Cities on Fire

by A J Newman

  “Pleased ta’ meet ya’ Jane, Will, Missy, and Jake. Does your Grandfather have room for all of us?”

  “Yes, he does, and we will make more space when we get there,” Will chimed in, and then asked, “What grade were you in in school?”

  “I was a senior and studying to get ready to become a Pediatrics Doctor. I’ve always wanted to become a doctor and help little kids. What about you?”

  “I’m a junior and studying to prepare to go into law enforcement like my Mom. I want to go to law school and then become an FBI agent.”

  Will and Maddie wandered away from the others while getting to know each other. Jane made the other two start breaking camp and after a short while yelled for the other two to help. Maddie went to get her things and came back with her backpack, sleeping bag, a rifle, and food all neatly stacked in a pushcart.

  “Where did you find the cart and rifle?”

  “A sporting goods store about a mile from here. They had several more. The clerk took $200 cash in exchange for the cart and the rifle. We can go get another one if you want.”

  “Will, here is $300 in tens and twenties. Try to haggle him down if possible. I’ll stay with Missy and Jake. You two hustle and get back quickly.”

  Will checked his pistol and covered it with his shirt. They headed back into Glasgow and only walked about half a mile before they saw several fires and looters robbing many of the stores. Men and women were screaming at each other and fighting over shopping carts piled with food.

  “That looks like a bunch of Zombies fighting for their next meal.”

  “Yeah, let’s get in and out without attracting any one’s notice.”

  They walked on to the sporting goods store and found it ransacked. There were no guns or ammo visible and the manager was lying dead behind the counter.

  “Oh shit, that’s the man who sold me the stuff.”

  “Hey, there’s one of those carts. Grab sleeping bags while I look for anything else we might need,” said Will.

  He scrounged around the area behind the counter and found a Ruger .357 Magnum, several boxes of .357, two boxes of .22 ammo and a loaded pump 12 Gauge shotgun. Will checked and it was loaded with Double Aught Buckshot. He looked for more ammo without any luck. He found several Bowie knives and hatchets under the mess on the floor.

  Maddie had also found some useful items during her search. She had placed three sleeping bags, a small hiking tent, two Swiss Army knives, and a pile of freeze-dried food packages in the cart.

  They were prepared to leave when Maddie spotted something behind the counter in the corner. It was a compound bow. She fetched it and placed it in the cart.

  “Help me look for some hunting arrows. You know the pointy ones with the sharp blades.”

  “I know what a hunting arrow looks like. My Papaw and I hunt for deer every season. Look, there’s a turned over rack of arrows.”

  They took three big handfuls of arrows and two boxes of arrowheads and placed them in the cart.

  Will said, “Maddie, let’s sneak out the back door and go down the alley until we have to make a break for the highway. I’m placing the shotgun on top along with your rifle. We may have to use them if someone tries to take our stuff.”

  They snuck out the back door and made it to the highway before being noticed by a group of men leaving a gas station with clubs in their hands.

  The people began to run towards them when Will said, “Maddie, take the cart and go as fast as you can to the others. I’ll stay and slow these assholes down.”

  “No Will Karr. I’m also fighting.”

  They aimed their weapons and fired a shot above the crowd’s heads to no avail. Will lowered the shotgun, fired straight at the rushing men, and hit several. They screamed and dropped to the ground holding their legs since Will’s shot was aimed low. Will threw the shotgun in the cart and they took off as fast as Will could push the cart. The men didn’t follow them. Maddie kept looking back to make sure they weren’t followed and was relieved when they arrived at the overpass to see the others on the road and ready to leave.

  “What was the gunfire?”

  “Some men started to chase us, and we changed their minds with a load of buckshot. I didn’t kill any of them, but several will need buckshot removed.

  Maddie here is a loaded .22 Ruger pistol. Missy, you take my 12 Gauge pump. I’ll take the other 12 Gauge and the .357 Magnum it kicks, but I’ve shot Papaw’s .45 Colt, and I can handle the kick back.”

