“Hopefully, it doesn’t spread into that line of trees over there. There would be no stopping it,” said Q.
“Yea, it would probably burn the whole state down, and half of Idaho. All right, well, Alex was right. Let’s get the hell out of here. We need to go take care of our folks.”
As they were driving back through town, the streetlights came on.
“Well, looks like some of our folks are back at the substation and let them guys know the fight is over,” said Q.
“Yea, I can’t wait till we are settled enough to have electricity again,” replied Bill.
By the time Bill, Q, and Alex got back to where they’d left the war party, the Humvees were there, and they were ready to head back to base camp.
“What are we doing about the them?” Bill asked Cootch as he pointed to the ten women. They were now wearing ski jackets over their gowns and had socks and slippers on their feet.
“Mike and Shannon were talking to Mary about them joining us. But she is pretty fucked in the head, you know,” Cootch replied. “So, we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“All right. Well, we can’t just leave them here.”
“We’re not. I think, for tonight, they are going up to the north settlement and try to decompress. What do you want to do with Jane and Phillip?”
“We are going to give them a final resting place over by Pompey’s Pillar.”
“Ok, then. We’re ready when you are.”
“Yea. I’m not ready for this. But let’s head back.”
Chapter 9. Leaving Billings. Finally.
It was the morning of ZP16, and Bill woke up well after sunrise. He’d had nightmares all night but was at least rested. He had been exhausted beyond belief by the time they’d gotten back and buried the bodies of their fallen teammates.
Charity had regained consciousness on the ride back and was under the observation of Tess and Ginger. They had her in the Pompey Pillar welcome center and had taken turns checking on her throughout the night, along with monitoring the wounds of Alex, Bo, and Tanya. The welcome center had become a triage center of sorts. Bill showered and dressed, and then he headed over to check on her.
“Hey, you. I’m glad to see you’re awake,” Charity said.
“Thanks. I’m glad you seem to be doing ok.”
“Thanks. I’m ready to go now. Memaw said that if I start feeling dizzy or have fuzzy vision to let her know. Otherwise, I should be fine in a few days. But until then, no more playing war with the bad guys.”
“Good. Good. Well, we’re pretty sure that these bad guys are no more.”
“Pretty sure?”
“Well, the fire was huge and intense. Even if we went through the wreckage, there would be no bodies to identify. Just bones.”
“Ah, yea, I don’t remember any of that.”
“Well, you wouldn’t. You were out cold and gave me a good scare.”
“I heard you went all ballistic and ran out into the middle of the fray and killed everybody.”
“That might be a little exaggerated, but I like it. Let’s go with that.”
Charity giggled. “Ok, cowboy. We’ll let you keep your little fantasy.”
“I gotta go check on the others. See you in a little bit.”
Bill walked over to where everyone was gathered around a fire and having their morning coffee.
“You doing all right?” asked Q. “I mean, with Jane dying last night.”
“I’m fine. There is a reason we haven’t been married for over a decade now. But I know how hard this is on the Sam and Sally. Even Leah. Let alone her parents. But at least we can rest easier now knowing that the monsters that have been chasing us are no more. How’s Cootch and his mom doing?”
“He’s fine. You know he internalizes everything. But she looks like hell. She lost her husband and daughter a week ago, and now Phillip.”
“Yea, he does. That is what kinda has me worried. I don’t think Cootch will crack, but I hope he’s talking about it with Tess at least. Phillip said something to me that first day I met him. He said, ‘People just seem to die around you, don’t they?’ I’m beginning to think he’s right.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. We’re not going down this fucking rabbit hole again, are we? Jesus Christ, Bill. You had nothing to do with any of them dying. Look, man, once again, I know we look to you for leadership. You have that natural charisma. But we are all in this together. The world is not like it used to be. So, pull yourself out of this little fucking pity party and get the fuck over it. You hear me?”
“Yea. Thanks, man. That’s why I keep you around. Stop me from self-loathing.”
Both men had a good chuckle.
“All right, let’s start getting everything packed and get ready to go. Has anybody looked to see where we might stay tonight?”
“Naw, man. We thought you already did.”
“Not really. I’m going to go look at the map and come up with some ideas. Let me know when we’re ready.”
It was nine in the morning when they left Pompey’s Pillar and the two unmarked graves behind.
As they passed the eastern end of the runway, the fire had burned out. It had gone as far as the perimeter road, scorching the dry grass, but had not gone beyond that. They drove over to the north settlement to check on the remaining Billings survivors to see if there were any last takers on joining them.
Alex and Abe had already expressed interest, so much so that the two of them had gotten up early and gone to a couple of the local RV dealers to pick up homes on wheels. They had loaded up the backs of the pickup trucks they’d acquired with enough dry goods to get themselves through the winter and next spring. They had asked what they needed to do in order to join the group the night before. Bill had given them a short list, and they’d fulfilled it: RVs and food.
While the convoy was still in Billings, Abe, being the electronics expert, rewired the HF radio in Bill’s trailer so that it would get reception from farther away. He also modified it to pick up all frequencies, even the military bands. Sally and Leah had new jobs: they sat at the dinette of Bill’s trailer while the convoy was underway and monitored the radio at all times.
