Bug Out! Part 12: RV Alliance

by Robert Boren

  “Oh! I still have the 911 operator on the line,” she said, picking her phone off the dresser. “Hello?”

  “Hello, the police are with you, correct?” the operator said.

  “Yes,” Sue said. “I’ll hang up now.”

  “Fine.”

  “Thanks so much,” Sue said. She ended the call.

  “Do you have anywhere you can go?” Officer Shockney asked.

  “I don’t know,” Sue said, tears welling up in her eyes.

  “Maybe you should go to the station house with me,” he said.

  Sue nodded yes, and they left.

  ***

  George and Heidi were on the roof of the barn, watching the horizon. The Sheriff climbed up to join them.

  “Hey, Sheriff, what’s going on?” George asked.

  “General Hogan got patched out to the others via the radio in the Humvee,” he said.

  “Thank God,” Heidi said. “They coming back?”

  “Yeah, but it’s not all good news,” he replied.

  “Uh oh, what happened?” Heidi asked.

  “The Hospital got hit. Jeb and Rosie got kidnapped. Islamists killed everybody else there,” the Sheriff said.

  “Son of a bitch,” George said. “We know who snatched them?”

  “Yeah, Daan Mertins,” the Sheriff said. “Left a ransom note.”

  “What kind of ransom do they want?” Heidi asked.

  “They want Frank, General Hogan, and George here.”

  “No!” Heidi said, eyes tearing up.

  “Do they, now?” George said. He had a strange look on his face. Calm mixed with glee.

  “You okay, George?” the Sheriff asked.

  “I’ve seen this look on his face before,” Heidi said. “Somebody’s gonna get it.”

  “Where are they now?” George asked.

  “Frank and Jane are with another one of General Walker’s groups. They’re on their way here now.”

  “How far out?” George asked.

  “About five hours for Frank and Jane,” the Sheriff said. “With thirty more rigs. Charlie and Terry are double checking the power masts now. Luckily Terry has been working on them over the past couple weeks. Jerry and Jasmine are behind a few hours, since they went back to Utah first.”

  “How we gonna feed that many people?” Heidi asked.

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” George said. “I’m glad they’re coming. How about Malcolm?”

  “He’s on his way back with Gabe, Dobie, and Ted. Probably be tomorrow before they arrive. Last check they were in Indiana.”

  “Hope they don’t have any problems on the road,” Heidi said.

  “Yeah,” the Sheriff said. “Wonder if we’ll get hit here?”

  George was deep in thought.

  “What?” Heidi asked.

  “They shut down our communications, but it’s obviously not a prelude to another attack,” George said. “They would’ve hit us by now. They’re luring the others in. They’ll either hit them on the road, or here after they’ve all gotten home.”

  George’s phone rang. He looked at the Sheriff and Heidi, grinning. “Jake got it fixed.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered it.

  “Malcolm!”

  “Hey, George,” he said. “Jake fixed the cell tower?”

  “Must have,” George said. “Where are you?”

  “A couple hours west of Indianapolis, following Dobie’s fifth wheel,” he said.

  “Ted with you?”

  “Not yet,” Malcolm said. “He’s bringing up the rear, and he’s got Agent Sandy Williams of the FBI with him.”

  “The FBI is coming here?”

  “Yeah, George, but don’t worry. This guy is okay,” Malcolm said.

  “If you say so,” George said.

  “Guess what they have with them?”

  “Booty from Scott’s storage locker, I’m guessing.”

  “Movies,” Malcolm said. “Scott drug them out of the basement of his house.”

  “Interesting,” George said.

  “You guys have internet yet?”

  “LTE, yeah,” George said. “Why?”

  “I heard the tail end of a story about Scott, up in Cameron, Missouri. When you get some time, check it out. I’m driving. Kinda hard to do.”

  “Okay,” George said. “You guys going to overnight there again?”

  “Yeah, probably,” he said. “Uncle Jaspers. One other question. Seen or heard anything about the UN throwing their weight around?”

  “Just the reports that Frank and Jerry called in before our systems got cut,” George said. “Why?”

