by A. American
As they moved through the yard, the men would come across wounded Russian and Cuban soldiers. Dalton didn’t waste ammo on the wounded. Many of them would ask for help. He came across a Cuban soldier with severe wounds, his left leg blasted away above the knee and shrapnel wounds to his abdomen.
He held a hand up and begged, “Por favor, ayúdame.”
Dalton leaned over and whispered, “Deberías haberte quedado en Cuba.” And with a flick of his wrist, he cut the man’s throat from ear to ear.
And that’s how it went for the rest of the day. We moved through the compound, dispatching the wounded. There were a couple of firefights. Thankfully, the incoming fire was ineffective, and we didn’t suffer any casualties. On those couple of occasions, I used my carbine. I’d dismounted and was walking through the lot looking for men that needed to be put down. But I wasn’t using my carbine for that work. Instead, I used the tomahawk that Dalton had made for me. It saved ammo and helped quench the rage building inside me.
But killing a man with an edged weapon isn’t a clean business, and by late afternoon, I was covered in blood. I hadn’t noticed it, but when I came upon Dalton, he paused and looked at me. Reaching into his pocket, he took out a rag and handed it to me, saying, “Wipe your face.”
I took it and did as he said and was shocked at what I saw. “Damn,” I said and looked down at myself. I looked awful. I was covered in blood from my boots to my face. Even my carbine was dripping blood. As I mopped at the blood, trying to remove it, Sarge walked up.
“Holy hell, Morgan. You look like shit. What the hell have you been doing? You’re supposed to kill them, not wear ‘em like a suit.”
I looked down at the tomahawk and replied, “I have been. It’s not easy.”
The old man was gripping his Colt and glanced at it, “Like hell. Just shoot the bastards in the head. It’s quick and clean. What you’re doing is a little fucked up.” A couple of shots rang out not far from us and I looked over to see Jamie standing over a prone body. She was calmly changing magazines in her rifle, taking the time to put the spent one in a dump pouch on her belt.
Looking down at the hawk again, I said, “I guess you’re right.” And I wiped the bloody weapon on my pants before tucking it back into my belt and drawing my Springfield.
For the rest of the day, I used my pistol. There’s a kind of disconnect when using a handgun for the task. With the hawk, it’s personal. You have to get close and use physical force to drive the blade into the man. And it often took more than one blow. Not that I cared at the moment. But Sarge’s words pulled me back from the brink. Another advantage to using the pistol, it sped up the process and I was able to move much faster, and it didn’t require nearly the same amount of energy.
By early evening, the shooting had died down. The sun was dipping towards the horizon, but the fires provided plenty of light, though the smoke did obscure it, adding to the surreal scene. I was tired, bone tired, in a weary kind of way. Stopping to lean against a burned-out car, Thad walked up beside me.
I looked at him and asked, “How are you holding up, buddy?”
“It needed to be done. I didn’t enjoy it, I didn’t hate it. It was just something that needed to happen.”
I nodded, “That’s a good way to look at it. I think I’ll use it.”
“I’m worried about you,” Thad said softly and shook his head. “We’re all angry, but this,” he pointed at me and the horror covering me, “this isn’t healthy. You going to be alright?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I was caught up in it for a minute. But Dalton and Sarge pulled me back from the brink, I guess you could say.”
“Good. But I’m going to keep an eye on you. You’re my friend, Morgan and I’m worried about you.”
“Thank you, Thad,” I said and offered my hand. He looked at it, hesitating. Then I looked at it. There was blood all over it, so I wiped it on my pants and offered it again. This time, he smiled and took it as I asked, “Better?”
“Much better.”
Sarge, Ted, Mike and Dalton wandered over to us. Sarge looked around at the carnage that surrounded us. “Looks like it’s done. I think this is finally over.”
“There’s a shit load of material we need to recover here,” Dalton said.
“I’m not fucking with it today. It’s getting late and I’m tired,” I said.