After spending a couple of hours with the local survivors, no one else seemed interested in leaving. Even Mary and the rest of the harem decided to stay behind. They rather enjoyed the hot showers. The RV people bid them farewell, and Bill made sure they had directions on where to find the new settlement should anyone change their minds.
As they prepared to leave, Bill ran a mental inventory of all the vehicles and people.
Let’s see, there are…fourteen total vehicles in the convoy:
Dennis in his semi.
Me and Charity in the 4Runner with trailer.
Q, D, and Andre in their truck and trailer.
Cootch, Tess, and kids in their truck and trailer.
Mike, Shannon, and Brad and Danielle in truck and trailer.
Abe, truck and trailer.
Alex, truck and trailer.
Shane, Anne, Sally, and Leah in an EarthRoamer.
Tanya is alone in her EarthRoamer.
Shaun is alone in his EarthRoamer.
Sam and Kathrin in their EarthRoamer.
Bo, Ginger, and kids in their EarthRoamer.
Sasha is alone in the Sprinter.
Papaw, Memaw, and Doris are in Behemoth.
Holy fucking shit balls, Batman. Dad is going to shit a golden brick when we get there.
The convoy meandered through town, going down Rimrock Road one last time. Off to the northwest side of town, they could still see tendrils of smoke drifting off lazily with the wind in an easterly direction. They entered Interstate 90 farther to the south instead of taking the most direct route because Alex and Abe had advised them of the roadblock Harvey had set up.
The first couple of hours passed by easily, and they were making good time. Just outside of Bozeman, as the elevation increased, the temperature dropped, and at the edge of Bozem
an, it started to snow.
“Well, shit. This reminds me that we need to make sure everyone’s heaters are in good working order and we have propane for everyone until we can get some better heaters that will work off the solar,” said Bill into the comms.
“Yea, I don’t think it’s a huge priority right now. But within the next few months, we will have to do some shopping for the ones I was telling you about,” replied Mike.
“Ok, sweet. I just wanted to remind everyone that in case we see them someplace, we stop. I don’t want them to get passed up just ’cause it’s not a priority right now.”
“Copy. Then, next stop that looks like it might have some, I’ll let everyone know what to look for.”
“Sweet.”
The snow was starting to accumulate on the roadway, but Dennis did not slow down. The speed limit signs read seventy-five, and he was using every bit of it.
Coming down the grade into Butte, Bill looked over at the wide valley below and saw that it was raining down there.
Once they were back on level land, Dennis sped up even more.
“Dennis, man, where’s the fire?” asked Bill.
“Well, I’m getting some radio chatter on the CB. Tune into channel nine.”
Bill followed instructions.
“…coming down 90,” said a woman’s voice.
“Well, I don’t see shit right now with all this rain,” said a man’s voice.
“That doesn’t mean it ain’t them. What are we going to do? It looks like there are more of them. You think some of the Billings people joined them?”
“Probably. Just let them on by, and we’ll send a scout to follow them.”
Bill switched his com to voice-activated.
“What do you think, guys? Do we wanna wait and see if they really do try and catch up to us?”
“I have an idea,” said Kathrin.
“Weeeellll, we’re waiting.”
“Ok, Sam and I, and Shane and Anne get off the interstate in a few exits, and we wait for them to go by. Then we pull in behind them and follow them. Give them a taste of their own medicine.”
“I don’t like that idea at all,” said Papaw. “We just lost a couple of our folks yesterday. We need to stick together. I can take care of them.”
“It’s not a good idea for you to be whipping that thing around right now, Papaw, especially if it starts to snow around here. Even on these wet roads, you could lose control,” replied Q.
“Damnit, you’re probably right, but I still don’t like that idea.”
“Papaw, we will be fine. The scout will be in front of us, and we will be shooting at them,” said Sam.
“Just be careful.”
“Father, I just heard on the military radio that they are sending someone out in a deuce something,” said Sally.
“Probably a deuce and a half. Those retards. That thing will never be able to catch us at this speed,” said Cootch.
“True. That means they are probably sending out more than just a scout,” said Bill.
“Or they just want to pose as the Army. That could be their ploy to get us to comply,” said Q.
“Either way, we are taking them out. They didn’t sound very military on the CB,” said Bill.
On the west side of town, the two RVs broke from the group and exited to a national chain travel center. They pulled around and parked behind a couple of semi-trucks with their noses out just far enough that they could see the freeway.
Kathrin looked into the semi cab next to her. The driver was still there and belted in. The thriller kept hitting the window and banging its head until the inside of the window was covered in black goop. They waited only a few minutes before they saw a deuce and a half Army truck go roaring by. After another minute, the two off-road RVs pulled out and back onto Interstate 90. Shane and Sam kept the speed down to under seventy. They didn’t want to catch up to them too soon and wanted the bad guys to fall into a bit of complacency.
When they were a few minutes from Deer Lodge, they had gotten close enough to see the deuce briefly. When the freeway made a sweeping right that would take them around the outskirts of the town, they sped up as fast as the RVs would go.