  Jane spoke up, “Missy, keep the barrel pointed away. Jack a round into the chamber, and then put another round in the feed tube. Now push the safety on. Leave it on unless we are attacked. Take the safety off, place the butt securely against your shoulder, point and pull the trigger. It will kick like a mule, but if you keep it pressed against your shoulder, it won’t hurt you.”

  They loaded the rest of their stuff on the second cart and headed south. They were pushing the cart at a fast walking pace and trading up pushing the cart every half hour with Missy and Jake both pushing the same cart when it was their turn.

  “Grandma, we need to pick up the pace and travel at a fast jog if we are ever going to get to Grampa’s.”

  “Will I think you are right, but what we really need is a vehicle or some horses. Everyone keep your eyes peeled for horses, tractors or an old car that looks like it will run.”

  Highway 31E had numerous small businesses and subdivisions along their route, and they found that people were trying to get them to stop and talk. The folks were starving for information about what happened and sought to speak with every stranger who passed by. They found themselves stopped and trying to get away from talkative people more than a dozen times before noon. They found a long stretch of deserted highway and stopped for lunch off the road out of sight.

  Maddie looked at Will and said, “Mrs. Carter, we need to make sure we take the shortest route possible down to the Horseshoe. Were you planning to take 31E most of the way or the back roads? I’ve driven or rode on all of these roads for years.”

  “Maddie, you can call me Jane. I was going to take 31E down to a few miles north of Lebanon and then cut east to Dixon Springs which is just a couple of miles north of the Horseshoe.”

  “Grandma, Maddie is right. We need to switch to a southeast course along these roads,” Will said as he pointed to the map.

  “Maddie, you take over the navigation.”

  “At the rate, we are going we can make Mr. Karr’s place in two and a half to three days. We’re only 40 to 45 miles from there right now. We’ll cut off 31E at Highway 87.”

  They continued their trek after lunch and were soon at the Highway 87 junction.

  “Grandma, look that garage has a bunch of old tractors for sale,” Jake said then added, “I’ll bet he has a wagon also. We could ride down to Papaw’s home.”

  “It’s worth a try. I don’t know if we have anything to trade that’s worth a tractor.”

  They walked up to the garage and started looking at the tractors when a loud voice said, “You want to buy a tractor?”

  Will replied, “Do you have any that will still run?”

  “All of these run. I’ll take silver, gold, diamonds, or other trade goods that catch my fancy.”

  “Will you take cash?”

  The man broke out laughing and replied, “Toilet paper is all cash is now.”

  Jane took her engagement ring off her finger, showed it to the man, and said, “This was worth $10,000 a few years back. Will it buy a tractor?”

  “Let me see it.”

  He pulled out a jewelers loop, examined the stone, and then walked over to his garage and scratched a window with it.

  “I’ll trade you that garden tractor for it.”

  “Oh no! That’s too small, and my ring is worth that large one on the other end.”

  “Hell no! In a week I can get a hundred thousand dollars for that tractor.”

  “Remember you said money is worthless. I’ll take the middle one
and a wagon to pull the kids and our gear with.”

  “Maybe, can you sweeten the offer?”

  Maddie took her necklace off, handed it to the man, and said, “This diamond is worth all of your tractors. Give her ring back, and we’ll make the deal.”

  The man looked at the large diamond and then scratched the glass one more time before handing Jane her ring.

  “Now that’s a deal. I’ll even throw in a full tank of gas, a siphon hose, and hook the wagon to the tractor.”

  The wagon was just large enough for the four passengers so Will used bailing wire to attach the carts to the back of the trailer. Then he made a holder for the shotgun from a piece of PVC pipe, and they were ready to go.

  The tractor was a 1950 Ford 8N that had been restored many years back but was still in good shape. Will jumped into the driver’s seat, started it, and let it warm up.

  “Grandma, tractors can go about 15-20 MPH. We can run safely at about 10-12 MPH with this old tractor. That means we would arrive at Papaw’s house after dark. I think we get close to his house and then go on in the morning.”