  “Something’s going on with the government,” Malcolm said. “That’s why the FBI agent joined us. He says the bureau has been compromised.”

  “Great,” George said.

  “I’d better go,” Malcolm said. “Traffic is slowing. Something going on up ahead.”

  “Okay, Malcolm, talk to you soon.”

  George put his phone back in his pocket.

  “What’s going on?” the Sheriff asked.

  “He’s on his way here with an FBI agent,” George said. “And a bunch of films.”

  “Lovely,” Heidi said. “We need to be worried?”

  “I don’t know,” George said.

  ***

  “Kerry, let me go!” Shannon said, laying on the couch naked, her arms tied behind her back, and her legs tied at the ankles.

  “No,” Kerry said, on the verge of tears. “Scotty told me about you. You’re a dumb bitch.”

  “No I’m not, Kerry,” she said, crying. “Let me go before they get back.”

  “Shut up shut up shut up!” Kerry cried, covering his ears with his hands. He left the coach, closing the door and walking into the ramshackle barn that Scott had parked in. It was surrounded by fallow fields and dense brush. He could hear Shannon’s muffled crying, and tried to shut it out. Last night was worse, with Scotty and Cindy both on top of her for hours, making her scream and cry all night. The wicked laughter made him shudder. Scary time.

  “Kerry!” Shannon cried.

  “Shut up!” Kerry shouted. He left the barn and followed the three-rail fence down the rutted driveway, getting far enough away so he could barely hear her. There was nobody around. The ruined farmhouse was where the driveway met the tiny road, two walls leaning at almost forty-five degree angles, windows broken out, broken furniture strewn around the yard. Broken chicken coop. Kerry walked by it, trying not to look inside the windows. It was scary in there. Haunted.

  Kerry froze when he heard it. The sound of a vehicle coming towards him at speed, not on the road, roaring out of the brush like a wild animal. It was the Jeep. He could see Scotty and Cindy through the windshield. His face lit up and he ran towards it.

  “Scotty!” he yelled. The Jeep skidded to a stop on the dirt.

  “Kerry, get in,” Scott said. “In back.”

  Kerry moved the soft top aside in the back and climbed through. Scotty took off.

  “What are you doing out here?” Cindy asked.

  “Shannon kept yelling and crying,” he said. “I didn’t want to hear it anymore.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll put an end to that,” Scott said “You didn’t untie her, did you?”

  “No, Scotty, you told me not to,” he said. “I remember what the other dumb bitch did to you.”

  Cindy glanced at Scott as they approached the barn. “We can’t keep her,” she said. “We need to get rid of her and move out further. Lie low.”

  “No, we need to stay in that old barn,” Scott said. “They’re going to send choppers. They won’t be able to see us in there.”

  She sighed. “Maybe you’re right about that, but we still need to kill that little bitch. We had our fun.”

  “I know, I’m working out how to do that,” Scott said. “She’ll get markings, but we can’t dump her around here where she’ll be found too soon.”

  “What are you gonna do to h
er?” Kerry asked, eyes wide.

  “Put her to sleep,” Scott said.

  “What does that mean, Scotty?” he asked.

  “Never mind,” Cindy said.

  Scott drove the Jeep into the barn. The coach door was hanging open.

  “Kerry, did you leave the coach door open?”

  “No, Scotty,” he said, his scared eyes looking out the front windshield between the seats. He trembled with fear.

  Scott leapt out of the Jeep and ran into the coach. He was back out in a second. “She’s gone. Got her wrists untied somehow.”

  “Cut?” Cindy asked as she approached cautiously.

  “No,” Scott said. “The rope is still in there. Not cut.”

  “Look out!” Kerry shouted from the Jeep. Shannon rushed up behind Cindy, a large kitchen knife in her hand. She stabbed her in the back. Cindy froze, eyes wide, shock on her face, grunting, trying to reach around her back as she fell in spasms.

  “You bitch!” Scott yelled, pulling out his pistol. He shot her several times in the chest, sending her to the ground dead.

  “Scotty!” Kerry yelled.