Aric, Ian and Jamie walked up. “What are we going to do with all this shit lying around?” Jamie asked. “There’s a mountain of hardware here.”
“I guess we’ll come back tomorrow and collect it all. There’s shit here we don’t have any need for. But we should at least secure it so no one else gets their hands on it,” Sarge replied.
“We hope we have no need for it,” Dalton said.
“Indeed,” Thad added.
Sarge nodded and said, “Alright then, let’s head back to the ranch. We’ll come back tomorrow with some manpower and trucks to haul all this out of here.”
“We can’t just leave all this here overnight. Someone needs to stay behind and make sure no one tries to sneak in and take any of it,” Jamie replied.
“Any volunteers?” The old man asked.
“We’ll stay,” Ian said. “With all the racket that’s gone on here tonight, I doubt anyone will come in. Just leave us all the water and MREs you have. Ammo too, just in case.”
“I’ll stay too. Perez is going to stay as well,” Aric added.
I laughed, “He’s busy picking through the bodies for smokes, isn’t he?”
Aric nodded with a smile. Jamie took a pack of Russian smokes from her pocket and lit one. “They’ve got a lot of them.”
Sarge nodded. “Alright. We’ll be back in the morning. You guys just hold the fort until we get back.”
“I’m staying too,” Dalton said. “I think there are still a couple of guys sneaking around out there, and I want to find them.”
“There are a couple of cases of MREs in the truck. I’ll go grab you one,” Thad said.
“I’ll help you,” I added. “There’s a jug of water in the back as well. And ammo.”
Thad and I walked off towards where we had left the truck. It was sitting with the rear door open, just as we had left it. I grabbed a Jerry can of water and sling-bag full of mags and hung it over my shoulder. Thad grabbed the case of meals and we started back towards the group.
“I hope this is the end of it,” I said as I adjusted the strap of the bag on my shoulder.
“I pray to God it is too, Morgan. It just seems to be a never-ending nightmare.”
I certainly understood what he meant. “Me too. I just want to try and get things back to normal. To improve life a little.” I held the carbine up and added, “I’m tired of having to use this. I wish I could put it down and never pick it up again.”
With his free hand, Thad reached over and patted my back. “That day will come. We’re getting closer to it. This, as bad as it seems, is a big step in that direction.”
I looked around at the burning, smoking ruins. “You know, you’re right. This really should be the end of major issues. I mean, what else could there be? You know, on this level.”
Thad’s smile wasn’t there this time. But he wasn’t particularly distraught either. “All we can do is keep going. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. I learned that a long time ago.”
I knew what he meant, what he was talking about. But I wasn’t about to bring it up. “You’re right, buddy. What’s the alternative? Sit down and wait to die? That’s not going to happen. Like Jeff Goldblum says in Jurassic Park, life will find a way. That’s what we’re doing now. Just finding a way.”
Now, Thad smiled. “I like that movie. I’d like to watch it.” Then he looked me over. “When we get home, come to my house. I don’t want Mel and the girls to see you like this. Leave these clothes at my house and I’ll wash them for you.” He grimaced and shook his head, “You look like something out of a chainsaw horror movie.”
I looked down at
myself. He was right of course. I did look horrible. Nodding, I replied. “Thanks, man. I’ll do that. I didn’t really want to go home looking like this either.”
We dropped the ammo, water and food off, said our goodbyes and headed back to the truck. Walking back, I asked Thad if he wanted me to drive. “No,” he replied and wrinkled his nose. “You’ll get that gore all over the driver’s seat. You sit in the back. I’ll drive.”
I smiled. “If you insist.”
He laughed, “I do! Now get in the back.”
I climbed in the back of the truck and stretched out as best I could. I felt the truck move and then quickly fell asleep. I woke up when Thad opened the rear door. It startled me, and I sat up in confusion before I realized where I was.
“We back already?” I asked.
“You been back here snoring like a freight train taking a gravel road,” Thad replied with a laugh. “Come inside and change your clothes.”