  “Good thinking. There is a small city just above the Horse Shoe, Dixon Springs, I think. We will find a place in the woods and then travel to Bob’s house early before most people are up. Knowing Bob, he will already be up.

  Kids, have your guns ready. This tractor will get a lot of attention. Most folks are great people, but you have already seen that good people will steal to save their lives.”

  “Okay, the tractors ready, hang on,” Will said as they lurched into motion.”

  As expected, many people waved at them, and a few tried to get the tractor to stop. Will and Jane had already agreed that they weren’t stopping for anyone. Jane told the kids that their lives meant more to her than any stranger’s life and there wasn’t any extra room in the wagon. She told Will, off by himself, to shoot anyone who attempted to stop them or take the tractor.

  They drove for a little over an hour and only had to dodge a few mad people who demanded that they stop and give them a ride.

  Jane saw something dart off the road and into the bushes up ahead and yelled, “Stop! Something’s wrong up ahead. Girls keep your weapons handy. Will and I are going to scout up ahead. There might be an ambush. Will, follow me.”

  Jane stepped down from the wagon and walked into the bushes and trees on the left side of the road. She waved at Will to keep the noise down.

  “Will, I thought I saw someone trying to hide up ahead about a hundred feet or so on the left side of the road. Let’s sneak up there and see what’s going on. Be ready to shoot.”

  Will followed his Grandma and wondered how his Grandma had so quickly changed into this fearless leader tromping through the woods with a rifle ready to shoot people. His Mom had been a cop for as long as he could remember, but his Grandma had always been the Country Club type playing tennis and golf. When his Grampa died, she sold the house on the 18 hole at the Country Club and moved to Clermont to a much smaller home. She also went to nursing school and became an RN.

  Jane motioned for him to stop and Will froze in his tracks. Jane covered her lips with her index finger and motioned for Will to come up beside her. There ahead in the woods was a small camp with two tents, a couple of beat up old cars and piles of trash, clothes, and luggage.

  It was obvious that these people were robbing anyone who passed by on the road. One of the tents was moving, and Jane heard voices. There was a muffled scream from a man, and then a gunshot.

  “That bitch won’t bite anymore,” yelled a man from the tent. Son, bring me the red head.”

  “Will, walk up to the tent and shoot the man in the tent. I’ll take the son and any others.”

  Will looked at her with a dumb look, and then moved toward the tent. He looked in through a screen window and saw the man nursing a bloody spot on his arm. Will took a deep breath, opened the flap and shot the man in the stomach with the .357. The bullet knocked the man backward, and he fell against the back of the tent, which knocked it down. Will stood outside and saw a man walking up behind his Grandma who had just shot one man and was about to shoot another.

  “Lookout,” Will said as he shot the man twice in the chest as Jane shot the last man standing.

  Jane looked around for any other dangers while Will untied the three women and a young boy. The women were grateful to be free but then were horrified to see only four dead men.

  “There are two more around here. They were sneaking up the road to attack someone riding on a tractor.”

  Jane and Will ran as fast as they could up the road to the tractor, but gunfire came from that direction, and Jane thought the worst had happened. They headed into the woods the last hundred feet to have some cover as they advanced to the tractor. The shooting stopped as quickly as it started and Will prepared himself for a gun battle.

  There was no battle since there were two dead men on the ground and Missy and Maddie were reloading their guns.

  “What happened?”

  “We got out of the wagon and hid in the woods. Those nasty men came up yelling for us to get out of the wagon and we shot them,” said Maddie. I shot the young one, and Missy got the old fart with the beard and rotten teeth.”

  “And I helped,” said Jake.”

  ‘What did Grandma’s big boy do?”

  “I threw a rock and hit the old fart on the head to let the girls sneak up on them. They shot at the trees but didn’t get close to me because Maddie told me to throw the rock and duck behind the log.”

  “I’m proud of all of you. For a bunch of city people, we done good.”

