by Davis, James
“Thanks man.” Johnny said, taking the cup from Bear.
“So, are you ready to go meet with Roger later?” he asked, as Bear nodded, taking a bite of his food.
“Yeah, actually I am. This waiting around crap is getting old.” he said out of the corner of his mouth. Johnny grabbed his cup and took a sip of the coffee before replying.
“I get it. We’ve been waiting for something to happen for weeks now. We didn’t think it was going to happen, and we damn sure didn’t expect to ever see Clay or Hank again. Those two boys are like cockroaches, you can’t hardly kill them.” Bear scooped the last bite of food into his mouth and pushed his plate forward. He grabbed the cup of coffee and drained it before speaking.
“I’ve only known them for a couple of weeks now, but I see that too.” Bear said and then went on to explain the battle he had fought next to them back in the forest of Virginia. Johnny listened intently as Bear described the scene, occasionally breaking eye contact to take a sip of his coffee. By the time Bear finished his story, Johnny was taking the final sip of his coffee.
After breakfast was over, Johnny stood up.
“Just leave your plate there. They go around the room and get them all after everyone is done eating.” Bear shrugged and stood to join his new friend.
“So, what’s on the agenda this morning?” Bear asked as he followed Johnny toward the front of the room. They stopped at the coffee table and Johnny started refilling his cup. When he finished, he grabbed a second cup and started filling it as well. Steam rose from the cup and the smell of the roasted coffee beans hit Bear’s nose, urging him to have another cup.
“What the hell.” he said before placing his own cup out for Johnny to fill. When they were done, they stepped out into the brisk morning air. The chilled air caused more steam to roll off the cups as they crossed the road, back to the Eagles’ Club.
“Get the door for me would ya?” Johnny asked, holding up both cups of coffee. Bear stepped in front of him and pulled open the door with his free hand. Johnny walked inside and Bear stood there looking at the area he was in for a long moment. The tree’s colorful leaves rustled in the light breeze and soft bird songs sounded from somewhere in the distance.
Beautiful! Bear thought as he watched the open landscape beyond the buildings.
“You just going to stand there all day or what?” Johnny’s voice sounded behind him, breaking his trance. Bear jumped a little and turned around.
“Yeah man, sorry, I was just enjoying the nice day before all of the fighting starts.” he said as he walked through the door. Johnny patted him on the shoulder.
“You’ll have plenty of time for that after we kick the shit out of those blue hats.”
“Probably so.” Bear replied, as they both walked over to the bar. Johnny grabbed his two cups of coffee and headed for the radio room. Bear followed and seconds later they were standing behind Gene.
“Morning Gene, have you had breakfast yet?” Johnny asked as he handed the old man the second cup of coffee. Gene took it and immediately took a long sip. He smacked his lips a few times and looked up at the two visitors.
“Naw, I haven’t yet. Why? You gonna bring it to me?” Johnny chuckled.
“I might if you’ll do us a small favor and get Roger on the line.”
“You got yourself a deal.” Gene said, sticking his hand out to shake on it. Johnny shook his and then left the room, Bear right behind him. A few minutes later they returned with a heaping plate of steaming food.
“Yeah Roger, they just walked back in the room.” Gene said, when he saw them. He handed the mic to Johnny and then stood up to leave. Johnny pressed a button and held the mic to his mouth.
"Roger, it's Johnny. I just wanted to touch base. We're heading your way in ten. We still on?" Johnny said before releasing the button.
"That depends, you got something for me?" Roger's voice said through the speaker.
"You know that I've got your payment, Roger." Johnny said into the mic.
"See you soon, Roger out." he said over the speaker.
"That's it?" Bear asked.
"That’s it. Roger is...well he's just Roger. He works how he works, but if anyone can get you what you need, it’s him." Johnny replied, placing the mic on the table and motioning for Bear to follow him towards the door.
"Thanks Gene." Johnny said over his shoulder as he walked into the main room of the building where Gene was eating his food. The wood floor creaked as the pair made their way to the exit. Johnny stopped and turned back to Gene.
