Bug Out! Texas Book 2: The New Republic

by Robert Boren

  “I’m not leaving you,” she said.

  “If you have to run, I’ll be dead,” he said.

  “C’mon, you two, don’t focus on that,” Jason said. “We’ll take them with these BARs. We’ll splatter them right through the sides of their trucks.”

  Kyle chuckled. “Yeah, if there’s anything left of them when Curt’s finished.”

  They lay silently for a while, eyes on the road.

  “Look,” Kyle said. “Way down there. Four trucks coming.”

  “I see them,” Kate said.

  The engine of the Barracuda started.

  “Sounds like Curt sees them too.”

  “They’re slowing down,” Jason said. They watched as the trucks drove onto the ramp, curving back to take the bridge over I-10.

  “Here they come,” Kyle said. The enemy trucks rolled slowly up the road towards them. Then the engine in the Barracuda sped up, and Curt came flying down the road, letting the first two grenades fly before the drivers saw him, blowing out the cabs of the first two trucks.

  “Yeah,” Jason shouted. “Open fire!”

  They all opened up with their machine guns, concentrating on the backs of the trucks as the Islamists piled out looking for cover. Most of them were dead before they got clear of the tail gates. A few shots came at the mound of dirt, causing Kyle, Kim, and Jason to duck. Then they were up again, filling the area with automatic fire as Curt shot a grenade into the cab of the third truck. The fourth truck made a K-turn, frantically heading for the freeway. Curt sent a grenade in the back, missing as his Barracuda hit some rough ground. Gray’s men leapt up, running towards the last truck with their AKs blazing. Two of his men got hit by fire from the back of that truck.

  Curt turned the Barracuda and tried to get closer, firing another grenade. It hit the side of the truck, blowing the canopy off, the back empty now. He was getting ready for another shot when a small camper on the back of an ancient Ranchero pickup roared up, shotgun blazing out of the front driver’s side window. The blast hit the enemy’s truck cab straight on. It rolled to a stop.

  “Who the hell is that?” Jason yelled as he continued to fire his BAR at the remaining enemy fighters.

  “I don’t know,” Kyle said. “But I hope he gets around the back side of these guys. They’ve got good cover behind the wreckage of those first two trucks.”

  Curt hit one of those trucks broadside with a grenade, the hulk jumping into the air, exposing several Islamists. Kate opened up with the Thompson, spraying underneath, getting several as Gray’s men opened fire from the other side. There were still men behind the other truck. Shotgun blasts from the Ranchero surprised them. They scrambled out from behind the wreckage, looking for cover.

  “Here come the Harleys,” Kyle said, pointing.

  The two bikes raced in, after the fleeing enemy fighters. One of the bikers took aim with his shotgun and blasted the slower one. The old guy in the Ranchero nailed the second one. Then there was silence.

  “It over?” Kate asked.

  “I think so, but stay down for a minute just in case.”

  There was another shot at Curt, narrowly missing him, and then the short little man with a shotgun blasted the last enemy fighter as he tried to flee, hitting him in the shoulder and head. “That’ll teach you, dammit!” he yelled.

  “Shit, that’s Brushy,” Jason said.

  Kyle laughed. “That guy’s crazy. How’d he live through that?”

  “It’s clear, men,” Curt yelled. Everybody got out and headed towards the Barracuda.

  “Brushy, I owe you one,” Curt said, walking up with a broad smile on his face. “What the hell you doing here, anyway?”

  “Those bastards showed up at my place,” Brushy said, shotgun cradled in his arms. “I saw them coming and hid, then followed them.”

  “What did they do there?” Kate asked.

  “Killed most of my customers. Except the women. They took them. Don’t know where. Don’t look like they’re here.”

  “Oh, Geez,” Kate said.

  Carrie ran up, shoving Chelsea up the steps to their motor home. “Stay inside.”

  “But mom.”

  “Stay inside. I mean it.” She shut the door to the coach and rushed over to Jason, hugging him. “Everybody okay?”

  “I saw two of Gray’s men get hit,” Kyle said.

  “Oh no,” Carrie said.