They didn’t see the deuce again, so they decided to make the scheduled stop with everyone else. They figured the driver hadn’t seen the rest of the convoy turn off and had kept going. Shane slowed down to navigate the exit safely, and his stomach dropped.
“Shit, its them. Its go time, people, as Bill would say. Convoy lead, do you copy?”
“Yeppers. Where are you guys?” Bill replied.
“On the other side of the freeway from you. At the off ramp.”
“Copy. Don’t get too close. Since they fucked up, let us handle it. Just don’t let them get away.”
“Roger wilco. Will do.”
Shane veered onto the right shoulder, and Sam pulled up alongside him, and they slowly drove towards the deuce. It was parked a few yards back from the stop sign, where it wouldn’t be seen by the RV people at the travel plaza on the other side of the freeway.
Shane and Sam rolled down their windows and pointed pistols out with their left hands. Kathrin and Anne had M4s out their windows. The two RVs stopped at seventy-five yards back from the deuce and waited.
Bill, Cootch, and Q took off at a run from the gas station and across the frontage road. Bill ran up the dirt berm under the overpass until he was right under the bridge. He didn’t stop until he was under the westbound lanes. Cootch and Q stayed lower until they were just out of sight of the deuce based on Shane’s description.
Bill lay in the grass and crawled on his stomach until he could see the two occupants of the large Army truck. It lurched forward like it was about to take off, and Bill shot the front tire and then the back tires. Cootch and Q came around the berm and sighted down their rifles.
“Don’t move, motherfucker! We have you surrounded!” Cootch yelled. “You no longer have the right to remain silent. You no longer have the right to an attorney. You say or do anything, and I’ll fucking blow your brains out.”
“Really? That’s what you have to say?” Q asked.
“All my years of being a cop, and I always wanted to say some shit like that.”
The men in the deuce raised their hands up so they could be seen out the windshield. Q and Cootch split up and went to each side of the truck.
“Get out. NOW!”
The men opened the door and climbed down. Cootch grabbed the driver and threw him on the ground.
“Whoa, man. We didn’t mean you any harm. There’s only two of us.”
“Then why were you following us?”
Q dragged the passenger around from the other side and threw him down on top of his buddy. They both let out an exaggerated sigh from the air being forced out of their lungs. Cootch kicked the driver in the ribs.
“I’m not going to ask you again.”
The driver coughed and gasped, and when he finally regained his breath, he said, “Come on, man, be cool.”
“Oh, you’re going to think how cool it is here in a minute.”
“Ok. Ok. Our boss wanted us to follow you and find out where you were staying. Then report back. We were going to steal your meds, man. That’s it. We don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“What should we do about this, Q?”
“Cut off their balls?”
“Oh, I know. Let’s cut off their ears and then cauterize the wounds so they don’t bleed out. And send them back as a message to their boss,” said Bill.
“Oh God, please, no, just let us go. We swear we will tell them we couldn’t find you,” the driver begged. A dark spot began to expand from his crotch.
Bill looked at the other two guys, and they gave a very subtle nod. He leaned down, grabbed a handful of the driver’s hair, and lifted him up just far enough for Bill to look him in the eye.
“You only get one warning. If I see hide or hair of you little fuckers ever again, there will be no questions. You will
be dead before you even realize what happened. I have snipers posted at all times, and they are fucking badass at what they do. Oh, and by the way, we heard your little radio transmissions as we were going through town. So, there is nothing about you being here that we didn’t already know. Leave and never come back. Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?”
“Yes. Yes, sir.”
Bill let go of his hair, and the driver’s head fell back. The two guys got up and climbed back into the deuce. Shane and Sam followed them around to the eastbound on ramp. The deuce sped up as fast as it could and disappeared over the horizon.
Bill called Sam, Shane, Anne, and Kathrin over.
“Hey, you guys did an amazing job just a little bit ago. You kept everyone safe and scared the shit out of those guys. Thanks.”
“It was actually kinda fun. I’m starting to get used to this way of life,” said Sam.
“I’m just glad that you’re all ok,” replied Bill.
Deep down, he wasn’t happy about what she’d said. He’d never wanted this life for his children. He also knew that it was unavoidable in this new world. He hoped that he could get them set up in Washington before things got too bad.
“Hey, y’all, we have a new issue to deal with,” D said over the comms, interrupting Bill’s thoughts. “There is a hospital of sorts two hundred and fifty yards to the north. And they just realized we’re here.”
“D, are there any open spaces around that you can see from up there?” asked Bill.
“Due west of the hospital. There is nothing as far as I can see.”
“Got it. Cootch, get me some Saturn Missiles or something loud,” Bill said.
“I’m already on it. Let’s go.”
Bill and Cootch jogged due west down the street the gas station was on. At the next block, they turned right and headed towards the hospital.
“Fuck me, man. I was looking forward to retirement from the Air Force so I didn’t have to run so fucking much anymore,” said Bill
“Well, chubby, it looks like you needed it. Now, come on.”
Beginning of the New Beginning Vol 3 Page 13