“Hey old man if anyone comes looking for me while I’m gone just tell them I’ll be back this evening.” Gene raised a thumb to him and continued to shovel the food into his gaping maw. Johnny chuckled and shook his head.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Bear followed him out the door and climbed on the Harley. Johnny stopped next to him and instructed him to wait there. He ran around to the back of the building, and a few minutes later Bear heard the sound of an engine roar to life.
“What in the hell?” Bear muttered to himself as he waited to see what Johnny came around the corner in.
“Got to be an old muscle car or something. I bet it’s a Camaro.” Bear muttered again. Seconds later, Johnny rolled around the corner riding a money green Harley Sportster. He was wearing a huge grin as he got closer. Bear smiled widely.
“When did you get that?” Johnny began to laugh.
“I had one of the boys pick it up for me yesterday while you were still in bed. I thought we would go for a ride, but you were being a little Girl Scout.” he shouted over the rumbling motor. Bear shook his head, still wearing a grin, he hit the ignition and the bike roared to life. The deep rumbling sound vibrating through his chest. He twisted the throttle back a few times, the loud roar of the engine bouncing off the surrounding buildings as if there were ten bikes sitting there.
“What are you waiting for? Let’s ride!” Bear said as he dumped the clutch and hammered the throttle. The rear tire spun, sending dirt and debris flying across the empty street. Seconds later, a massive cloud of burnt rubber wafted through the air covering Johnny and his newly acquired bike. Bear took off like a rocket leaving Johnny sitting there looking like an asshole.
“You bastard!” Johnny shouted as he stomped down on the gear shifter with his left foot. He knew how to ride, but he wasn’t anywhere near as good as Bear appeared to be on a bike, so he eased out on the clutch and twisted the throttle back at the same pace until the gears grabbed and the bike began to roll under its own power. Once he was moving Johnny took off after Bear, hitting 70 mph in no time. As he cruised around a corner, he shot past Bear, who was stopped on the side of the road waiting. He glanced behind him and saw another cloud of burnt rubber pouring out from under Bear’s rear tire. Johnny just shook his head and chuckled.
“Wish I knew how to do that.” he said under his breath. He started to glance back again, but Bear was already on him. He slowed his pace to ride next to Johnny and then flipped up the visor on his helmet.
“What took you so long Tina?” Bear shouted over the deafening sound of the wind and engines.
“Screw you!” Johnny shot back before twisting his throttle and shooting ahead of Bear. The two men rode like this for the entire trip. After an hour of riding, Johnny was holding a hand up and motioning for Bear to follow him. A few minutes later they were coming to a stop in the parking lot of the Tennessee State Park. Bear climbed off his back and stepped over to Johnny who was still trying to find the kickstand with his foot.
“Why are we at the damn park?” Johnny laughed.
“This is where we’re meeting Roger.” he said. After they were both off of their bikes, they headed toward the game trail entrance. When they were only a few feet away the sound of a shotgun being racked stopped them in their tracks.
“Put your hands up nice and slow!” A voice with a deep southern drawl said from somewhere to their left.
“Roger, is that you?” Johnny a
sked, craning his neck to either side to peer into the thick forest.
“Oh hell, Johnny, my bad. I didn’t recognize your friend there.” Roger said as he moved out of his hiding spot.
“Damn! I didn’t even see you there and you were only like six feet away.” Bear exclaimed.
“Yeah, I’ve been hunting my entire life. I know just about every camo trick there is to know.” Roger said as he walked up and stuck out his hand to Johnny.
“Good to see ya, Roger! How ya been doing out here?” Johnny replied as the two shook hands. Bear pulled the bottle of scotch from his shoulder bag and handed it to Roger.
“I’m Bear. Johnny told me you were a scotch man.” Roger smiled.
“He did, did he?” Bear nodded and they shook hands.
“Well Johnny knows me all too well. I am a scotch man, now let’s go talk bidness.” Roger said as he turned and headed back into the forest. Johnny and Bear fell in behind him as he guided them through thick patches of trees and shrubs. A few minutes later, they arrived at a makeshift camp. Bear could tell it hadn’t been there long and assumed that Roger just didn’t want anyone knowing where he actually lived.
