by N. C. Reed
“Turning,” Heath called out, lest any of the others be caught by surprise. He moved the big rig onto the smaller secondary road without any problem.
“Hey Kade, ain't this the road Sherry Atkins lives on?” Zach called from the turret.
“Yeah, Kade,” Heath took up the conversation. “I remember you making your way down here for any reason you could figure back in the day, man!”
“Shut up,” Kade muttered, his ears reddening at the taunting. He had nursed a crush on the Atkins girl for at least three years that Gordy knew of, but she had never noticed he was alive.
“We can always stop and see if she's interested in you now!” Titus jabbed his friend. “She might like a man in uniform, bro!”
“Probably dead, now,” Kade's voice was just loud enough to be heard. “Can't see her being any better off than anybody else,” he added, gaze set behind them even though the Hummer was right there.
The ribbing died a quick death at the reminder that Sherry Atkins, just like many of their former classmates, was probably gone. It was a sobering thought that thoroughly ruined the good mood in the Cougar.
“Sorry, man,” Titus offered softly after a minute. “I didn't think, that's all.”
“It's cool,” Kade shrugged. “Don't sweat it.”
And that was it. Such was the friendship between the young men that even something like that wouldn't come between them. That friendship had pulled them through many a tough time in their lives, though never anything like what they faced now.
Still, that friendship remained strong. So did they.
--
It was on the fourth 'leg' that things picked up. Over half of the circle had been made with no sign of anyone at all despite the fact that they passed many houses along the way. It was beginning to be a creepy feeling to be so alone in a countryside that once had more than a few people and an abundance of livestock.
“Anyone else notice we ain't seeing any cattle or horses at all?” Gordy asked.
“And the Stills' goat farm didn't have no goats visible, neither,” Heath added.
“What about the Careys?” Kade asked. “All them hogs they had. I didn't see a one.”
“Been a long winter, guys,” Zach pointed out. “Hungry people all over, too. It's not that strange that the livestock is gone, is it?”
“Well, no,” Kade replied. “Hadn't considered that since we hadn't really ate much of Gordy's family's livestock. Guess other folks ain't been so fortunate?”
“I'd say people that didn't have stock stole from those that did,” Gordy nodded. “Still, I'm surprised we hadn't seen anybody at all.”
“Dude, if you survived everything else that's happened and then looked up on one of the first pretty days in months to see what looks like a military convoy, or worse a mercenary group moving through your 'hood, would you be out waving at 'em like it was a parade or something?”
Everyone but Heath looked at Titus as he finished speaking. He didn't often drop pearls of wisdom, but when he did they were pretty good ones.
“No, I can't say that I would,” Gordy finally spoke. “You're right. Not much reason for anyone to want to attract our attention.”
“Guys,” Heath's voice cut into the conversation. “I think we got trouble ahead, fellas.”
“What is it?” Gordy asked. “Corey, trade with me,” he ordered. Corey moved to cover the right as Gordy moved to the front to see what was happening. Heath had already slowed to even more of a crawl than what they had been using, easing along at about ten miles per hour.
“I got five, six, make it nine, that's nine-foot mobiles, all armed,” Zach reported from the roof. “Long arms all, rifles and shotguns and…one AR of some kind. And... shit,” he muttered under his breath. “One family on the ground in front of that house. Looks like a shakedown to me.”
“Not our business?” Heath asked. The men in question noticed the Cougar just then and began to react to it.
“I can see nine armed men raiding the countryside as a threat to us,” Gordy said after a few seconds. “Stop here while we get mounted, then move up. Stop us in front of the house but keep us on the road. Zach?” he called over the radio.
“Yo,” came the immediate reply.
“Be ready, but don't fire unless they shoot at us. And try not to hit the civies.”
“Dude, please,” Zach snorted. “I think I can miss people who are laying on the ground at gun point.”
“Uh huh,” was Gordy's only reply. “All right gang. Let's get situated while I explain to the grownups what's happening.”
