the bottle of disinfectant. He screwed the cap off and then he said, “This will probably hurt, but we have to do it.”

  Jim opened the wound and poured it full of the hydrogen peroxide. The liquid began to boil industriously the moment that it made contact. An involuntary groan escaped Lina’s lips. Jim let the disinfectant boil for a full two minutes and then he turned her wrist over and let the fluid drain away. Next, he dabbed at the wound with a clean white cotton cloth.

  Reaching to the plastic sheet again, he picked up a small bottle of New Skin and opened it. Looking at Lina he said, “This will hurt like hell, but it will seal the skin and prevent infection.”

  The woman nodded and Jim proceeded to push the wound together with the thumb and index finger of his left hand. “Well that’s not so bad,” Lina said with a game face.

  He remained silent as he began to pour the medicine along the wound. Lina’s face went pale immediately and she began to squirm. Normally, one applied New Skin with a small wand, which is attached to the cap. In the case of this wound, the wand would just prolong the pain so he poured the liquid directly onto the wound. When he had administered a sufficient amount of the New Skin, he sat the bottle down and used both hands to hold the wound together as the medicine dried. To facilitate the drying process he raised her arm a bit and blew on the liquid. Five minutes later, it had sealed the wound shut and the bleeding had all but stopped. Next, he added three small butterfly bandages to keep the edges of the cut pulled together.