Korean Chaos

by Pete Thorsen

  Three men were leaving the house. The last man to exit was obviously talking to someone still inside as he was walking towards the garage. So there were at least four people with three of them being men. Soon the garage door was raised, and a very well restored Ford pickup from the late fifties backed out of the garage. Two of the men were inside the pickup. The third man was sitting on what sure looked like a recliner in the back of the pickup.

  The truck was fairly quiet as it turned around and headed off towards town. The men were all very fit looking of medium age and builds. Each was armed with a rifle similar to what I had with me, and each had at least one pistol on their hips. One guy had two pistols with one on each hip. The guy in the back of the pickup laid his rifle in his lap as they drove away.

  I did not know what to make of the situation. The men were well armed but then again so was I. Just having guns did not make you a bad guy. Their actions seemed to indicate that today was just a regular day. It looked like three guys just driving off to work for the day. Ho hum, just another day at the office type thing.

  I was more confused now than before. I got the feeling that I was in for a long day. I was well concealed here, and I just settled down deeper and got ready for a long boring day. And that is just what it turned out to be too with a meager lunch being the only high spot.

  In the afternoon a man did come out of the house and went to what I then realized was a hand pump. He carried two empty pails. He pumped water into them and carried them back inside. He soon returned with what looked like the same pails and pumped more water into them. Then later did the same again.

  It was later afternoon, and I was about ready to call it a day when I heard the pickup returning. They had never closed the garage door, and now they drove directly into the detached garage. I watched and waited. I could not see into the garage. I heard what I assumed was the pickup doors open and one slam shut.

  The service door on the side of the garage opened and one of the men with a bloody make-shift bandage walked directly to the house. He looked and acted much worse-for-wear. It had apparently been a tough day at the office. Shortly after he went into the house, a fourth man came out and went into the garage. It looked like the same man I had seen pumping the water earlier.

  A couple of fair sized boxes were carried into the house from the garage with the men returning back to the garage. Another load I figured but was proved wrong right away.

  Two bound women were roughly escorted from the garage to the house by two of the men. Then the third man closed up the big garage door and went into the house also. At this point, the shadows were getting longer, and I had to be getting back home. I got up to leave, but instead of heading home I snuck closer to the house.

  I was still a ways from the house when I heard the first scream from one of the women. I heard two more screams as I was leaving. I had a good idea what was going on in the house. I did not have to hang around any longer.

  I left and walked home. When I was about a quarter mile from the guys’ house, I came up on the road and walked on that so it would be easier the rest of the way home. It was full dark before I got there. Karen was very worried. She had my meal waiting and warmed it in the microwave for me.

  “You didn’t get anything hunting today, daddy?”

  “No, Daddy got nothing today.”

  “You were gone a long time. Mommy was worried about you.”

  “I’m sorry I was gone so long. I wanted to shoot you a tiger, and I looked and looked for one.”

  “There’s no taggers here silly.”

  “I guess not because I couldn’t find any. I should have looked for a giraffe instead.”

  “There’s no graffs either.”

  “I’ll just have to keep hunting then.”

  “Are you going to be home tomorrow?”

  “I think I might just stay home with you tomorrow. Would you like that?”

  “Yes, stay home with Mommy and me.”

  “Okay, I will then.”

  When I finished eating it was already starting to get late. I spent some time with Cassy and then helped Karen tuck her into bed. Karen and I went back to the kitchen and sat at the kitchen table.

  She was waiting for a report, and I think she expected the worst. She heard me tell Cassy I would stay home tomorrow and that did not ease the tension I could see around her eyes. I did not want to tell her what I had seen and heard today but I knew I needed to tell her everything.

  “There are at least four men staying at that house. I am fairly sure it is just four. Three left late this morning and when they returned one had a bloody bandage around his head. The men are fit and maybe in their thirties. They gave me the impression of maybe ex-cops or ex-military. It was just an impression.

  “They were all well armed.”

  “Tell me the rest. I can see there is more. Tell me the bad stuff.”

  “They came back late. I was getting ready to come home. They unloaded a couple of what appeared to be fairly heavy boxes from the truck. My guess is supplies of some kind.”

  “And?”

  “And they also brought back two women who had their hands tied or cuffed behind their backs. When they were all inside the house, and the shadows were deep, I snuck a little closer. I did not have to get very close. I heard a woman scream. I turned around and left, but I heard more screams as I was leaving.”

  “Oh God.”

  We both stood at the same time, and again Karen came into my arms. She started to cry softly. It was sometime later that we went to bed.

  Chapter 17

  I lay awake a long time. I had to do something. I could not just ignore what was happening just a few miles away. But I was just one man. The four men looked comfortable with those weapons they carried, and it was very likely they had been getting plenty of use out of those guns. I was no match for four of them. But I had to do something.

