Cities on Fire

by A J Newman

  Jo looked at the teenaged boy and said, “Take care of your mom. It will be a few days before she gets her head straight. Where did you get the black eye and bruises?”

  “Mom hits me. Thanks for saving our lives. Matt was going to kill Mom and me before he left. He hated all of us, and Mom just pampered him and fed his drug problem.”

  “Son, if that’s the truth, then you need to get away from her. Are there any families that will take you in around here?”

  “Yes, I’m going to my best friend’s house about a mile from here. I can’t help Mom. She’s on Oxy, and when that is gone, she’ll be dangerous.”

  “Pack a bag and go now before she tries to harm you again. I’ll arrest her and get her to a hospital for treatment.”

  The boy packed and was soon on his way. Jo walked back into the living room, picked up the thug’s gun, and shot the woman in the back of the head.

  “Bitch you won’t hurt any kids anymore.”

  Jo ran to the bathroom and puked into the toilet. She had never shot at a man before yesterday and now had killed three people. She walked over to the home next door and found Bill working on the young girl.

  “Jo, thank God you are okay. We heard the gunshots, and I was scared to death. What happened?”

  The man who shot this poor girl killed his father and mother. He was going to kill his brother, but I arrived in time to stop him. Everyone but the brother is dead. The boy is going to stay with his best friend’s family. How is this girl?”

  “She was shot trying to keep the man from shooting her mom. It’s a through and through wound to her left bicep. I cleaned her up and gave her a bottle of antibiotics. She should be fine in a couple of weeks.”

  “That’s good. I’m going back to see about getting those folks buried. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Jo stepped outside and saw a crowd gathered around the house. She pulled her badge out and waved it at the crowd.

  “Does anyone know this family?”

  “Several people responded with yes.”

  “The drugged out son shot a girl across the street, his own dad, and mom before I shot him.”

  “That sounds like the worthless piece of shit,” a man in the crowd stated.

  “I don’t think any police are going to show up to handle this. You need to bury the three of them in their back yard.”

  “What do you mean the police won’t show up? Why not?”

  “People, the grid is down, your phones don’t work, and your town is starting to burn down. There is rampant looting, and half of E-Town will be charred ruins in three days. Look over toward the city. You are on your own.”

  The crowd looked west and saw a dozen black plumes of smoke rising above the city. They started arguing among themselves and then most went back to their houses.

  One lady said, “You are a cop. Protect us.”

  “I was a cop in Louisville. I quit and am looking out for myself. Bury them or burn the house down around them. I don’t have to live with the stink from the bodies,” Jo said as she walked back to the other house.

  “Bill, are you ready to leave?”

  “Darling someone needs to watch over this poor girl.”

  “Bill, we will see dozens of girls like this in the next few days. We can’t keep stopping and risk being killed ourselves. That asshole got a lucky shot off, and only God and a brick wall saved my ass this time. Come with me or stay. Bye.”

  Jo gathered her backpack, rifle from the baby stroller and a handful of the water bottles and walked towards the main road. A few minutes later Bill ran up beside her pushing the stroller and waved for her to stop.

  “Jo please put the rifle and water bottles back into the stroller. I’m with you. I love you, but it’s hard walking away from injured people. I am trained to save lives not let them die.”

  “Bill I’m also trained to save lives; but I’m trying to save our family’s and our own lives. We have to ignore everyone else and keep focused on our family. Your Dad had told you for years that when the shit hits the fan, millions will die. In three months, over 200 million Americans will be dead. We have a head start on them thanks to your Dad, and I don’t want to squander that advantage helping everyone on the way just to find my kids and Mom dead.”

  Jo, surely you don’t believe this crap. I’m only going along with this trip to help make sure you and the kids get there safely. The Government will clear this up and have the power back on before the end of the week.”

  “Bill that is a joke. The Government won’t do shit besides rounding people up and putting them in FEMA camps. You are a wimp. You will not protect yourself, much less the kids or me. I’m tired of your liberal shit, and you can go where ever the hell you want to, but don’t slow me down again or I’ll leave your sorry ass.”

  She took off running and left him behind. It was fifteen minutes before he caught up to her. He ran beside her and kept his mouth shut. She remembered back several years as she ran beside the man she once loved with all her heart. They had disagreements on politics but never got angry until Bill got jealous. She wanted her old Bill back that was kind, considerate, and funny.

  “Bill, pull over for a few minutes.”

  “Okay.”

  “Bill, I know that you are jealous of Walt. Yes, the bastard made a pass at me, but I set him straight and planned to get another partner next week. Nothing ever happened between us. I swear to God. Bill, I want my old Bill back. The one that is a kind and gentle father and a great lover. I don’t like this mean jealous streak in you.”

  “I’m only jealous because you chose him over me.”

  “I didn’t choose him over you. It would have been my word against his. It would have been an ugly situation. I applied for a transfer to the precinct in our neighborhood and would have been transferred in a couple of weeks.”

  “So he was harassing you.”