“Have a seat, fellas. Y’all want some coffee?” Roger offered. Johnny shook his head and held up a bottle of water.
“No thanks, I’m good.” Roger turned to Bear who already had his own water held up for him to see.
“Alright then, straight down to bidness it is then.” he said as he plopped down on a log.
“So, what are you fellers after?” Roger asked, clapping his palms together and looking from Johnny to Bear with a smile on his face. Johnny looked over at Bear.
“You want to start?” Bear shook his head.
“Nah, go ahead. I’ll jump in if I think you forgot anything.” Johnny nodded and turned back to Roger.
“We got a whole list of stuff we need, and we need it like yesterday.” Johnny said. Roger nodded and said.
“Well go on, what do you need boy? I ain’t got all day.” Johnny chuckled and continued.
“Well basically we need at least sixty AR style rifles, ten long guns and probably around thirty pistols. Some of my men already have pistols, but we’ll also need ammo for everything too. You got that much on hand?” Johnny asked. Roger threw his palms up.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute, I never said anything about having any of that myself. I do know where you can get every bit of that and more though.” Roger explained.
“You know where we can get it? What the hell are you talking about? You’re supposed to have the shit yourself! Not send us to go get it.” Johnny said, coming completely unglued.
“Boy, sit your ass down before I put a load of bird shot in it!” Roger barked as he brought up his shotgun.
“Come on guys calm down before something stupid happens!” Bear said as he got up to make sure Johnny didn’t go after Roger and get himself shot.
“You had better listen to your friend John. Sit down and hear me out or get shot in the ass. Your choice.” Roger said, as Johnny glared at him.
“You should have told us you didn’t actually have the damn guns before we came all the way out here!” Johnny shot back. Roger thought about that for a second and then lowered the shotgun back down by his side.
“Yeah you’re right, but it’s done now so we might as well keep on talking.” Johnny turned to look at Bear.
“We can go somewhere else to get the weapons if you want.” Bear shook his head.
“Let’s at least hear him out before we leave. If he hasn’t got anything good to say, we’ll haul ass.” Johnny agreed and then turned back to Roger.
“If you don’t have anything useful that bottle is coming back with us!” Roger just snickered, and watched Johnny sit back down.
“You done showing your ass or do you still need a minute?” Roger asked. Johnny glared at him and Roger chuckled.
“Alright, alright. So, listen. ‘Bout a month ago, buncha ol’ rednecks moved in round me. Done a little bidness with ‘em, but they’ve mostly been a pain in my ass. There ain't too many of ‘em, but they got the firepower you're looking for." he said. Bear stared at him for a long time before speaking. "So, you made me wait two days then come all the way out here to tell me about your shitty neighbors?" He exclaimed, more than a little annoyed with the entire situation.
Roger grinned, "I guess you could go ask one of them blue hats for help. I hear they're real friendly."
Bear let out a long sigh. "How many are there?”
"Just seven or eight."
"Is it seven or eight, Roger?" Johnny interjected.
Roger held up his stubby fingers as if to count on them for a moment. "Eight I suppose."
"Where can I find them?" Bear asked.
"Now, hold on," Roger said, "there's a little matter of my payment."
"Payment?" Bear scoffed "What about that nice bottle of scotch?"
"That there’s for the meeting. I'm a busy man. This information don't come cheap." Roger smirked.
"So, what do you want?" Bear asked, growing impatient. Roger stroked his chin for a moment as if he were thinking hard about the subject before finally speaking.
"Well, I do like that scooter you came up on."
"You're shitting me?" Bear said, almost not believing the nerve of this guy.
Johnny jumped to his feet outraged.
"I've heard just about enough of this shit!" he exclaimed "I'm sorry I've wasted your time, Bear. Let’s go." He turned and began to walk away stopping only once he realized Bear hadn't moved. Bear sat still and silent for a few minutes before lifting his head to look at Roger.