-
“This looks ominous,” Tandi noted as the Cougar halted and the rear door opened.
“Pancho this is Chip,” they heard just then. “Nine tangos ahead, looks like a forced shakedown on a family. I deem nine armed raiders in our AO to be a possible threat to us so we're moving.”
“Roger that,” Jose replied, looking at Tandi. “You're in command. Your decision, your responsibility.”
“Got it,” was the only reply.
“Well that escalated quickly,” Tandi chuckled.
“So, it did,” Jose nodded. “Better pay attention or we 'll be left in the line of fire.”
“I think they got bigger worries than us at the moment,” Tandi kept laughing as a heavy machine gun started chattering.
-
“Move us up,” Gordy ordered as he balanced on the steps outside the vehicle. “Zach, remember! No shooting unless-”
The rest was cut off as a round bounced off the Cougar's armor and Zach immediately replied in kind, times a dozen.
“Friendly sort!” Kade yelled as the Cougar sped up. The four hanging on the outside ignored everything at the point aside from keeping a firm hold on the vehicle. Above them, Zach was spraying the now confirmed enemy with short, controlled bursts just as he'd be taught.
The Cougar slid to a halt and Gordy, Kade, Titus and Corey dropped off, stacking up at the rear of the vehicle.
“Kade, Corey, take the front. Titus, with me. They opened fire on us so they're Tangos from here on. Take 'em.” Gordy snapped orders as if he'd been doing it all his life. “Don't get dead. Move on my say so.”
The teens took up places, stacked one behind the other. Gordy took a deep breath and let it go, then looked over his shoulder.
“Ready Ty?”
“You call it we haul it, brother,” Titus nodded. “Let’s get it.”
“Move move MOVE!” Gordy repeated and the four moved as one.
Zach had downed one man with the M-2 but was mostly concentrating on just keeping their attention and their heads down. Now his friends were able to get the jump on their enemies because said enemies were using all their concentration on that machine gun.
Gordy and Titus moved straight off the rear of the Cougar and into the yard. Gordy snapped a burst at the first man he saw, stitching the rounds from crotch to chest and dropping his target hard. Titus was right behind and had two of three rounds hit the same man, quite unnecessarily.
On the opposite side Kade triggered a burst at two men, missing both but making them flinch and duck for cover. One was too slow and Corey managed to hit him with a pair of well-aimed, well-timed rounds. Kade foolishly turned to congratulate his buddy and felt a tug at his shoulder as he did so.
“Look out!” Corey yelled as he fired two separate three round bursts at the offending shooter, hitting him with second. Kade's eyes widened as he realized what had nearly happened and he froze for a few seconds.
“Pay attention!” Corey yelled, moving to take the lead position. “Watch our six!”
-
“Shouldn't we be helping?” Tandi asked, watching from the Hummer.
“Anyone help you the first time?” Jose asked, never taking his eyes from what was happening.
“Well, no,” Tandi admitted. “But I was with experienced men, too. They're all rooks.”
“And we're experienced,” Jose nodded, binoculars still firmly fixed against his
eyes. “They have to learn, and the days of plenty are over. I hate it as much as the rest of you, but. . .we've taught them well. They have to walk on their own now. Any or all of us could buy it at any second. If they were all alone, they'd have to do this themselves.”
“Hard way to learn is all I'm saying,” Tandi sighed.
“Yeah, it is,” Pancho agreed.
-
“See anything?” Gordy asked over his shoulder, his eyes roving the yard. “Stay down!” he yelled to the man as he started to get to his feet. A gunshot rang out and the man fell, holding his leg.
“Stay down and don't move!” Gordy called to the rest of the family. A woman and three kids huddled on the ground near the man. The woman's dress showed signs of having been roughly treated and Gordy's face contorted.
“We need to kill these fuckers, Ty,” he almost growled, his voice low and near guttural.
“I'm with ya,” Titus agreed, still watching the yard. “Say when.”