  “Don’t worry, they’re both okay,” Gray said as he walked up. “They had body armor on.”

  “Where’d you get that?” Kyle asked.

  “Rio Grande valley,” he said. “Took it off some of the Venezuelans that we killed with head shots.”

  “Venezuelans were there too, eh?” Kyle asked.

  “Yeah, but mostly Islamists,” Gray said. “We ready to take off again?”

  “Probably a good idea,” Curt said. “I’m gonna drive the Barracuda back to my rig. See you guys on the road.”

  “Hey, Brushy, what’re you gonna do?” Jason asked.

  “I was figuring I’d go with y’all,” he said. “If you’ll have me.”

  “Hell yeah,” Curt said, turning back as he walked away.

  “What about your park?” Carrie asked.

  “Damn cretins burned it. Rather not put it back together until this war is over.”

  “Well, you’re definitely welcome with us,” Jason said.

  “I second that,” Gray said.

  “All right, let’s get back on the road before we get caught with our pants down out here,” Jason said.

  “We should gather up their weapons and ammo,” Gray said.

  “Yeah, we can’t forget that,” Kyle said.

  The group finished in about fifteen minutes, gathering up twenty-five AK-47s, several thousand rounds of ammo, and four crates of grenades. They hit the road again.

  Chapter 22 – Long Haul

  “You look tired, honey,” Brenda said. “Why don’t we stop in Sonora? It’s only another half hour.”

  “I’m good with that,” Kelly said. “We lost a lot of time in Harper.”

  “At least it was a celebration,” Rachel said. “Wish we could’ve just stayed there.”

  “Not far enough,” Kelly said. “Sooner or later the enemy is gonna get a bead on us. If the guys in those trucks got a phone message off, they know we’re still in Texas, and they know which way we’re headed.”

  “But Sonora is okay, right?” Brenda asked.

  “Yeah, I’ll go along with it,” Kelly said.

  “There’s only one RV Park there that I see,” Brenda said, looking at her phone. “I’ll call them.” She punched in the number and put the phone to her ear. She held it there silently for a few moments, then took it away from her ear. “Nobody answered.”

  “Maybe they’re full up,” Kelly said.

  “Hope not,” Brenda said. “This is a small park. Could be a one-person operation.”

  “Well, the town is coming up fast,” Kelly said. “We can drive in there and see if they’ve got anything.”

  “Yeah, it’s not far off I-10. Get on Crockett Street from 277. Pretty hard to miss.”

  “Call Junior, okay?” Kelly asked.

  Brenda nodded and hit his contact, then put her phone to her ear.

  “Junior?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “We stopping?”

  “We’re gonna check out a place in Sonora. Only a couple miles up. Follow us in. It’s off Crockett.”

  “Got it,” he said. “See you soon.”

  Brenda ended the call. “He’ll follow us.”

  “Good,” Kelly said.

  “How many people are we joining up with?” Rachel asked. “In Fort Stockton, that is.”

  “Well, let’s see,” Kelly said. “My group is showing up. About forty people, led by Nate, Jasper, Chris, and Earl. Also those two Austin cops who’ve been on the run with their family, and our old friend Curt. A few others. Probably about fifty people.”

  “Wow,” she said. “That’s a
good-sized group.”

  “I hope none of them got blasted on the road,” Brenda said. “I’m worried.”

  “They can take care of themselves,” Kelly said. “Just like we have. Here comes Sonora.” He slowed and made the left turn onto Route 277, which dead ended onto Crockett Street.

  “This place is deserted,” Rachel said.

  “Yeah, strange for mid-afternoon,” Brenda said. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

  “Look over there,” Kelly said. “That building is burned out. Looks like bullet holes on one side.”

  “Maybe we should take off,” Rachel said.

  “There’s people over there, see,” Brenda said. “At that church on the left.”

  “They’re sure giving us a hard look,” Kelly said. “The RV Park is coming up quick.”

  “More burned-out buildings,” Rachel said. “Look.”

  “Dammit, something bad happened here,” Kelly said. His phone rang. He put it to his ear.

  “You seeing this, man?” Junior asked.

  “Yeah, looks like a war zone.”