  If I showed my hand and did not kill them, they would look for me. And they would likely find us. They would find Karen and Cassy. I could not allow that to happen. At the same time I could not just let the situation go. For one thing any day they could leave their driveway and just turn in this direction. Also, I would not be a man if I did not try and stop what was happening.

  Karen’s tears were for those women and also for what would happen next. She knew I would stop them or die trying. She would not even try to talk me out of it. And she was a strong woman, and if possible she would take her rifle and join me to stop these men. But we had Cassy to think about. We could not take her with us, and we could not leave her here by herself. So I would be facing those men alone.

  I would take a day or two at the most to come up with a viable plan that did not include my death. Sleep was a long time coming.

  In the morning I had a plan. It was a bad plan. The part I really did not care for was the part where I could very likely die. I had thought of a way to maybe kill three of them, if things went perfect, or kill two if things went poorly. Either way, I was not real likely to come out of it without being hurt or killed.

  But I worked on what I would need to complete the plan. I worked off and on all day. And I played with Cassy off and on all day. All three of us enjoyed the time spent together. By nightfall I was ready. I would leave in the morning, and I would either come home in the evening or I would not.

  In the evening and through the evening meal Karen and I were upbeat for Cassy’s sake. After she went to bed so did we. Eventually, we both slept. I left in the morning carrying a little more gear. I kissed my two girls good bye and left.

  Most of today I would be doing nothing. Just waiting. I got to my hidden observation point later than before. And I started waiting. Depending on what happens I might just return home again with no action taking place. Things have to progress just so if I am to stand a chance of living through this.

  I got here later today, so I did not have to wait too long before things started happening. Three came out of the house and went to the garage a
nd soon left the property. So far so good. I waited. It was later when the remaining man left the house to get water. I let him fill the two pails before I carefully placed a bullet into his head. When he fell, I shot once into his unmoving body.

  Then I got up because I had work to do. So far so good things were going as planned. I had cut the number by twenty-five percent. I checked the guy I had shot just to be sure. He was dead of course, but I had to check. I went into the house. I had my rifle ready just in case even though I was pretty confident that there had been only four guys.

  Then the plan blew up when I heard a noise in the house. The safety was off on my rifle, and I was now primed to the max. I advanced to where I thought the noise came from. It was, I guessed a bedroom. The door was shut, and I mentally prepared myself before kicking the door open and swinging my rifle across the room looking for a target.

  The naked woman on the bed was almost shot. She was tied and gagged. I ignored her for a moment and cleared the room to make sure she was alone. Then I left and did a quick check of the rest of the house. I found the other woman, but she was lifeless and lying in a heap waiting I guess to be taken out like old garbage.

  I grabbed a blanket off a bed and went back to the live woman. I covered her. Her eyes were wide and stared at me. I took the sheath knife I carried out, and she started to thrash around.

  “Stop. I am not here to hurt you. I just killed the one man that was still here. Calm yourself. If you do, I will cut the gag from your mouth.”

  I stepped back and waited. The woman looked at me. Then she nodded. I walked back to her and very carefully cut the gag off.

  “Cut me loose.”

  “Wait. We have to talk first. I want nothing from you, but your presence here complicates my day. My goal is to kill the other three men and leave. I had a plan, but now I find an innocent here. That makes it complicated. Do you understand my problem? The logical move for me is to re-gag you and go about my business. It is stupid for me to do anything else. But I do not want you to suffer any more than you have.”

  “Cut me loose, and I will help you.”

  “My plan is precise. And even then I might very well die during the fight with these men. I have limited time to rethink the plan to include another. And I do not want to send you away because they might find you before they return and then I would surely die.”

  “But certainly I could be of help. Please just cut me loose.”

  “Let me think for a minute. It hurts me to see you this way. Just give me a minute.”

  Very softly the woman just said “Please.”

  I thought hard about what to do. If I left her tied so she did not screw up the plan and I failed to kill them all, she would suffer greatly. If I cut her loose, she could very easily screw the plan, and we would both die. It was a problem that I did not want to deal with.

  “Okay. I am going to leave you tied for just a little bit. I don’t dare leave you tied up when the men come back because if my plan fails and I die you would be again at their mercy. I will not allow that to happen. So my promise is to free you before they return.

  “But I have work to do before they return and I cannot be thinking about what you are doing while I am busy working. So I will leave you tied, and I will work as fast as I can getting ready to kill the others. When I am ready, I will cut you free, and together we can decide what you and I should do next. That is the deal. Can you live with that deal? “

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “I’m sorry but no.”

  “Then you better get to work.”

  I did get to work. I had a plan, and I kept to it. But while I was working I did think of a modification where possibly the woman could help. It did not change the work I was doing at all, but if she did help it was possible, I would have a slight advantage over my original plan. When I was done with my work, I thought we had plenty of time yet before the rest came home. I brought in two pails of clean water. I set them in the bathroom, and I searched and found a clean towel and a couple of wash cloths. And some clothes that were not so clean. Then I went back to the woman.

