DISASTER: Too Late to Prep

by Terry McDonald

  “Dog’s a dog. They’re healthy and young. Once a Chow, even a mixed one, takes to you, you’ll never lack for a loyal friend.”

  Bacon grabbed one of the dogs and held it to his chest. “Poke a hand of the window so I can hold ‘em to see if they’ll bite you. These two is brothers. Funny how a mama dog can squeeze out a litter and all of ‘em look different. Their mama is a slut if there ever was one. Every time she goes inta heat, the dog’s line up to have a go at her.”

  Bacon tested the two dogs against Max’s hand. They sniffed, but neither bothered to lick it. Max was grateful they didn’t decide to eat it. Bacon brought the dogs to the passenger door. Otis opened it for him and Bacon tossed the one with long hair up onto the seat.

  “Grab that one's hair and hold on so he can’t jump out. Animals don’t like leaving home.”

  Max secured the animal. Bacon tossed in the other dog and walked back to his cabin. Otis slammed the door shut and that was that. Max and family were the proud owners of two dogs that, for the first half hour, went on a rampage of movement looking for a way out of the truck. Even though they were mauling Max in the desperate leaping around inside the cab, they showed him no animosity.

  The next stop was at the electronics store at a strip mall in Toccoa, for the listening devices. The brothers helped contain the dogs so Max could exit the truck.

  Jacob pointed to a pet supply store. “You should buy a couple of collars and leashes. Two twenty-five foot chains too. You’re gonna need ‘em. Otis and I’ll start getting what Ada needs rounded up.”

  Max did as suggested and then joined the brothers inside the electronics supply store. Jacob saw him enter and hurried to meet him.”

  “Your stuff’s at the counter. I need to ask a favor of you. We were talking to the owner. He has night vision scopes and Geiger counters. He said they came in on special order only a few hours ago. We could use those, so could you, but after paying for the feed, we’re broke.”

  “How much does he want for the items?”

  “Too much, but I doubt if we’ll find them anywhere else. You’ll want one of each too. The cost will come close to fifteen-hundred. I’d say two-thousand in total with the listening devices and the list of parts Ada gave for your LED intrusion board.”

  “If I front the money for the scope and radiation detector, would that cover the cost of the board and connecting to our computer?”

  Jacob, nodded, “And more.”

  Max said, “The pet store took my plastic. Let’s see if the owner here will, if so, we’ll call it even on the board.”

  Max rolled the cart with the listening devices and receiver, along with a scope and radiation detector to his truck. The brothers carried their items in bags.

  Max unlatched the roll up rear door. As he reached into the cart, he felt a painful sharp jab in his back and twisted to see what it was. A burly, unshaven Hispanic man poked him in the side. Max looked at the pistol in his hand.

  “Don’t open your mouth, motherfucker. I’m going to take your wallet and drive away. You try to fight or yell I’ll put a bullet in your guts. You—,”

  The man was yanked away from Max. Jacob had the hand holding the pistol clamped in his own. He used his other hand in the man’s hair to pull him to the ground. A sharp twist snapped the gun hand’s wrist. While Jacob held him down, Otis stepped close to the man and stomped his stomach with his booted foot. The man, gasped, attempting to draw a breath. Otis bent to remove the pistol from between the two hands.

  Max was stunned. “He was robbing me,” he said.

  Jacob and Otis nodded. “We noticed that,” Otis said, deadpan. To his brother he said, “He still hasn’t drawn a breath.”

  Jacob agreed. “Yeah, you may have stomped him too hard.” He turned from staring at the man and surveyed the parking lot. There were no witnesses visible. “Max, get in your truck and let’s go. There’s no need for us to mess with the cops over this piece of scum.”

  Max didn’t argue. He opened the cab of his truck, shoving the dogs to the other side as he climbed in. As he followed the O’Donnell’s from the mall, he couldn’t help but think about how dark the man’s face had been turning. He felt the man was going to die lying where he was.

  The ride back to the farm was uneventful. Max was absorbed in thinking about the man they’d left gasping for breath in the parking lot, and he didn’t notice the time passing.