  “Help me,” Cindy cried. “Get me to the hospital.”

  “Sorry,” Scott said, pointing the gun at her face. She got a sad look on her face and closed her eyes right before Scott fired.

  “Why did you do that, Scotty?” Kerry asked, crying as he climbed out of the Jeep.

  “I’m sorry, Kerry,” Scott said. “We couldn’t take her to the hospital. She was in pain, and she was going to die anyway. I had to put her to sleep.”

  Kerry ran over to Scott, hugging him, sobbing.

  “Go in the motor home, Kerry,” Scott said after a moment. “I’ll take care of them. Don’t watch, okay?” When Kerry was inside the motor home, Scott broke down crying. “Everything’s going wrong now,” he said to himself softly.

  ***

  “This whole row checks out,” Terry shouted to Charlie.

  “Yeah, this one too,” Charlie said. “That’s fourteen good power masts. Ready to check the next couple of rows?”

  “Sure,” Terry said. Trish ran up.

  “Dad fixed the cell tower,” she said proudly.

  “Excellent,” Charlie said.

  “That’s great, honey,” Terry said. “He working on the internet now?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “We have LTE back, so we can get on line that way in a pinch. How are you guys coming? It’ll be dusk in an hour or so.”

  “We’ve got about half of the masts checked out,” Charlie said. “Terry did a good job on them. We did the water earlier. Everything’s turned back on. Only had a couple of leaks.”

  “We’re really getting another thirty rigs?” she asked.

  “Sounds like it,” Terry said. “Might not have all the masts checked out before they get her. We got to kick it up.”

  “Hopefully they didn’t run into any problems on the road,” Charlie said as they got to the next couple of rows. They checked each one with their voltage meters.

  “I’m going into the clubhouse,” Trish said. “You guys want me to bring you some water?”

  “When you come back, that’d be nice,” Terry said. “No rush, though. Just had some a little while ago.”

  “Okay, sweetie,” she said, getting on her tiptoes to kiss him. She turned and left.

  “How’s it going with you two?” Charlie asked, smiling.

  “Good,” Terry said. “We were ready to start a family, before the shit hit the fan again.”

  “We’re probably towards the end of it,” Charlie said. “I’m really worried about Jeb and Rosie.”

  “What are we gonna do about that?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Charlie said. “General Hogan and Sam Hinton are working out a strategy.”

  “Think they’re still alive?” Terry asked, pausing for a moment. “I’ve got a really bad feeling.”

  “I don’t know, son,” Charlie said. “Hope so. You know how crazy those Islamists are, and Jeb likes to piss them off.”

  “Yeah,” Terry said. “He’s probably already called them inbreeds.” He froze and looked up.

  “What?” Charlie asked.

  “See up there? Drone. Military, not el cheapo.” He pointed into the sky.

  “Shit,” Charlie said, trembling. “Wonder if it’s friendly?”

  “That’s a good question,” Terry said. “You heard about the UN. Wonder if it’s them?”

  “Look, it’s definitely focused on us,” Charlie said. “It’s turning back this way again, staying in view. Wonder how long it’s been up there before we saw it?”

  “Good question. Could have been a while. I saw the reflection out of the corner of my eye,” Terry said. “Probably helped that the sun is low in the sky now. You can’t hear it at all.”

  “Yeah, it’s pretty high,” Charlie said. “I’ll call the general.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit the contact.

  “General Hogan?”

  “Charlie? Great, the cell tower is back.”

  “Yeah,” Charlie said.

  “You don’t sound right,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

  “There’s a drone over us,” Charlie said. “Staying in sight of the park. Pretty sure it’s focused on us.”

  “No, really?” General Hogan asked. “What kind?”

  “Looks military,” Charlie said. “Definitely not one of those cheap ones the enemy was using on us before. This one is high enough that we can’t hear it.”

  “I’m on my way out there,” he said.

  Charlie put his phone back in his pocket.

  “Here he comes,” Terry said, pointing. The general was coming in a trot.

  “See it, general?” Terry asked, pointing. “Way up there.”