  Will looked at his Grandma and said, “Grandma, you looked like an Army platoon leader as you directed me up to their camp. Then you outshot the bad guys in a firefight.”

  “Will, this ain’t this girl’s first rodeo.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Your mom isn’t the first female cop in the family?”

  All three of her Grandkids replied at the same time, “What?”

  “I’ll tell you a story after we get to your Papaw’s house.

  They went on down to the thug’s camp to check on the women and found they had buried their friend and were loading their belongings into one of the old cars.

  “Thanks for freeing us from those creeps. We’re heading home to Glasgow. We can never repay you for your help, but if you ever make it to Glasgow, you’ll always have a meal and a place to stay.”

  They traveled on for about 11 miles before Will waved back to the others and yelled, “Look up ahead.”

  An RV was set up just as though the occupants were camping. There were six men and women plus several children milling around the RV. Will saw that the RV was in the middle of the road and the tractor could barely get past it on the right side. As they approached several of the people started pointing at the approaching tractor, and then several began waving.

  Will kept the tractor moving and actually sped up when suddenly a man jumped out in front of the tractor. Will didn’t stop, and the tractor ran over the man crushing him. Will kept moving until shots rang out just as he got beside the RV. Will aimed the .357 at the closest man with a gun, aimed, squeezed the trigger, and blew a large hole in the man’s chest. The other man got off a wild shot with a snub-nosed .38 but missed Jane by several feet. He shot again before Jane put a .30 .30 round into his stomach and another into his shoulder. Maddie shot twice and hit the same man Will killed. Missy never pulled her trigger.

  One of the women ran up with a pistol while trying to shoot at Will. She kept pulling the trigger; however, nothing happened. The gun had jammed. Will jumped off the tractor slugged the woman and took the silenced Ruger MKIII pistol from her. The other two women were crying and screaming. Jane looked at the pistol and stuck it into her waistband.

  “You killed my husband. He was a policeman. You killed three policemen.”

  Jane fired her .30 .30 in the air and yelled, “Shut the fuck up. Those men were going t
o steal our tractor, and they shot first. They tried to kill my Grandson. Screw them and screw you.”

  She saw the New York license plate on the front of the RV and said, “Get your Yankee asses back to New York. We’re coming back through here tomorrow, and if we see you, we’ll shoot you on sight and give the kids to honest people.

  Son let’s go!”

  Will put the tractor in gear and drove them off at a high rate of speed.

  Maddie yelled, “Missy has been shot.”

  Jane looked over at Missy and saw her slumped down against Maddie. She checked her and saw a red stain on her shoulder.

  “Missy, are you okay?”

  Missy was unconscious but alive. Jane waved at Will to keep going as she and Maddie tended to Missy’s wound. She dug a package of Wound Seal out of Will’s Bugout Bag and a large bandage. She poured the Wound Seal into the wound and applied pressure. The bleeding stopped. They made Missy as comfortable as possible.

  Jane yelled, “Will, speed up some and drive straight to your Grandfather’s home.

  The next 20 miles took over three hours due to the rough dirt and gravel roads that had to be taken to save time. They arrived at Dixon Springs at sundown and just waved at people as they cut off on Rome Rd, which led to their Papaw’s home. They had only traveled a short distance out of Dixon Springs when there was a roadblock ahead.

  “Who are you and why are you heading south on this road,” the guard at the roadblock challenged.”

  “I’m Bob Karr’s Grandson, and my sister has been shot we need to get to my Papaw’s home.”

  “Move the barricade. I’m Greg Farmer. I’ll take you to Bob’s home.”

  Greg hopped on a nearby ATV and took off down the road while keying the mic on his radio, “Bob, this is Greg.”

  “Hey, Greg. How’s it hanging?”

  “Not good. Bob, your Grandkids arrived, and one has been hurt. I’m bringing them to your house, and several of the ladies are coming to help.”

  “Oh shit. I’ll clear the table and set up some lights.”