Ada stood from where they squatted. “Let’s go further north so the house will be between us and the barn. I doubt there’s anyone inside your home.”
A half hour later, they were on the back landing. The door was open. Max saw the splintered jamb from where the bangers kicked it open on the night of the raid. He crept through the opening, with Ada close behind him. They checked the downstairs and found no one hiding.
“Keep guard down here,” Max, whispered. “I’ll check the upstairs. After the lights went out, we kept flashlights in the bedroom. I’ll grab one if the bangers didn’t take ‘em.”
The flashlights were gone, all but one. In his and Dorrie’s bedroom, under the nightstand, he saw the end of the long mag light that Dorrie used when she was on guard. This reinforced his thought that the bangers had followed behind her when she came to wake him for his guard shift. Moving as fast as he could, he changed clothing, glad to slip into jeans that fit. He went downstairs to get Ada, and led the way to the basement.
The sign Kelly made was still on the front of the freezer. Max opened the freezer door. The ammo was on the bottom shelf they’d left in place. The weapons stood above the ammo, leaning against the back wall.
“I can’t believe the sign worked,” Max said.
Ada chuckled. “I can. I was expecting a major stink of rotten meat when you opened the door. Simple, but effective.”
With a catch in his voice, Max said, “My daughter Kelly’s idea. She was a smart girl.”
They grabbed several boxes of ammo and went upstairs to top off their spare mags.
“Max, Dad said you’re a good shot. My rifles shooting a little high, but I’ve been adjusting for it. How’s yours?”
“Mine’s dead on.”
“While I waited for you to check the upstairs, I snuck a look through the windows down here. The dining room window gives us clear shots at the truck and the chicken coop. The coop’s further away. You take that. The truck is sideways to us. I’ll put at least six or seven rounds through the door. The coop’s bigger. You’ll have to shift your aim all over it to be sure you get the banger in there. You should use an entire magazine. More if you think you need too.”
Max nodded. “We can finish this off. We kill the two outside and then shout to the bangers inside that the barn’s surrounded and for them to surrender if they want to live.”
Ada shrugged. “I want this over, but I want them all dead.”
“They will be, but we have to offer them hope, otherwise they may try to use the women as hostages.”
“They may try to anyway,” she said.
“Let’s find out.”
Max crawled on all fours to the dining room window and reached to unfasten the simple hook and eye lock at the bottom. The frame squeaked as he pushed the window open.
“Damn, that was loud,” Ada, said. She raised her head to peek out the window. The crack of a rifle and wood splintering from the sill beside her face sent them both scurrying on their hands and knees from the dining room.
In the hallway, Max said, “Upstairs,” and took them two at a time. He halted outside the open door to Kelly’s room.
“The windows in here give us the same view as the dining room. When I say go, you take the one on the left. Use the rifle barrel to break the glass, and shoot the bastard in the truck. I’ll take the other window and shoot up the coop. You ready.”
“On go,” Ada confirmed.
“Ready. Go.” Max ran straight to his window. He slapped the glass with his rifle and targeted the chicken coop. In that instant, he saw a man exit the barn, running toward the house. Another man stood in the opening of the barn. Max changed his aim and shot the man at the barn, hitting him in the chest. Almost in tune with his shot, Ada fired at the running man, dropping him to the ground and then began shooting the truck.
Max retargeted the chicken coop, sending round after round through the thin boards. He heard a man scream in pain. He fired several more times at the wall, bracketing the area where he thought the man was, based on the shot that made him scream. The screams stopped.
Max shouted toward the barn. “You men inside the barn, you’re surrounded. If you want to live, throw out your weapons and come out with your hands on you head.”
A shout came back. “You shot my daddy. He’s bleeding to death.”
“Drag him out with you and then put your hands on your head. We have a medic with us.”
Ada threw a glance to Max. He shrugged. “You shoot his father and I’ll shoot him. None of them are living past this moment.”
