by A J Newman
There was another note in this one that Joe read aloud.
Dear Joe or whoever finds these supplies:
I hope you don’t need these supplies and are now standing there thinking how foolish this was placing food and other supplies in the ground. That would be nice; however, if you do need them, I’m glad we were able to help you from the grave. I say grave because if we needed them, you would not be standing there reading this note.
Love your Grandma
PS Good luck. You’ll need it.
“Darn, your Grandpa and Grandma were right about us needing the supplies. I wish there were some coffee in the cans,” Ben said.
Joe went in his home and came back with a notebook. “The good news is there are many more caches hidden around my property. This book is full of riddles and hints about where they are hidden. I tried one day to find one of them and gave up when I ran into a rainstorm. Hey, I’ll bet there is a cache in the bottom of our swimming pond.”
“Joe could Cloe, and I use the notebook to search for the caches? We’re almost done with plowing, planting, and rounding up animals. It would give us something to do,” Emily asked.
“Yes you can; however, we need to make sure that you are safe while treasure hunting. Let’s talk about it over supper,” Joe replied.
By this time, the entire communities had heard about the treasure, were poking around the cans, and excited about finding more. This bothered Joe because he had planned to make this his treasure hunt because it seemed to be what his grandparents wanted. He weighed his needs against his growing community and gave his blessings to the treasure hunters.
***
The next day after her meeting with Sarah and Ben, Jane had a sit down meeting with her boys. She started by telling them about Sarah’s disease and upcoming death. She paused to collect herself, and then she told them about Sarah’s wish. She waited for the boy’s response.
“Mom what did you tell her? You know we love you and want you to be happy. Don’t do this for a dying woman. Only do it if you think it’s the right thing to do for you. Charlie and I will be good with however you handle her request,” Cole said
Charlie chimed in, “Would Ben be our father? I like Ben.”
“Kids, Sarah, and I discussed this a while back, and Ben and I have spent some time together, and we think we can make it work. We both have feelings for each other and are attracted to each other. I must say this is tough on Ben. He thought he was married for life and never had to look at another woman. I wanted you to know before you caught us slipping around and thought I was a husband stealer,” Jane told her boys.
“We just want you to be happy. What can we do to help with the transition? This has to be bittersweet for Ben,” Cole said.
“I’ll get permission from Sarah and Cobie to tell Cloe, and then I’ll need you three to take turns standing watch, so we don’t get caught by the others while we’re dating.” Jane blushed and then said, “Don’t worry. We’re just to the holding hands stage and have only kissed a couple of times. You won’t walk in on anything that will scar your young impressionable minds. Though I wish something were going on. Ben will be a long time accepting me as his new wife,” Jane said.
“Mom, that’s TMI. Do we need to give you the sex talk and does Cole need to share his box of rubbers with you?” Young Charlie said with a red face and a big grin.
Cole punched his brother in the arm as his very embarrassed mother tried to regain her composure. Before she could speak, Charlie said, “I’m just kidding mom. Please don’t kill me.”
“I’m going to kill you, you little asshat,” Cole said.
“Seriously, boys are you good with this?” Jane asked.
“Yes. Mom, we love you and will learn to love Ben. Just keep the sex behind closed doors, and we’ll need to find a bigger cabin. I don’t want to hear … you know what … all night like with Bill.”
This time Jane punched Charlie in the arm and said, “Look, you two are old enough and should trust me enough to tell me about something that is uncomfortable or bothers you. Please do so in the future,” Jane said.
“Mom, that goes both ways,” Cole said.
“Don’t worry boys I won’t bitch about the girlie magazines under your mattresses,” their mom said laughing as she left the room.
☆
Chapter 13
“Shush, Ashley you’re making too much noise,” Earl cautioned the young girl.
“Earl, I’m sorry. I’ll get better at this I promise,” Ashley replied.
“I’m sorry for getting after you, but we need to get in that building and back out quickly. If anyone heard that glass break, we could be discovered. Now that you’re in, open the door,” Earl said.
Earl and Ashley were breaking into an abandoned building that the gang had used as a food warehouse. Unknown to Earl, Joe had killed the only gang members who had known about the food stored there. Earl stumbled on it during one of his scavenging trips and wanted to move the food to his hidden room in his basement before the Boss’s people found the food.
The building had been searched several times but the food was in a back room and machinery had been stacked against the door to the room. The Boss’s men mistakenly thought they had searched every inch of the building. Earl and Ashley were removing as much food as they could carry each night back to Earl’s place.
“Ashley, drop your bags behind that trash. Now,” Earl whispered.
“What did you see?”
“Two of the new policemen are coming this way. I don’t want them to catch us with the food. Just play along with what I say if they see us. Get behind that car,” Earl said.
The men walked down the alley with rifles ready and came to the darkest part of the alley where Earl and Ashly were hiding. “Turn on the flashlight. I ain’t going on unless I can see. There’s no telling what rats and vermin are hiding in the dark.”
“You are a pussy,” the other man said as he turned his flashlight on.
A cat ran past them and scared the first man. Then they saw rats scattering from a dead dog. “See I told you. I ain’t getting eaten by no rats.”