  “Yes, but just the innuendo and pet names. He liked to call me doll. I liked Walt at first until he got this crush on me. Without evidence against him, he would have gotten mad and spread vicious lies about me to the men at the station. That would hurt my career and kill promotions. It’s hard for a woman to advance in the police force without sleeping her way to the top.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this? I love you and would have understood.”

  “And your pride would have made you confront the asshole, and he would have beaten the crap out of you or killed you. You’re not a fighter. Walt is a highly trained military, and police trained professional.”

  “But I would have died like a man,” Bill replied.

  “Now I know you are pulling my leg my pacifist husband.”

  That was Bill’s ah ha and oh shit moment all rolled into one. He thought about how his wife viewed him and decided that minute to make a change in his life.

  Bill reached out to Jo and pulled her close to him. He kissed her gently and held onto her for a few minutes.

  “Darling I love you and never want to lose you. Let’s go find our kids,” he said as he pushed the stroller back onto the road.

  They ran in silence for a while before Jo broke the ice, “Darling we lost two hours back there, but the good news is we weren’t running during that time and are somewhat rested. It’s a little after 5:00 now, and I think I can make it another four hours. Can you?”

  “Yes and that gives us a good night’s sleep. We can be on the road again at daybreak. My guess is we will stop about five miles below Hodgenville. That’s not as far as we planned but still not bad for pushing a stroller and stopping to help those people.”

  “I’m sorry for blasting you about stopping to help that girl. I’m worried that our kids may be attacked on the way down. They started early in a car, so I’m hoping they were more than halfway there before the lights went out.”

  “I understand. Thanks to Dad, Will has learned a lot about survival and living off the land. He will be a big help to Jane getting them down to Dad’s place. I know I should have list
ened to my Dad more about the outdoors stuff, but I was too busy running track and chasing girls.”

  “Yes you should have, but I ran track also, and that’s how we met, and I was the girl you chased. I can’t argue too much on that topic.”

  “It’s a strange turn of events when two long distance runners have to run for their lives during an apocalypse. It would make a great book or perhaps an Amazon movie.”

  “I think Natalie Portman would play me, and Ben Affleck would play you in the movie.”

  “Matt Damon and Selma Hayek are a better fit. Hayek has big boobs like you.”

  “Ah after a year of not paying attention to me or my boobs, you are fixated on them.”

  “I always loved your boobs and the way they jiggle when you run.”

  “Enough boob talk for tonight. Save that for a couple of days, and we will explore the topic thoroughly.”

  “Promise?”

  “Yes, I promise.”

  “Look up ahead,” Jo, exclaimed.

  They had just left Hodgenville, and the sun was now setting in the west. There was a crowd of people heading their way. The group stood out because they had flashlights with the beams dancing all around them. They were about half a mile up ahead and had not spotted Jo or Bill yet.

  “Let’s duck out of sight until they pass. I don’t want any trouble with a crowd that large.”

  “Hon they are just poor stranded people on their way home.”

  “Bill, trust me. Get off the road now,” Jo said as she pulled off in the bushes with Bill lagging behind but finally following her.

  They watched as the group came closer to their hiding spot. There were six or more men in orange jumpsuits armed with a few rifles and clubs. They had obviously escaped from jail or prison and were walking to the closest town. To Jo’s horror, she saw two young women and a teenage boy walking with the convicts with their hands tied.

  The men were only a few yards away when they heard their conversation.

  “That’s three cops that won’t screw with us anymore.”

  “Anyone figure out why the bus died. A lot of cars are dead.”

  “Nope, I think God did it to let us free,” one man said as he laughed.

  Jo and Bill were listening to the conversation and Jo didn’t see the snake crawling beside her foot. Bill looked over at his wife and saw the Copperhead. He reacted and struck the snake with the butt of his carbine. Jo snapped her head around and saw the dying snake. Bill had struck it just behind the head crushing the snake. Jo pushed it away and blew a kiss at Bill.

  One of the men stood up and said, “I’ve got business to attend to,” as he walked straight into the bushes beside Jo. She couldn’t move fast enough to get out of view, so she grabbed the man and put a chokehold on him. He tried to throw her off, but Bill hit him on the head with his pistol and he collapsed.

  “Hey Al, what the fuck are you doing?

  There was no response, and another man yelled, “Go check on Al.”

  Jo picked the snake up and pushed its fangs into the man’s ankle, and then quickly gathered her rifle and pack to join Bill several yards away.

  “Great thinking on placing the snake on him,” Bill whispered in Jo’s ear.”

  “Thanks for saving me from the snake. You are my hero.” Replied Jo.

  The man found Al dead on the ground with a Copperhead stuck to his ankle. He ran back to the group out of breath and said,” Al got snake bit and died. The lucky bastard choked the snake to death before he died.”

  “Damn, that’s a bad way to die.”

  “I don’t give a shit about Al. I am just glad we are free, and we have this tail to share tonight. Hell, let’s cut over to that farmhouse with the lights on. There might be more guns and women.”

  “That sounds like a winner. Let’s go.”

  The men helped their hostages climb over the fence, and they started walking through a plowed field to get to the farmhouse.