  “That’s military all right,” the general said as he squinted.

  “I take it you didn’t order that?” Charlie asked.

  “Hell no,” General Hogan said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit a contact.

  “Sam?” he said.

  “General,” Sam replied. “Phones are back up, eh? Didn’t expect to hear back from you so soon. Something wrong?”

  “Yeah, there’s a military drone flying over us. You know anything about it?”

  “No, but I’ll do some checking,” he said. “Armed?”

  “Could be,” the general said. “Might just be a surveillance model, though. Hard to tell from here.”

  “Okay, I’ll get right on that,” Sam said. “Don’t panic yet.”

  “Roger that,” General Hogan said. He slipped his phone in his pocket.

  “Sam Hinton?” asked Charlie.

  “Yeah,” he said.

  “Hey, look!” Terry shouted. “Frank and Jane’s coach, driving in the gate.”

  “Great!” General Hogan said, smiling. “You guys ready for them?”

  “Almost,” Charlie said. “We’d better get the rest of these masts checked out in a hurry.”

  “Whoa, look at all those rigs!” Terry said as he hurried to the next power mast. “Doesn’t look like they got shot up.”

  “I’ll go over and greet them,” General Hogan said. He walked towards the front gate as the coaches streamed in.

  Chapter 16 – Pastures and Streams

  Jane drove the rig to their spot and shut down the engine. “Want to level the coach before I shut the engine off?”

  “Later,” Frank said, getting out of the passenger seat. “Let’s go greet our new friends and get them settled.”

  “Okay, I’ll take Lucy out. Mind Mr. Wonderful. He’s looking a little antsy. He might bolt for the door.”

  “Gotcha,” Frank said, getting to the door. He opened it and slipped out quickly.

  The coaches were lining up on the main road in front of the clubhouse. General Hogan was on his way to the front, and met Frank there as Clint was being surrounded by his people.

  “Clint,” General Hogan said, extending his hand. “Glad you’re here.”
<
br />   “Glad to be here,” Clint said, shaking his hand and smiling. “Wish it was a social visit.”

  “General Hogan,” Frank said, smiling. “Everything okay here?”

  “So far, Frank, but we’ve had a military drone circling over us.”

  Clint and Frank froze and looked up.

  “It’s hard to see,” General Hogan said. “I’ve got Sam Hinton checking on it for us.”

  “Good,” Frank said. “We got spots set up for these coaches?”

  “I was out with Terry and Charlie a few minutes ago,” the general said. “They had fourteen power masts checked out, and were racing to get the rest of them done. The water hookups are all done. Over there, see?” He pointed them out.

  “Good,” Frank said. “Clint, you guys can set up over there, and then we’ll meet in the clubhouse.”

  “Sounds great,” Clint said. “What about the semi?”

  “Semi?” General Hogan asked.

  “Yeah, armored, with a .50 cal pointed out the back,” Clint said with a twinkle in his eye.

  “Let’s pull it beside the main entrance with the business end pointed out towards the pasture in front of the park,” General Hogan said.

  “I figured,” Clint said, smiling. “Be right back.” He trotted over to the semi cab and gave instructions as the others went back into their rigs.

  “How was it on the road back?” General Hogan asked.

  “No problems after the initial road battle,” Frank said. “Heard anything from Gabe and Dobie?”

  “They’ll overnight at that park in Cameron, on the west end of Missouri,” the general said. “Probably be here sometime tomorrow.”

  “Jerry and Jasmine should be back tomorrow too,” Frank said. “What are we gonna do about Jeb and Rosie?”

  “Not much we can do just yet. We’ll talk.”

  Clint trotted back over. “Okay, they’re set. I’ll get my folks situated, and then we can have a meeting.”

  “Sounds good,” Frank said.

  “Thanks for taking us in,” he said.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Frank said, smiling.

  “Me too, believe you me,” General Hogan said.

  Hilda walked out onto the porch of the clubhouse. “Hey, you guys, I got a big pot of coffee going, and a bunch of spaghetti sauce simmering too.”

  “That sounds great,” Clint said as he walked to his rig.