While we were talking, Mary came out of the house. It was dark, and she carried a small LED lantern. Seeing her, Thad brightened. She came up and put her arm around him. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head.
“Morgan is going to come inside and change his clothes. Can you find something for him to wear in the stuff we put away?”
“Of course,” Mary replied. “Come with me, Morgan. Let’s get you out of those dirty clothes. You leave those here and I’ll wash them for you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I replied as I took my gear off.
“Nonsense. It’s no bother. I know you don’t want to go home looking like this.”
“Thank you,” I replied. I wanted to give her a hug but didn’t want to touch her with the clothes I had on.
I went inside with her and she told me to go to the bathroom and take my clothes off. I did as she said and tossed them into the tub. I took a moment to wash my face and arms and looked considerably better. Mary knocked at the door and I cracked it open, so she could hand me a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I had no idea who they belonged to, or rather, who they had belonged to. But it didn’t matter. They were clean, and they fit, and I quickly dressed and came out.
Mary smiled when she saw me and said, “You look much better.”
“I feel better. You don’t have to wash that stuff. I’ll come by tomorrow and pick it up and wash it myself.”
“It’s no bother. I’ll take care of it. I know you don’t want Mel seeing you like this. Just go home and get some rest.”
I walked outside and found Thad getting his things out of the truck. I thanked him for looking out for me and for driving while I slept. He told me not to worry about it. We agreed to get together in the morning for what we expected to be another long day. I left Thad and Mary, giving her a hug now that I was cleaner, and headed home.
It was dark, and I could hear the Stryker moving around somewhere towards the old man’s place. I smiled, thinking of Mikey driving it around, probably still pissed he missed the opportunity to fire the big gun at real targets. I was looking forward to going back to the auction tomorrow, just so I could screw with him about it.
The dogs met me in the road. Meat Head and Drake were off on their nightly patrol, I guessed. I took a minute to rub their heads as they sat with tongues lolling in the road. But they were anxious to get on with whatever it was they were up to, and they quickly disappeared into the night. I envied them in a way. They came and went as they wanted with no thought of tomorrow. Or so I thought. We still fed them every day, they weren’t going hungry by any means. Yet, every night, they would disappear and return before the dawn.
While out walking, I had to pass my house. Aric stayed at the site and I needed to let Fred know. I’m sure she was sitting up waiting on him. It was a bit of a walk to the house that she and Aric shared. I could have driven down, grabbing an ATV or even the Suburban, but I was enjoying the time alone. Walking in the dark quiet of night felt good. The only sound was my boots on the road. I looked up at all the stars. To imagine all those stars could have planets around them just like our sun was amazing. What did those planets look like? What kind of life lived on them. I always liked astronomy, just wasn’t smart enough to get into it.
The house was dark as I approached it. Getting closer, I could finally see a little light coming from what I assumed was the bedroom. I was relieved that Fred was probably still awake. I stepped up onto the porch and knocked on the door. There was a thud, then a quick shuffling inside as the light moved from room to room. The door jerked open and Fred was there with a smile on her face. Seeing me, it faded as fear washed over her.
Realizing what she was thinking, I reacted quickly, “No, no, no, Fred. Everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know that Aric is staying out overnight. We have to secure the site until the morning and he stayed behind.”
Her face changed, and she wiped a tear from her eye. “You scared me. I thought,” she paused, “I don’t know what I thought.”
I felt bad, then had to evaluate her response to my appearance. Does everyone think of me as the angel of death? I mean, I get it, but shit, I hope not. “Well, don’t worry. He’s not there alone and everything will be fine. He’ll be back tomorrow. I just didn’t want you sitting up all night waiting on him.”
She smiled. “Thank you for that.”
“You need anything?”
Fred looked back over her shoulder, then back at me. “No. I’m good. Jess and Kay were here a little while ago. I guess I’ll go to bed. I was sitting up waiting on Aric.”
“Alright. If you need anything, just let me know. You have the radio, right?” We’d given Aric a radio to keep at his house. He lived the farthest away from everyone else and we wanted him to have a way to call for help should the need arise.