“We 'll move toward the house, flanking their positions and try to catch 'em in a cross fire between us and Kade and Corey,” Gordy ordered.
“On you,” Titus agreed.
“Let's head for that tractor,” he pointed. “I'll take front, you take rear. Corey,” he keyed his radio. “Lay down some cover fire while Ty and me make a move. We 'll go when you start.”
“Roger that,” Corey replied.
Gordy and Titus crouched lower and bunched their legs up, ready to run. Only seconds later sporadic fire that turned to heavy fire began as Kade and Corey both opened fire at pretty much anything that might look like one of their attackers.
Gordy lurched to his feet, running flat out for the Massey Ferguson tractor sitting in the yard to the right of the house. A part of Gordy's mind that wasn't occupied with staying alive and being slightly terrified assumed that the tractor had finally ran out of fuel there and the farmer had been forced to leave it. That same idle part of his mind recalled that he didn't know the family that lived here. They had bought this place when the Smothers family had sold out to move to Nashville. Their children were young and Gordy had never met any of them.
He slid beneath the large tractor and took cover behind the rear tire, probably the best place to hide from gunfire that there was. He felt a hammer blow in his left side and turned to see Titus laying beside him.
“Sorry man,” the other teen said. “Scared,” he added.
“You and me both brother,” Gordy nodded. “All right, lets see if we can whittle the odds a bit. Any idea how many we've hit?”
“Just the one,” Titus shrugged helplessly. “Dunno about Kade and Corey.”
“Corey, any idea how many you've taken down?” Gordy called.
“One,” came the reply. “Another possible but can't confirm it.”
“Roger that,” Gordy sighed. “Well, this is turning into a cluster ain't it?”
“You said it,” Titus nodded, then brought his rifle us and opened fire at a target that hadn't been careful enough.
-
Kade was still shaking at his near hit but was returning fire at two different enemies that were taking potshots at him and Corey. He changed magazines with shaking hands and cleared his rifle, hiding behind a flower bed.
Corey was on the other side of that same flower bed, looking the other way. He saw a flash of color behind the truck in the yard and squeezed off a round, grinning without humor when he heard a yell of pain. When the man hit the ground beneath the truck Corey was waiting and shot him again. This time there was no scream of pain, and no further movement.
Ears ringing despite his hearing protection, Corey searched for another target.
-
“Burning up a lot of ammo,” Mitch noted from where he was keeping an eye out.
“So did I, first time I was engaged,” Juarez replied. “Shot up seven magazines in what seemed like seconds. Hit maybe one insurgent. Thought I was King Shit on Turd Mountain, too,” he chuckled. “They're doing okay so far.”
Anyone else might have been shocked at how casually these men observed six teenage boys combating nine grown men in a gunfight. It would seem callous to the casual onlooker to refer to such an action so carelessly.
But these men had been hardened over years of combat in some of the dirtiest places in the world. They had learned in those years that life was cheap in times such as these. That the fittest, the strongest would survive in the rough times and the rest would fail.
They had trained these teenagers as hard as possible, to the point that this trial by fire was all that remained. Juarez had not known they would find something such as this, but the fight itself had been inevitable. Had it not been here, then the teens would have gotten their baptism somewhere else. It was a harsh, unforgiving school for a harsh and unforgiving world.
Before this, the teens had been a sharp knife, keen but unused. If they survived this encounter, then they would be daggers. War blades ready to protect their family and friends and perhaps a few others.
If they survived.
-
“There!” Gordy called and fired at a man who had just jumped to his feet. Gordy realized as he shot the man that he had been headed for the family.
“Ty!” Gordy called. “Move to the front and try and protect the family!” he ordered when his friend had looked his way. “I 'll cover!” Without waiting he flipped his selector switch to 'auto' and began to spray the area in front of him, careful to avoid the direction of the family or his friends. He was unlikely to hit anything like this, but the fire would force the others to keep their heads down.