  “Bill, we have to stop these men. They are going to rape those women and probably kill them.”

  “I thought we weren’t going to stop and help people.”

  “I’m a cop. I can’t stand by and let this happen.”

  “Jo, I’m a Nurse. I can’t stand by and let people die.”

  “Oh shit. I get it now. Please help me free those women and the boy.”

  “What can I do?”

  “We need to hit them before they get to the house. I can get two maybe three before they know what’s happening. I need you to get two more.”

  “You mean to shoot?”

  “Yes, Bill. Pretend those men are going to kill the kids and me and pull the trigger. Or pretend they are going to kill your patients.”

  He remembered that he no longer wanted to be a wimp, but could he kill people was another question.

  “Bill, are you in?”

  “Yes.”

  “You know how to shoot. Just remember to let your breath out and squeeze the trigger. Aim for body shots. A 9mm round will do the work and knock them on their asses. Oh, aim about six inches high. That 9mm carbine’s bullet will drop quickly, and we haven’t checked the sights.

  Follow me to that stand of trees halfway to the house before they look back,” Jo said.

  Jo and Bill dropped their backpacks and ran across the soft plowed ground to the trees.

  “Take cover behind a tree and use it to steady your rifle. I’ll take the front three. You take the back two. Don’t shoot if the hostages are in the line of fire. Shoot when you hear me shoot. Don’t stop until they are all down.”

  The men were 75 yards from the stand of trees when Jo took a bead on the man in front. She breathed deep, let it out, and squeezed the trigger with the ball of her finger. The rifle kicked, there was a flash, and the man fell down. She moved her sights to the next man and repeated the process to shoot the second man. She heard several shots from Bill’s direction.

  Bill aimed and fired the Keltek missing his first man. He quickly aimed and fired again knocking the man down. He fired a dozen more times hitting three of the men.

  The hostages took off running toward the house, and one man shot at them. Bill shot that man, and Jo shot the last man standing.

  “Bill, good job. Let’s make sure they are all dead,” Jo yelled as she ran towards the men.

  One rose up to shoot, and Jo shot three times, on the run, and blew half his face off. She walked up to each man and found three alive. She dispatched them with a headshot to put them out of their misery.

  She looked around and didn’t see her husband anywhere, so she ran back to the stand of trees and found him puking and crying at the same time.

  “Bill, are you okay. Are you wounded?”

  “I’m okay. I’m sorry, but I am that wimp my Dad always said I was.”

  “No Bill. That took guts to stand up to those men and stop them from harming those people. You also saved me from that damned snake. Hell, I puked my guts up after killing that drugged out guy today. Killing a person is one of the worst things a person can do, but sometimes we have to do it to save lives.”

  She looked up and saw a man walking toward the dead men. She thought this was the farmer from the house; however, the cop in her urged caution.

  “Sir, Police. Please drop the shotgun.”

  “Okay,” the startled man replied as he laid the gun down.

  Jo saw the man was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and asked, “Sir, do you live here?”

  “Yes, we heard the shooting, and then the women and a boy came to our door seeking shelter. I came over here to keep those assholes from attacking my family. Did you shoot all of them?”

  “We heard them planning to attack your house and had to stop them. We waited until they were out in the open and ambushed them from that stand of trees.”

  “Do you know anything about the power outage?”

  “No, but my guess is that the USA has been attacked with nuclear bombs.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of
myself. I saw a Science Fiction movie once, and the lights went out cell phones, and cars stopped working.”

  “Sir, we’re going to head on south. Can you take care of those people?”

  “Yes, but I insist that you stay the night. It looks like you’ve been walking for a while.”

  “We started this morning in Louisville and have a hundred miles to go. Are you sure you have enough room?”

  “If you don’t mind a blow-up mattress. The others have our extra beds.”

  “That would be great. I wasn’t looking forward to sleeping on the ground.”

  “Have you had supper?”

  The food was great, and they had a cold shower, but they didn’t get to bed until 11:00 pm. At least they had an air mattress and privacy since they were placed in the woman’s sewing room. Jo locked the door and wedged a chair against the door handle so they wouldn’t have to pull guard duty through the night.

  Jo took her clothes off in front of Bill and then snuggled up against him.

  “I thought you said you’d be too tired to fool around.”

  “That was before my big strong man saved me from a snake and shot the bad guys.”

  ✼

  Chapter 5

  Day One – Bob Takes the Lead

  Bob hitched his flatbed trailer up and threw a tarp in the back of the bed to cover the food. He then drove back to Jack’s home being careful to skirt around town and the one large subdivision. Jack and his son joined Bob in the cab of the truck, and they made the short trip to the trucks with the food.

  Bob made use of what little time he had to ask Jack what he thought about the meeting, and Jack replied he was thankful for the information.

  “Bob, I know we don’t have time now, but we need to discuss our long-term survival.”

  Several of the men from the meeting had already arrived and were hurriedly loading food into their trucks and trailers. Bob pulled up to the Kroger truck and backed the end of the trailer up to the right side of the Kroger trailer. One of the men tried to wave him off, but he continued to back to within a few feet of the trailer.