“What do you think of the Boss saying we have to help put in gardens? I ain’t no damn farmer.”
“I don’t mind helping with farming as long as I get to eat and he shares the women. Jake told me he has killed or run off half the town and has welcomed some of the old gang members to join us. I’m a thief but I ain’t no killer.”
“Yeah, I don’t like that crap about making everyone in the area pay us for protection. That will start a war.”
The men kept talking as they passed by Earl and the girl and never noticed them hiding under the car.
Earl decided then that he had to smuggle his family out of town and join Joe’s group in the hills. He knew the kind of person this Boss was and knew the worst was yet to come.
***
Per Sarah and Ben’s request, Joe and Cobie filled Dan and Ginny in on Sarah’s plan for Ben and Jane to be together. They only gave the detail they needed to help them not be shocked when Joe made the public announcement after Sarah’s upcoming and untimely death. Joe told them he would be surprised if she made it another week.
“That just doesn’t seem right for Ben to be dating before his wife has passed. He should wait a year before he even dates,” Ginny said.
“Ginny, you just can’t get through your hard head that an apocalypse has happened. I would want you to do the same thing Jane is doing. Ginny, you wouldn’t make it three months without someone looking after you. You and the kids would be dead in four months. You have to grow up quick, or you’re heading for a disaster. This is a kill or be killed world where if you can’t do the hard tasks you die. I’m just glad that Ben has a strong woman to see him through this devastating time,” Dan scolded.
Ginny swelled up and began crying. “I’m sorry, but it doesn’t seem right.”
“Ginny, I would want Joe to do the same thing. A man or a woman won’t su
rvive anymore alone. Loneliness can kill you as quick as starving. There are no shrinks or antidepressant medicines anymore. Hell, divorce is unthinkable. Dan is right, you have to get off your high horse and get with the current times.
Those old social rules are gone and out the window. What are you going to do when Dot is 15 and wants to marry one of the boys. That’s going to happen. Kids will grow up hard and fast. They already have to kill people and act like adults when we tell them to. Do you think that won’t spread out into the bedroom?” Cobie said.
“Cobie, I know you are trying to help me, but I’m just overwhelmed. I need a nap,” Ginny said and left the room.
Dan shook his head and said, “I planned to divorce her when the kids were grown. I guess I’m stuck with her now. She’s been on all of the anti-depressants for years. That’s why she has no energy and sleeps all of the time. Don’t say it, but I know you had to think she was just lazy. She wears me out with that holier than thou are routine. She will never survive. She only has a few pills left, and I don’t know how she will handle life without being doped up all the time.”
“I’m sorry. Let us know if we can help in any way,” Cobie said.
“Thanks for giving us the heads up and I for one am sad about losing Sarah but very happy for our new couple,” Dan replied.
***
“Earl, are you sure we have to leave? We have plenty of food, and I hate to move the youngsters,” Sally asked.
“Yes, we almost got caught last night, and they would have taken Ashly from us to spend the rest of her life doing who knows what for the Boss. He plans to keep control of Ashland while he expands his kingdom out into the surrounding area. All of the surviving ranchers and farmers will have to pay him protection money or die,” Earl told his wife.
“Where will we go? If we leave, I want to go to where Joe and Cobie went,” Sally said.
“That’s my plan. I have that old deuce and a half out in the barn and Ashley, and I will load it full of food and supplies today. I plan to drive away tonight,” Earl said.
“That doesn’t give me much time to pack,” Sally said.
“Just pack a couple changes of clothes we can get to quickly, and then I’ll pack loose clothing behind and under the truck’s seat. We need every square inch of the cargo area for food, guns, and other supplies. Be ready to leave by midnight,” Earl told his wife.
“Oh, my God. I hope you know what you’re doing,” Sally said as she woke the kids and fed them.
Earlier, Earl had set three of the explosives that Joe had left him in several places around town. Earl pulled the big truck out of the barn at 1:30 am and sped away from the house. Ashley and Sally were armed with pistols and shotguns while Earl had his Model 1911 .45 and his Marine sniper M14 ready for action. The first three explosions rocked the south end of Ashland and drew the guards in from the roadblocks.
Earl drove as fast as the lumbering truck would move and they were soon passing Emigrant Lake on Highway 66. Joe saw some lights following them, lit the fuse, and dropped a bomb out the window. A few seconds later, it exploded a few feet in front of the pickup that was chasing them. The truck rocked but stayed on the road with its front window shattered and its radiator hissing steam. The explosion lit up the night sky; it was heard for many miles.
“Joe, wake up. Someone is pounding on the door,” Cobie yelled.
Joe put his pants on, strapped on his Glock, and ran to see who was at the door. Dan and Cole were standing there, and Dan said, “Joe, there were several explosions down in Ashland about fifteen minutes ago and then another over by Emigrant Lake. Cole was up on the ridge standing guard and saw the flashes.”
Joe started to speak when they heard a muffled explosion from the direction of Ashland. “That must be Earl running from the assholes in town. Get your guns and let’s head down to help deal with whoever is following him.”