A rifle flew out the open door and landed in the dirt. A moment later, a full-grown man began backing out, dragging the limp figure of an older man. Clearing the doorframe, the man released his father and stood, placing his hands on his head.
“Send the medic in a hurry. Please.”
Max shot him in the center of his chest, and then shot him three more times where he fell. At the window beside him, Ada fired several rounds at the body of the man’s father. It was only after she stopped shooting that they heard the screams of women inside the barn.
Ada left her window to join Max. “We’re cold blooded murderers.”
“Yes we are. We’re not the same as we were before they raped and killed our families. We never will be the same. I plan to kill bangers every time I encounter them. That’s the only answer.”
Ada stepped closer to him and put her arm around his waist. “Let’s go see about the women.”
“Let’s make sure the men we shot are dead first.”
Weapons at ready, they left the house, walking side by side.
CHAPTER TWELVE
The women in the barn were a mixed group between the ages of twelve and as old as their mid-forties. Ada counted thirty-two captives. Mostly white women, there were a few blacks, fewer Hispanics and only one Asian. All had been raped, many beaten as well.
She enlisted the aid of several of the women who had suffered the least, to help her tend to the ones in need of help. Most of them were suffering from severe PTSD. A few were near catatonic.
“We need to get these women to my farm. Two of the women,” Ada pointed with a finger, “the Hispanic woman and that blonde lady by the door, have nursing experience. I told them we’re going to send trucks to bring them over to my farm. Let’s get the body out of the truck.”
Max said, “I’ll take care of that. Get my rifle from the freezer. There are a couple thousand rounds of .303’s for it too. Grab a woman to help you.”
Max went to the truck Ada shot up. The man inside had several wounds, but it was a bullet that entered his temple and exited the other side of his head that did him in.
With his good arm, Max dragged the body until it fell from the cab. While he struggled to remove the man’s jacket to use to clean the gore from the cab, he saw Ada enter his house with a blonde girl about thirteen or fourteen years old followed by another blonde girl, the twelve year old.
He swished the larger globs of the man’s brains off the upholstery and then wiped the remaining blood and bits with the jacket. It wasn’t perfectly clean, but it was the best he could do.
He was on his way to the house to see if Ada and the girls needed help. They came out the door before he got there. The girls were heavily laden with the ammo they carried in cardboard boxes. Ada carried the case holding his Enfield.
He took the box of ammo from the smaller of the girls, surprised at the weight of it.
“You’re pretty strong.”
“I’m smart too. Ask my sister.”
The older girl told her to shut up.
“Judy, I spoke to you already,” Ada said.
“I know you did, but it ain’t easy. They did the same to her, but I can’t tell. She just keeps yacking away like nothing happened.”
“You’ll get better. I promise.” Ada said.
“I just hope neither one of us gets pregnant. Wouldn’t that be something? My belly and my little sister’s swelling with trash ba
bies.”
At the truck, Max placed the boxes on the seat of the truck, leaving room for Ada to sit.
“We’ll send the trucks over in an hour,” he said.
Judy responded by hoisting her sister over the side of the truck into the bed and clambering aboard herself.
“I ain’t going back in the barn. Ain’t no reason me and Angie can’t ride now.”
Max looked at her pinched, bitter face. “Nope, there is no reason at all. Sit on the floorboard so you’re not tossed out.” He and Ada climbed into the cab and he drove them to Ada’s farm.
Phillip waved in their direction as they neared King’s house. He was crossing the front yard pushing a wheelbarrow laden with rifles. He stopped and waited while Max parked near the other trucks at the clear area.
“We heard the shooting. I see you two aren’t dead. See you picked up a couple of youngsters too.” He nodded toward Judy and Angie.”
“Yep, and there are thirty other women over there.” Max tilted his head to the wheelbarrow. “You’re collecting the bangers weapons?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t stand sitting still. This is the last of ‘em. Seventy-three rifles and thirty-six pistols altogether. Susan’s up in the loft with a rifle.”