  “We still gonna stop?”

  Kelly paused, looking ahead of him. “Crap, there’s what’s left of the RV Park. It’s burned out. Bunch of ruined coaches.”

  “We gonna stop?”

  “Yeah, just long enough to turn around and get back on the road,” Kelly said. He put his phone away.

  “This place got attacked,” Brenda said. “You really stopping?”

  “Just to look,” Kelly said. “Then we’ll be leaving.”

  “I’m scared,” Rachel said, trembling.

  “I know, me too,” Brenda said.

  Kelly parked and got out of the truck. Junior rushed over with his shotgun in his hand. “Stay here,” Kelly said to Brenda.

  “Okay,” she said, pulling her pistol out of her purse. “Take the shotgun.”

  Kelly nodded, and pulled it out from behind the seat. He and Junior walked into the rubble.

  “Look at those bullet holes,” Junior said, pointing to a nice fifth-wheel trailer.

  “This just happened a few hours ago,” Kelly said.

  “Hey, there’s a cop car back there.”

  They heard the radio scratching. Somebody was trying to call.

  “Officer Simpson, come in,” a voice said. Kelly and Junior rushed over to it. There was an officer in the driver’s seat with half his head gone. Kelly touched his arm, then crouched, motioning for Junior to get down, eyes darting around.

  “He’s still warm,” Kelly whispered. “Let’s get back to our rigs and get the hell out of here.”

  A twig snapped behind them. Kelly shot Junior a sick glance.

  “You drop gun,” a heavy accented man said.

  “Shit,” Junior said. He dropped his shotgun. Kelly did the same.

  “Turn around,” the voice said. There were two Islamists holding AK-47s on them. “Say prayers.”

  “Stuff it, spinach chin,” Junior said. He spat on the ground. The Islamist nearest him got angry and stepped towards him. Then a shot rang out, splitting the Islamist’s head open. A second shot rang out, the second Islamist looking behind him in a panic, seeing Brenda with her gun in both hands. Kelly leapt on him, pulling the AK out of his hands and bashing his face into a bloody pulp with the stock.

  Brenda and Rachel ran over, both of them holding pistols, looking around.

  “Thanks for saving our bacon,” Junior said, smiling.

  “Don’t mention it,” Brenda said. “Let’s get the hell out of here. We’ve seen enough. There’s probably more of these creeps around.”

  “Just a sec,” Kelly said. He went to the radio in the police car and picked up the mic. “Your officers are dead at the RV Park.”

  “Who’s this?”

  “My name’s Kelly. We just wasted two Islamists. There may be others around. We’re leaving.”

  “Wait for our officers.”

  “No,” Kelly said. He dropped the mic. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

  They ran back to their rigs and took off, heading for I-10 as quickly as they could, racing up the on-ramp.

  “That was scary,” Rachel said.

  “No shit,” Brenda said. “What now?”

  “Punch in Fort Stockton,” Kelly said. “Let’s see how much further it is.”

  Brenda nodded and punched it in. “Two hours.”

  “We’re going,” Kelly said. “You okay with that?”

  “Yes,” Brenda said. She cried, not able to hold back anymore.

  “It’s okay, sweetie,” Kelly said.

  “I almost lost you,” she said.

  “You saved me,” Kelly said.

  She looked at him and forced a smile. They were silent for a few minutes.

  “You remember when we talked in the morning? After you looked at the emails?”

  “Yes, I remember,” Kelly said, looking at her for a moment, then looking back at the road.

  “I’m not waiting anymore,” she said, her hand going onto his thigh. “I love you.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “Now don’t you go and die on me.”

  Kelly glanced down at her. “I love you too, sweetheart.”

  “I know,” she said. “Sorry I was afraid of it.”

  They were silent. They heard soft crying. It was Rachel.

  “You okay, honey?” Brenda asked. “Sorry. That was kinda private. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

  “You two are so lucky,” she said, smiling though her tears. “There’s still hope for the world.”

  “Yes there is,” Brenda said. “There’s quite a few single men in our group. You might find somebody.”

  “One can always hope,” she said. “I can be kind of a bitch.”