"Fine, I'll do it but let me make this clear to you." He began, making direct eye contact with Roger.
"If this doesn't work out and I come away with even one less gun than I need. I'll be back for that bike, and your scalp."
"Alright, alright, alright. Just meet me back here at midnight. I'll show you right to ‘em." he said, holding out his hand to shake on it, but Bear stood from his seat and turned to follow Johnny. After a few steps he stopped and shouted back over his shoulder.
“You’ll get the damn bike when I get my guns!” Roger’s face twisted into a mass of fury.
“Hey that wasn’t…” He started. but Bear quickly cut him off.
“Neither was you not having any of the damn guns!” Roger shot to his feet and kicked the dirt several times. He turned back to look at Bear and said.
“Don’t forget my damn scooter when you come back tonight!” Bear didn’t answer. He climbed on to the bike and fired it up, enjoying the deep rumble. A few minutes later, the two men were turning onto the highway and picking up speed toward home.
Chapter Thirteen
Beams of sunlight flickered through Ashley’s golden-brown hair as she hovered over Clay softly kissing his lips. He pulled away and gazed up at her beautiful face as he ran his fingers through her hair. She collapsed on the bed next to him, propping her head up with her left hand as she looked lustfully into his eyes. Clay went in for another passionate kiss, telling her how much he loved her in between stolen breaths. When he finished, he fell back onto the pillow beside her and gazed into her eyes again, a huge grin now on his face.
“I freaking love you Ash!” he said, still grinning. A smile slowly crept onto her face.
“I love you too, Clay.” She replied. Clay’s eyes narrowed. Something didn’t sound right with her voice. It was too deep or something.
“What's wrong with your voice, babe? Are you getting sick or something?” He asked, concern filling his voice as he stared at her now still face. She didn’t respond. She just stared blankly at him.
“Ashley, what's wrong w…” He started, but his breath caught in his chest as her now milky white eyes began to pour out of their sockets. He watched in wide eyed horror as the skin on her face began to melt away leaving only a bright white skull. Clay screamed as terror filled his body and he struggled to get away from the melted face of his wife. A di
stant voice sounded as his vision went black, panic now taking over completely.
“Clay, wake up man, you’re having a nightmare!” Hank’s voice broke through the haze of the dream, causing his eyes to fly open. He sat bolt upright, sweat pouring from his face as he started looking around the room. Hank grabbed his shoulder and shook it.
“Clay, snap out of it!” he said as he watched him gasping for breath. Finally, Hank’s words sank in to his panicked mind and his breathing started to slow to a more normal pace.
“You alright?” Hank asked.
“I’m fine.” Clay barked, jerking his shoulder away from Hank.
“Damn Clay, I was just trying to help!” Hank shot back. Clay jumped to his feet and darted out of the tent. Hank started to follow, but quickly changed his mind. Clay clearly needed a minute alone to get his mind right. A few minutes later Clay walked back in and sat down on the edge of his cot.
“Sorry about that.” Hank shook his head.
“Don’t worry about it. It happens.” Hank replied. Clay placed his face into the palms of his hands and sat there trying to scrub the gruesome images out of his head. After several long minutes Hank rose to his feet.
“Let’s go eat breakfast.” he said, and turned to leave the tent. Clay quickly put his clothes and boots on and took off after his brother. They sat at a small round table eating their food in silence, Clay’s distant stare making Hank feel uncomfortable.
“Want to talk about it?” Hank asked, trying to lighten the mood. Clay just shook his head and continued to stare at the table as he slowly spooned eggs into his mouth. Hank knew that his brother was taking the death of his wife pretty hard. Hell, who wouldn’t? But Clay was getting worse as the days went on. The screaming in his sleep was getting worse and Hank hoped the PTSD Clay sometimes dealt with wasn’t getting worse from all of the extra stress.
“You need to try and talk to me bro. I need you to be sharp when the shit starts to go down.” Hank said in a soft whisper. Clay looked over at him for a second and then back to the table.