Max glanced to the barn and saw her sitting at the loft entrance with an AR across her lap.
Phillip continued talking. “Looks like it might rain later. Couldn’t see letting the rifles get soaked.”
“Good thinking. Phillip. I want you to take a truck to where your group is hiding. Tell them all to come here, but I want you to bring back some drivers for the banger’s trucks. The women at my place need to be brought over.”
“I can do that as long as you take care of my wife and kids while I’m gone.”
“We’ll do that. Convince your group while you’re there. Ada and I hope they’ll want to come here.”
“Are you inviting us here to share your food and supplies? Max, I don’t know what to say. Of course they’ll come. They’re desperate.”
Max smiled, “Say nothing then. Just let them know they’ll be welcome. I’ll ask you to hurry. Bring enough people to unload the trucks.”
The next few hours were a blur of activity. Phillip returned with twelve men and women. The supplies the bangers loaded from Max’s farm were unloaded into the barn.
One of the men Phillip brought with him, Ben Hewitt, was a retired marine corps major. Wearing a suit of dignity, despite the dirty jeans and a ripped flannel shirt, he presented himself ‘Ready for duty’, as he put it. He saluted Max, rather than shaking hands, and got straight to business.
“Phillip filled me in on the action here. Nice ambush you set up, General” He waved to the bodies scattered around the yard. “Understand you and a cute black woman took out the marauders all by your lonesome. Looks like you did a fine job of planning. We heard the explosions clear over at our camp. What was it, ANFO?”
“Yes it was,” Max, said.
“I guess killing them went fast enough, messy though, and smelly. The ass holes on some of the assholes let loose. I see a frontend loader. If it cranks, I should be able to clear the trash from your yard just as fast. I’ll drop them out of sight and dig a pit later. Be good to have the bodies gone before they start bringing in loads of people. A yard full of dead people mixed with guts and scattered parts won’t make the best first impression.”
Max felt his eyes try to water. “I think that would be a fine idea. It should crank. They used it to bury Ada’s people after they killed them, and I guess mine too. Ada’s the black woman you referred to. She owns this farm. I’d prefer you call her by name.”
“She has a pretty name. Rolls off the tongue easy. Son, I’d like to be the one in charge of relocating your loved ones. Help you and Ada get them buried in a dignified manner.”
“I’d like that, Major Hewitt.”
“It’ll be a couple days. Lots to do beforehand, we can talk later. Right now I’ve got garbage to attend to.”
True to his word, the bodies were out of sight before the first truck returned with a load of women.
Ada and Susan sought Max for advice. Judy and Angie trailed behind them. They were at their wits end in their attempt to figure where to house so many people, much less provide enough beds.
“It’s not your job to do. Except for little Angie and Judy, the women are adults. Same as the ones coming from your camp Susan, except for a few kids. They can organize themselves. Between the three houses here, and mine, there should be enough blankets, sleeping bags, and tarps for bedding. There is a bunch of tents somewhere. The gang slept in them last night but they must have taken them down.
“They can set up a community kitchen. Let them take charge of themselves, especially the women from my barn. It’ll give them something to do besides thinking about their trauma and their dead loved ones.”
“Thank you Max,” Susan said. “Come on Ada, let’s you and I have a set-down and talk.” Susan frowned at the two young girls. “Do you two really need to follow our every step?”
The little one said, “I do. I’m not losing sight of Ada. Only reason Judy does is because she’s afraid to be by herself, but I like being with Ada.”
The women left, with little Angie skipping behind them. Max called for Judy to wait and went to where she stood.
“Judy, I know what happened had to hurt you, but you’re young and time will help you heal. Don’t let the garbage that entered your life steal your happiness.”
Judy began crying. “They stole what I was saving for my wedding day. We was so poor that’s all I was going to have for my husband when I found one. Now I ain’t got nothing of value left.”