  Kelly laughed. “That’s what Brenda always says to me.”

  “It’s true,” Brenda said.

  “I don’t care. Knew that about you from early on. Didn’t stop me, did it?”

  “No,” she said softly. “Still don’t know why.”

  “I worship the ground you walk on,” Kelly said. “Can’t explain it, but it’s the most real thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  They rolled down I-10, Brenda finally falling asleep against Kelly, Rachel drifting off against the passenger door. Kelly fought his sleepiness. He glanced back at Junior in the mirrors every so often. He was fighting sleep as well. Keep alert.

  Kelly’s phone rang. He looked in the rear-view and saw Junior holding the phone to his ear. Kelly answered as Brenda stirred and sat up.

  “Hey, man, I got to have a cup of coffee or I’m gonna run off the road,” Junior said.

  “There’s no coffee place around here,” Kelly said.

  “Oh yes there is,” Junior said. “I got a generator, remember? And I got one of those coffee-pod things. Picked it up at the RV place. Let’s take the off-ramp coming up and park for a little while.”

  “Okay, you talked me into it,” Kelly said. “I’m having a hard time too. A cup of joe would get me through the last hour.”

  “See you in a few,” Junior said. He ended the call.

  “What’s going on?” Brenda asked.

  “Junior and I are having a hard time staying awake, and we got another hour to drive. He’s got a generator and a Keurig machine. We’re gonna stop and have coffee.”

  “Good idea,” she said.

  “Did I hear coffee?” Rachel asked, stretching.

  “Yeah,” Kelly said.

  “We just going to pull over to the side of the road?” Brenda asked.

  “There’s a ramp coming up,” Kelly said.

  “I see it,” Brenda said. Kelly drove down and parked on the side of a dirt road. Junior parked behind them.

  “We can’t stay here too long,” Kelly said. “We’re visible from the road.”

  “It’s still worth it,” Brenda said.

  “Have your guns with you,” Kelly said as he opened the door. They went to Junior’s motor home. He had the door hanging ope
n, and the generator was purring softly.

  “Welcome,” Junior said. He was filling the Keurig water tank. There was a box of coffee pods on the counter.

  “This is really nice,” Rachel said.

  “I love it,” Junior said. “Just bought it.”

  “Maybe I should ride with you the rest of the way,” Rachel said. “That way the two love-birds can have some privacy.”

  “Fine with me,” Junior said. “Love the company.”

  In a minute the coach filled with the smell of brewing coffee.

  “Damn that smells good,” Kelly said.

  Junior grinned. “It does, don’t it? Feel free to use the bathroom before we get back on the road.”

  “Motor Homes have certain advantages,” Brenda said.

  “Yeah, maybe we ought to upgrade,” Kelly said.

  Junior handed a cup of coffee to Brenda. “You want cream and sugar?”

  “Black is good for me,” Brenda said. “Smells so good. Thanks.”

  The second cup went to Rachel. She went to the fridge and got out the half and half, pouring a small amount into her cup as the next one brewed.

  Kelly took his cup from Junior. “Maybe we’d best be going,” he said. “While yours is brewing.”

  “Yeah,” Junior said. “Don’t like being visible from the road much. I can take off in about three minutes.”

  “Good,” Kelly said, taking Brenda’s hand and walking to the door. “See you in Fort Stockton. Thanks for the joe.”

  “Welcome,” Junior said.

  “See you two in a little while,” Rachel said.

  Kelly and Brenda got into their rig.

  “Glad we did this,” Brenda said. “I feel a second wind already.”

  “Me too, but watch me,” Kelly said. “I was really fighting back there, and this will only be a temporary reprieve.”

  “Yeah,” Brenda said. “I’m better off. I slept a little.”

  “So did Rachel,” Kelly said as he started the truck. “Glad she’s with Junior. He was nodding off too. She’ll keep him more alert.”

  They drove back onto I-10. Junior followed, and they got back to full speed.

  “Wonder if they’ll hit it off?” Brenda asked.

  “Junior and Rachel?” Kelly said. “He’s a little old for her.”

  “How old do you think she is?”

  “Late thirties, maybe?” Kelly asked.