Titus began moving at once, scrambling over Gordy and into the open, moving to the front tires of the tractor, which provided not nearly so much cover but would allow him to see the family huddled in terror on the ground much clearer. And attackers like the one who was headed for the woman and her children with a shotgun right now!
Without much thought Titus raised his rifle and put a three-round burst down range, missing the man but scaring him at least. The man drew up short, standing still as he looked around. Titus made him pay for that mistake as his next three rounds walked up the man's torso and knocked him back onto the ground.
“Is that four?” Gordy yelled. “Or five?”
“Four. I think,” Titus called back. How the hell was he supposed to know that?
“At least five more lets figure,” Gordy said over the radio for them all. “Settle down and remember your training,” he added, more to himself than his friends. “Steady up.”
-
In the Cougar, Zach and Heath watched, unable to do much to help at the moment.
“Gun's too heavy to use against them with the family and our guys so close,” Zach observed. “And so far, they've hit every target I might get a shot at with my rifle. I never imagined it would be so fast like this,” he admitted.
“Me neither,” Heath agreed. His own rifle was in his hands but he couldn't leave the vehicle unless Gordy called for him. Right now, his teammates thought the Cougar was manned and ready to move. If they called for it, counting on it to be somewhere and Heath wasn't there, it could be disastrous. Fatally so.
“Sitting here sucks, man,” he settled for saying.
“Sure does,” Zach agreed. “Sure-” he cut himself off as he saw something that required his immediate attention and lifted his rifle.
-
“Look out!” Titus called as he saw a man with a rifle making toward the rear of the tractor and Gordy's position. “Rifle, rifle!” he yelled as he tried to get his own rifle around.
Startled, Gordy turned his head to see a man behind the tractor aiming right for him. Scrambling around, trying to get to the far tire while still trying to get his rifle aimed in the right direction, Gordy managed neither. The man's face had a terrible sneer on it as it he bore sighted the teen.
Well, shit, was all Gordy could think. He heard a shot and waited for the impact.
The sneer slowly faded from the man's f
ace as his rifle appeared to become too heavy to hold. In slow motion it seemed to Gordy, the rifle slipped from the man's fingers and hit the ground, his body following. Over the body Gordy could see Zach standing in the turret of the Cougar, rifle in hand. As he looked, Zach waved to him once before disappearing from view again.
“Son-of-a-bitch!” Gordy swore softly. “Thank you, Jesus, for good friends and family!”
Zach had absolutely just saved Gordy's life.
-
Unaware of Gordy's close call, Kade was now trying to make up for his momentary failure. Up and sprinting, he made for the line of vehicles in the drive way, rolling to a stop behind a mini-van. He quickly cleared the far side, seeing only the body of the man that Corey had dropped earlier, then moved his way up the drive using the van for cover.
Corey's voice came over the radio in his ear complaining that Kade had moved without telling him, but Kade ignored it. He wasn't going to be taken by sur-
A man with a pistol literally jumped from the front of the van, waving the handgun around like a madman. Kade froze for a second but then made himself act, pulling his rifle into battery and firing. The three-round burst sent the man tumbling back between vehicles onto the pavement, blood spraying everywhere.
“Jesus!” Kade exclaimed. It had happened again! What the hell!
“Kade are you okay you idiot!” Corey's voice came to him again.
“I'm good,” he replied. “One down at the front of the van. Holding.”
“Roger that,” Corey answered. “Let us know bef-” Corey was cut off by a blast of fire and Kade raised his head to see two men both firing at Corey from behind what looked like an old washing machine that had been turned into a planter.
He sighted on the one on his side.
-
“Dude, look!” Gordy pointed. Titus saw one man behind some kind of old appliance with flowers growing out of it.
“There can't be too many left,” Gordy said. “Can you get him? I can't get a shot.”
Nodding, Titus aimed carefully, waiting for the man to pop up again. He looked to be shooting at Corey but he couldn't be su…