“A man cares more about how you present yourself than anything else. Make yourself into the kind of person a good man will want. Watch how Susan and Ada act. Watch the things other respected people do and be like them. You can do that, can’t you?”
Max tilted her face to his. “You can, right?”
“Yes sir.”
“I knew it. You’re too young to be thinking about marriage anyway. Be a little girl. Run and catch up with the others and remember to smile.”
Major Hewitt parked the frontend loader in its previous location and sought out Max again.
“Mission accomplished Sir. Early tomorrow morning I’ll dig a pit and plant the bodies deep. There are a hundred-seventeen bodies. Riddled bodies. What’d you do, load the bombs with buck shot?”
“Pea Gravel.”
“Yep, that’d do it. I checked them for weapons again. Found eight more pistols and thirty-four assorted knives. I didn’t worry about the contents of their wallets. Money is useless now and I didn’t think we needed to worry about ID’ing them.”
“You figured that right, Max said.
“I saw a lot of ammo unloaded from the trucks, most of it 5.56 caliber. Phillip collected enough ARs and AKs to arm all the men and most of the able women. With your permission, I’d like to set up our perimeter defense for tonight and assign guard duty. It’ll be ‘make do’, but I’ll refine it tomorrow.”
“I think you’re more qualified than I am,” Max said.
“I wouldn’t swear to that, General. I still can’t get over two people working with primitive materials took out a company sized unit.”
“No matter, you’re the more qualified. Base defense is all yours.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Major Hewitt saluted and marched away.”
The trucks carrying the captured women turned into the driveway. Max pitched in, helping to prepare food. Using a propane grill in the barn, Phillip worked beside him, opening cans of vegetables and beef stew to pour into the huge pots Ada supplied from Hattie’s kitchen.
“Looks like the two young girls took a liking to you and Ada.”
“Seems like,” Max agreed. “Especially little Angie.”
“You do know you and Ada created a miracle today. This is the sort of thing that get’s written up in history books. The battle for Ada’s
farm.”
Max chuckled. “Get the facts right. This was ‘The battle for King Magnus’s farm’. Her grandfather, King Magnus O’Donnell, was the rightful owner of this property.”
“Now that has a ring to it.”
“What’d you do before the disaster, Phillip?”
“Taught high school English and wrote mystery novels. Self published.
“Well then, you should start a journal.”
“I think I will. Wouldn’t it be something if this turned out to be the very place that began America’s climb from the ashes?”
“Dream big Phillip, it won’t hurt a thing if you fall a little short, as long as we survive this.”
Phillip shrugged. “This, as you put it, is the end of the world as we knew it. We survive right here, or else we die here. Believe me, there’s no other place to go.”
Max said, “It’s a big country, there are probably pockets of sanity scattered about.”
“None close enough to do us any good. You should hear what some of the people in my group have to say about conditions they’ve seen in Atlanta and other cities and towns. There are desperate people who’ll do whatever it takes to survive. Two men traveling together barely missed being dinner for a gang of cannibals.
“Cannibalism?”
“Max, there’s no food left. I mean, there is some, but very little and believe me, from personal experience, the competition for the dwindling supply puts a persons life in danger looking for it. There are people that will kill you for a can of beans. Hell, they’ll kill you for a can of cat food.
Max shook his head. “I wonder how many people have died.
“Too many. Ada told Susan you and her are planning on going to Toccoa to kill another gang of what she calls, ‘bangers’. I wish you’d reconsider. Stay here. What good will it do in the long run?”
“Phillip, I don’t give a damn about the long run because I can’t control that, but in the short term, we’ll free a few more people from tyranny. Probably send them down to the farm here.”
“And then what.”
“Christ, I don’t know. Maybe find another bunch of bangers to kill.” Max dumped a can of corn into the pot. “This one is full.”
DISASTER: Too Late to Prep Page 19