  The O’Donnell brothers turned onto their drive. He continued to his turnoff, tooted the horn as he passed the house and drove into the barn. He had the truck door open, and was lowering the ramp when the other members of his family entered the barn. He was pleased to see Dorrie and Kelly had their shotguns with them.

  Dorrie gazed into the truck at the bags of feed stacked floor to ceiling, filling three-quarters of the space. “That’s not a one day job.”

  Max agreed. “More like three. I’ll have to do the unloading and stacking. Most of the bags are fifty-pounders. We’ll spread some tarps in the stalls and I’ll get started after lunch. Kelly, there’re a couple dogs in the cab of the truck that need attention.

  Kelly started for the front of the truck. Max called for her to wait. “If you open the door, they’re going to make a run for it. I’ll give you a hand in a minute getting collars and leashes on em.” Jake pointed to the bags and boxes from the electronics supply house. “Bobby, you can carry the smaller items into the house. Don’t carry too much at a time. I don’t want you dropping anything.”

  Bobby stepped onto the lift. “I’ll be careful. Where do you want me to put it?”

  The next half-hour was a busy one. Max helped Kelly collar and leash the young, energetic dogs. Once they were out of the truck, they were calmer, and judging by the amount of face licking they indulged in, seemed to enjoy the company of their new owners.

  Kelly held the leashes, one in each hand, the dogs jerking her, this way and that, as they playfully lunged about. “What are their names?”

  “You know, I forgot to ask Bacon,” Max told her. “You can name one and Bobby can name the other.”

  “You forgot to ask, Bacon?” Dorrie queried.

  Max chuckled. “I was waiting for that question. Bacon is the name of the man who gave us the dogs. Can you believe it?”

  Max left it to the kids to take care of the dogs. He and Dorrie spread the tarps in two stalls. As they worked, he told her about the robbery attempt and the O’Donnell brother’s take down of the perp.

  “Lord, Max. You simply drove away and left him... Maybe left him dying?”

  “It happened so quickly. I guess I wasn’t thinking. When Jacob said go, I went.”

  “Should you call the police or something? Forget that. Our phones aren’t working and neither is the internet. No signal.”

  “I thought about doing that, but decided not to. Decided to trust the O’Donnell’s judgment.” Max checked his phone. “I’ve got no signal.”

  “I hope the authorities don’t come and cart you off in cuffs. We had a bit of excitement here at the farm while you were gone. I finally met Billy Ray Dobbs, you know, the redneck hoodlum Jacob mentioned.”

  Max stopped smoothing his end of the tarp and glanced worriedly at Dorrie. “He came here?”

  “Yeah, he and two of his brothers. Billy Ray said he saw the fuel truck leaving our farm and wanted to know if we’d sell them some diesel. I told him he’d have to speak to you. He kept pushing me to make a decision myself. He said he knew we have two-thousand gallons and it wouldn’t hurt us to sell a few hundred gallons.”

  “Damn. He must have talked to the company that delivered the fuel.”

  Dorrie said, “Granny told me most of the families around here are related to each other through marriages. There aren’t any secrets in this area.”

  Max said, “Billy Ray gets around. He knows we bought the last of the feedstock from the supply store in Toccoa. The owner said Billy Ray was pissed.”

  “He was more than pissed when he left our plac
e. He said, I’m quoting, ‘When the shit hits the fan, folks around here will remember who’s a friend and who ain’t. Tell that husband of yours to be careful who he picks’.

  Dorrie continued, “Billy Ray and his brother’s are dangerous. I think they’re sociopaths. Ada, Jacob’s oldest daughter say’s the County Sheriff’s Office busted him for having a meth lab. He got off with probation because the family’s related to the judge that tried him.”

  “Meth. Damn.”

  “Ada told me the Dobbs found out it was Otis who found their lab in the woods and turned them in. Someone in the sheriff’s office told the Dobbs. That was three years ago and there’s been bad blood between them ever since.”