“Joe, we’ve got the Jeep here. Let’s go,” Dan said as Cobie handed Joe a shotgun and his favorite M4.
Joe kissed Cobie and rode off with the others to help their friend. Cobie saw Ben, Dan, Cole, and Jane in the Jeep along with Joe. “Stay safe!” she shouted as they pulled away.
Cobie then said to herself, “I’ll go the next time. I can shoot as good as Jane.”
Dan drove down the back way and saw the lights of the pickup following Earl’s military deuce and a half. The lights were only a third of the way up the mountain and lagging behind Earl’s truck. The military vehicle climbed the rugged terrain without any difficulty; however, the men following him were in a civilian two-wheel drive pickup. The pickup couldn’t go over some of the small downed trees and slipped on the loose rock at times forcing it to fall further behind Earl.
They had several minutes to wait as the truck climbed the hill. Joe saw Ben hold Jane’s hand and she kissed him on the cheek. Joe knew they were wishing each other good luck and telling the other not to stop a bullet. Then it struck him that he had run off and left Cobie behind. He didn’t think to ask her to join them, and he knew that she would think he thought that she wasn’t up to helping with the fight. He promised himself to catch her first thing and apologize when they got back home.
“Dan, Earl is coming up the ravine. Damn, they’re shooting at the truck. See the flashes. There is a narrow spot about a quarter mile ahead. Pull into the trees this side of it, and we’ll ambush the bastards after Earl gets clear,” Joe said.
Dan parked the Jeep as Joe had suggested and the five of them spread out on both sides of the narrow pass. A few minutes later Earl came blasting up the rocky ravine and saw Joe waving. He grinned and kept on trucking up the hill knowing that the men behind him were going to get the proper greeting.
Joe could see Sally and the children bouncing up and down as the truck passed and knew they would be covered in bruises. He could smell the odor of the coal-black diesel smoke as it rolled from the truck. Earl and his family would not be caught that night, and they would live to see a few more close fights.
The enemy truck was only about two hundred yards behind but gave them time to get back behind the boulders and fallen trees they had selected for their cover. Ben and Dan had 30 06 deer rifles, and they waited until the pickup was about one hundred yards away to begin shooting. The rest had M&P 15s and waited until the truck was only fifty yards from the ambush site.
The 30 06 bullets hit the pickup and killed one of the six men riding in the back of the truck and wounded another. Those men were barely hanging on in the bed of the truck and couldn’t return fire. The two men beside the driver had already kicked the broken front window out of the way and were shooting across the hood.
“Concentrate on the driver,” Ben yelled as his friends pumped shot after shot into the pickup.
The driver died in a hail of bullets along with the men in the front seat. The four in the bed jumped out and took cover in the rocks. The two groups exchanged gunfire for several minutes before Joe knew they were at an impasse.
“Dan, you and Jane keep them pinned down. Ben, you climb up the hill here and come down on them from the left and Cole, and I will cross the top of the ridge on the right and come up behind them. Dan, shoot often enough to keep them pinned down but stop shooting when you hear me shoot. We’ll take over and kill the bastards,” Let’s go.
Cole was quick as a cat climbing up the hill to the top of the ridge. He turned around and waited on Joe so he wouldn’t leave him behind.
“That’s okay skinny. One word about leaving me so far behind and you won’t see Cloe for a month,” Joe said as he huffed and puffed the last few feet up the hill to the ridge.
They walked down the backside of the ridge until they were certain they were behind the enemy. Joe waited another five minutes as bullets pinged off the rocks from Jane and Dan’s rifles. Joe thought Ben should be in place, so he directed Cole to follow him down the ridge and to the bottom of the ravine between the ridges. Joe could see the men highlighted by the flashes from the men’s weapons but couldn’t
see the men until they fired each time.
“Cole, find your target, wait until the flash, aim, and kill the SOB,” Joe said.
Joe waited a few seconds for the flashes and aimed at the target. When the man shot again, Joe squeezed the trigger, and there were no more shots fired from that man’s position. One of the men turned and sent a hail of bullets flying back at them into the darkness. The man was lucky, and several bullets hit close to Joe and Cole. Rocks exploded and showered the two. Ben joined in, and soon the battle ended, and the man fell dead.
Yes, they had shot the men in the back, but life was tough these days, and Joe thought, “Better them lying dead than us.”
Joe led the others back up the hill stopping only long enough to finish off one survivor and to collect the thug’s weapons and ammunition.
“Dan, are you and Jane okay?” Joe asked.
“Yep, we both got hit by some rock chips, but luckily those boys were not good at this fighting shit,” Dan said.
“We’ll need to clean this mess up in the morning,” Joe said.
Joe felt a trickle of blood flowing down his cheek. Only then did he realize how lucky he was. The bullet hit a rock only two feet from his face and shattered on impact. He had a small metal fragment in his neck and several cuts from flying rock chips.
Everyone was up and waiting for their friends to return. Ben and Jane stayed behind to make sure no one followed, but the others eagerly rode back to their families. Joe hopped out of the back of the Jeep and said, “I’m sorry.”
“Cobie held him in her arms and asked, “For what?”