She held it up. “Right here. I’ll be fine. I’m going to bed.”
“Alright then. Good night.” I replied and waved as I stepped off the porch and headed home.
When I arrived at the house, all was dark. I was expecting Mel to be sitting up waiting on me but was happy when I saw she wasn’t. It meant she’d gone to bed and hadn’t sat up all night worrying. I came in quietly and closed the door behind me. Using my flashlight, I made my way to the bedroom and went into the bathroom to take a shower. I didn’t want her to see me in my current state. I may have changed clothes, but I was still a mess. The water was cold but felt good. I lingered for a bit, watching as red water swirled around the drain before finally disappearing. I scrubbed my hands and fingers clean, getting dried blood out from under my fingernails.
With the shower done, I got out and toweled off. Slipping into the bedroom, I got into bed, thinking Mel was asleep. But she reached over and grabbed my arm.
“How’d it go?” She asked softly.
“It’s done. We’ll go back tomorrow to collect the gear so no one else gets their hands on it. There’s a lot of military hardware there and it could be bad if the wrong folks got a hold of it.”
“Anyone hurt?”
I patted her hand, “No. The bombers did all the work.”
She yawned and replied, “Good.”
CHAPTER 4
I woke up early the next morning, knowing the old man would probably want to get started as soon as possible. I slipped out of the bedroom, trying not to wake Mel. I wanted a little time to have a glass of tea and sit and collect my thoughts. I went into the fridge for some ice, what’s tea without ice, and found the partial can of Cope there. What the hell, I thought and took it out. Cracking the lid, I saw it was almost full. This was the last can I’d ever see and thought I’d share it.
Taking my glass with me, I headed over to Danny’s. He was already up, his usual way, and sitting on the porch. He waved when he saw me, and I stepped up onto the porch and dropped into a rocker beside him.
“What’s the word?” He asked by way of greeting.
I took a deep breath of the warm moist morning air. It was going to be a hot day. “I guess we’ll go back over there today and take all
the dangerous shit out.”
“How’d that go yesterday?”
“It was nothing. Those bombers really did a number on them. Most of them were too shocked to do anything more than try and run. They just died trying.”
“How many were there? Still alive I mean.”
Rocking my head from side to side trying to do some math, I replied, “Little more than two dozen maybe. Lots of wounded though.”
Danny looked out across the yard, watching the chickens as they pecked for their breakfast in the pine needles, and he thought for a minute. “Maybe this will be the end of it all.”
Reaching into my pocket, I took out the can and opened it. Danny’s eyes were immediately on it. I took a pinch and passed the can to him. “Where the hell did this come from?” He asked. Then, feeling the cold still in the can, he added, “How long has this been in your freezer?”
“Since we got back from that trip I guess. I’d forgot about it, found it this morning. I thought you’d like a pinch.”
He took a pinch and put it in. “Man, that’s good. Damn, I miss this.”
I was looking at his hand. He was holding the can in his injured hand. It looked odd, missing the fingers. But he looked like he was adapting to it. “How’s the claw?” I asked jokingly.
He held the disfigured hand up and looked at it. “Not bad, actually. It’s not quite the handicap I thought it was going to be. Kind of funny really, my hand just adapted to it pretty quickly.” He replied as he dropped the can into his shirt pocket.
“That’s good; now give me the can back.” He laughed and handed it over. “You got anything you can put some of this in?”
“Oh yeah,” he said as he got up and headed into the house. He returned with an empty can and handed it to me.
“You saving these for sentimental reasons? Or your hoarding mind just not letting you throw them away?”
As I was splitting the can between the two, he replied, “Both I guess,” and laughed.
Capping his can, I handed it back. “That’s what I thought,” I said with a smile.
We sat on the porch for a while enjoying the buzz from the nicotine. Not something you experience when you do the crap every day. But a long break like this brings it back. After a bit, I asked, “How are the kids?”