  “I’m done. I thought of a way you could maybe help me kill these guys. If you want. There are two pails of clean water in the bathroom next door. There is also a clean towel. And some dirty clothes but that was all I could find. When I cut you loose don’t run away. I have some traps set, and I don’t want you to get hurt. I’ll cut you loose and wait for you in the kitchen.”

  She nodded her head, and I cut her loose. She stayed still. I left the room closing the damaged door behind me as I walked to the kitchen. I heard the woman moving around, and it was some time before she appeared in the kitchen. I ate my lunch while waiting. I also looked around some and laid a few things out for the woman to eat and drink.

  Chapter 18

  “There is some food on the table along with some water and sodas.”

  She had cleaned up some. Her face was black and blue. She sat down and looked at me for a moment then drank a whole bottle of water. Then she started eating while taking a sip of soda quite often.

  “Can you eat and talk?”

  “Yes. And yes I want to kill all those guys. I will use my bare hands.”

  “Have you ever shot a gun?”

  “No, but I am a fast learner. Especially when I have a lot of motivation.”

  “Okay. I would want you to have some way to defend yourself if this goes bad for us. There were four, and now there are three. I think I can kill one more without endangering either one of us. But that still leaves two. We may both die here today.”

  “Why are you doing this? What did they do to you?”

  “They did nothing to me. I was hiding nearby when they brought you here. I heard the screams when I left. I have a wife and a daughter. If I did nothing, sooner or later, they would find my family. Once I heard your screams I had no choice and I knew I would have to kill them or die trying. I am sorry, but I could not stop them that night. They would have killed me.”

  “So you just left us to those men.”

  “I am just a regular guy. I have never been in the Army or anything like that. I have never been a cop. I am a hunter, and that is the extent of my experience. These guys seem like either military or ex-cops. I had to think of some way to even the odds. Otherwise, I would have just thrown my life away trying to save you. I’m sorry, but that is just the facts.”

  “I want to kill them. I was hoping you would say that you did too. Do you also want to kill me?”

  “I did. I wanted to kill all men. But I won’t hurt you. You have been kind to me. I am trying to come to grips with you just walking away when you heard the screams. But I guess I would have done the same. What do you have planned for me if we win?”

  “I have nothing planned for you. I walk away. You have whatever is here for food, guns, whatever. And if the pickup comes through this and it still runs you can have that too. I only want to walk away from here.”

  “I’m ready. What do I do?”

  “Let me show you.”

  I showed her what I had done in the house, and we left using the front door and locked it behind us. I had told her to take a bottle of water and something to eat with her which she did.

  Once outside I showed her what I had done there. Then I showed her where I wanted her and what she was to do. Her part was very simple. I had the pistol I had taken from the guy I had killed. I unloaded it and worked with the woman for many minutes showing her how to shoot it. It was not enough time, but it was what I could do for the moment. Basically just point and pull the trigger.

  Then I left her and said she held both of our lives in her hand. She had to do what I told her, and we both had to hope it worked. And it might not. She was in back behind the garage. There was no chance they could see her when they drove home. They had again left the big garage door open. Everything was set. I was now in my spot in front and off to one side of the garage.

  The original plan had me back where the woman was
now. This plan was better. I was in concealment, and they would not know where I was until I killed one more of them. Now we just had to wait.

  Then I heard the pickup. There were no other vehicles, so it had to be them. I hoped the woman had not gone to sleep or passed out. She had been through a lot. All I could do was hope this worked.

  The pickup drove directly into the garage. I could not see completely inside because I was off to one side. I did see the guy in the back get out. He grabbed a bag that looked like a pillow case and walked to the house. This was it. He pulled open the side door of the house, and he was blown right off his feet.

  Almost most instantly there was another boom inside the garage. I was ready. One of the men came to the back of the pickup, and I instantly shot him. And he went down. I shot him again on the ground, and though I knew it was pointless, I shot the guy laying on the ground that had gone to the house. I could not take any chances.

  Now three of the four were certainly dead. The other might or might not be dead. I just waited. I waited a long time. Then I moved. I was careful, and I moved over to one side so I could see into the garage itself. I saw the fourth man lying on the floor. I sighted on him and shot into the body. The body jerked, and I shot a second time to be sure.

  Then I stood up and walked towards the garage. I looked at the three dead men. Then I yelled.

  “They are dead. You are safe.”

  The woman came around the corner of the garage. She had the pistol. She had it pointed towards me.

  “You planning on shooting me?”

  “You left me to those animals.”

  “Yes, I did. I had little choice. I’m not saying I don’t deserve it. But know if you shoot me you are also killing my wife and my young daughter.”

  The woman let the pistol drop to her side. I collected the pipe guns that I had brought with me, and when I had them, I left the woman and walked away.

  I had made and brought four of the pipe guns. Two I had put in the house so when the door was opened they would shoot and kill whoever opened the door.