  Max said, “I guess the bad blood had spilled over to us because of our friendship with the O’Donnell’s. We’ll have to be super diligent and keep a closer guard from now on. I hope the dogs know to bark at strangers.”

  “I hope they don’t come back,” Dorrie said. “Billy Ray was the only one who got out of their truck, but I could see the barrels of the rifles the others were holding. There’s another thing Max. Kelly was listening to her radio this morning while she was out at the chicken house. She came running in to turn on the screen.”

  “Good to know the satellite’s still working. What’s happening?” Max asked.

  “As long as fuel’s in the generator, it does. It ran out while you were gone. I had a hard time getting it to start after I refilled it. Anyway, ‘God’s Head’ issued a warning. I’ll have to paraphrase. “A weeding is coming, and for the wicked, the wasters, and the greedy to be prepared to burn in hell.”

  “Did the message say what was coming, what they’re planning?”

  “No, but seeing the damage caused already, I am sure the terrorists will follow through with something horrific. The local news was on the same broadcast. Atlanta is a war zone. Five of the major gangs have numbers in the hundreds. They’ve been going house-to-house, raiding entire neighborhoods, raping women and girls and killing the men. They take all the food in the homes and find more weapons and ammunition. The news said the gangs are well organized and armed.

  “Last night one of the Atlanta gangs moved into Gwinnett County. Through most of the night, there were gun battles with the smaller gangs. After that, the gangs started raiding homes. A reporter, sneaking around with his camera crew captured infrared-video of the gang members dragging people from their houses. They shot the men, sometimes torturing them by beating them or shooting their legs and feet just for the fun of it before shooting them in the head.

  “Damn!” Max said.

  “The women and girls were gang raped right there in the street. The gang caught the reporter and camera crew. The last view from the camera was of a horde of human animals charging them. That’s what the infrared made them look like.”

  “What about the police department,” Max asked.

  “Max, there aren’t police departments in or near the city. The officers aren’t reporting for duty, they’re taking care of their own families. The same thing is going to happen out here. The gangs eat all the food they find and have to move on to find more. The national news reports that besides in the cities, gangs are controlling thousands of places on the freeways, making travelers pay a toll, food, gas, sex, whatever, to pass their roadblocks.

  “CNN will be going off the air soon. They’ve been able to stay on with generators, but fuel’s running out. They’re running out of food too. The crews have been stuck at their headquarters in Atlanta with armed guards protecting them.

  “Kelly said all the local radio stations are gone. Her radio dial is mostly static. The faint one’s she tune in keep announcing FEMA will be passing on valuable information. Kelly’s been listening. So far, nothing from them today.”

  “Civilization is finished,” Max, said. “Kelly made a seemingly facetious statement about moving into the forest and waiting this disaster out. That may be our best option. Jacob said the forest behind the house is WMA land, whatever that is, but he says its miles deep.”

  Dorrie said, “We should hike back into it and see if there’s a place we could stay. Set up a camp. Maybe we can find a cave or something.”

  Max noticed Dorrie’s voice was becoming hysterical. He moved close to her and gathered her into his arms. “We will, honey. I’ll check with the O’Donnell’s, they know this area. I’d bet they trekked all through those woods when they were growing up.

  “I’m so scared, Max.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The rest of the day passed slowly for Max. He wrestled heavy bags of feed from the truck until his strength ran out and he couldn’t lift another bag. Part of the time, he heard his kids shouting and laughing while playing with the dogs.

  He was withdrawn at the table, eating supper with his family, answering when spoken to and smiling when needed, but his mind was on their predicament.

  The more he thought about it, the dumber it seemed to stay on the farm. In deference to the hard day Max had put in, Dorrie elected to take the first guard shift. He went to bed with his mind still whirling, searching for the best way forward in the hell his world had descended into. Sleep was slow coming.

  Dorrie, screaming his name, snapped him awake. Several sets of hands grabbed him, dragged him from the bed. Above Dorrie’s screams for help, he could hear his children screaming and calling for him, calling for help.

  It was too dark to see the faces of the men, who held him. They forced him to the floor. He was beaten and kicked while someone tied his hands and feet.

  They carried him from the room. One of the men said, “Fuck carrying him down the stairs. Let’s see how far we can throw him. Get him swinging. On four.” They held him horizontal and swung him back and forth. One of them counted cadence. On four, they sent him flying, headfirst. He didn’t make it to the bottom of the stairs. His forehead hit hard on an oak stair tread. He felt his arm bend. He went woozy and almost passed out.

  Dragged out onto the front porch and thrown off, his body was deadweight slamming the hard-packed Georgia clay. He landed on his back, his breath knocked out. Gasping for air, he tried to push the fainting feeling away. Blood ran from the cut on his forehead, into his eyes. His wife and children were outside, still screaming. In the distance, he could see an orange glow coming from the direction of the O’Donnell’s farm.

  He rolled onto his side. Men were holding his family. “Shut the damn boy up,” someone yelled. The man holding Bobby shot him in the temple. Bobby dropped to the ground, no longer screaming.

  Max blinked at the blood, trying to see, struggled to free his bound hands. Two men ripped Kelly’s clothing from her and shoved her to the ground. While others held her pinned to the dirt, one of the men dropped his pants. Kelly’s screams intensified. More men stripped Dorrie.

  He was finally able to draw a breath. He screamed his anguish, struggled harder to free himself. A boot slammed the side of his head and he lost his fight to remain conscious.

  He woke in pain with rough hands on him. A woman spoke. “He’s waking up, Gramps. Hold him down if you can. I need to get two more stitches in.” Max couldn’t open his eyes. They were glued shut with dried blood. He passed out again.

  Max woke to the sound of gunfire. Someone was shaking him. He felt hands pushing boots onto his feet. His eyes opened normally, but he was seeing double. Even though it was dark, he could tell he was on the couch in the living room of his home. Otis’s face was inches from his.

  “Are you awake?”

  Past his dry and swollen tongue, he managed to mumble that he was.

  “I’m going to pull you up. Try to stay on your feet. We have to get out of here. More people are coming. There’re still men out front sniping at us.”

  Max wobbled on his feet.

  “Can you walk?” Otis asked.

  “I think so, but I’m seeing double.”

  Otis called, “Ada.” A young woman joined them. Blood spotted the long nightgown she wore. Her hands were drench
ed with it. “Max is seeing double. You’ll have to lead him. Listen to me Max. We’re going out the back door and make a run for the woods. Don’t think of anything but following Ada. Run as fast as you can. Do you understand? If you fall down, get up and keep running. Ada, out the door now, we’ll be right behind you.

  The woman wiped Max’s blood from her hands on an afghan draped over the couch, grabbed his hand and ran to the back door, pulling him with her. He heard another eruption of gunfire as they cleared the doorway and sped across the back landing.

  His footing unsure because of his untied boots, he stumbled on the stairs but managed to regain his balance. The crisp night air filled with the sound of rifle fire. He heard a whizz sound and knew it was a bullet passing close to his head.

  The overcast sky made it difficult to see his footing. The edge of the forest was two hundred feet downhill from the rear of the house. Unlike the O’Donnell farm, the hill wasn’t as steep. Ada picked up speed on the slope. Inevitably, Max stumbled, falling heavily onto the side with his broken arm. He screamed in pain, but responded to the strength of Ada’s hands pulling him to his feet.

  They entered the forest without slowing. To Max, it was pitch black under the canopy of trees, but Ada tore through the thorny underbrush, dragging him along with her. He still heard gunfire behind them, but the sound was fading.

  Ada ran until Max could barely lift his legs, and still she ran. He lost count of how many times he fell, only to have her drag him back to his feel. She ran until Max finally went sprawling, unable to get up.

  She left him where he fell. For several minutes, he could only gasp, trying to draw a breath. After a while, he was able to sit. A trickle of blood was flowing into his eyes again. He wiped them and his forehead, felt the roughness there, remembered Ada had sewn his cut.

  Ada returned. “Get up. I found a place to hide.”