by W. R. Benton
Once moving toward my camp, I took point, as Tom brought up the rear. I wanted to know if he'd seen anyone trailing us, but suspected if he had, then he'd not have had a fire. Our conversation would have to wait.
*****
We arrived at camp about an hour after daylight and Tom immediately ran to check on Sue. I noticed Sandra give Marty a look that would kill a normal person. As the women moved to the fire, I walked to my wife and said, "We'll talk about it later, but I'm not happy she's here."
"Why is the bitch here, then!" She snapped at me.
"I said, we'll talk about it later." I was tired and not in the mood to argue or even talk much. I'd been up all night and now we had a day of travel. I didn't look forward to it at all. I moved to the fire, pulled the coffee pot and filled a cup I'd picked up from the ground. I sat the pot down, but didn't say anything to the women, and made my way to the horse. I pulled the few supplies and placed them on the ground, removed the saddle and blanket. Pulling an old rag from a cargo pocket, I began to wipe my mare down.
Once finished, I walked to our fire, sipped my coffee, and said, "We'll leave in two hours. If you want to eat or rest, do it now. We'll not stop until we get to our next camp."
Tom asked, "At the old Wilkerson place?"
I had started to take a drink from my cup, so I looked over the rim and said, "Yep, and while it's not far, we'll need to establish a hidden camp once there. I want us to move deep into the woods, say four or five miles, and then stop for the night."
Tom didn't reply, because he knew the area I had in mind. It was part of a wide forest and few people lived in the area before the collapse. We'd be as safe there as anyplace else I could think of in the surrounding area.
*****
Two hours later, I stood and stretched, but I was still deep bone tired. I pulled off my cowboy hat, ran my fingers through my hair, and noticed my scalp tingled with fatigue. I moved to the fire, squatted on my heels, and downed a cup of warm coffee.
A few minutes later I stood and said, "Time to move."
Tom, who'd been standing guard, walked to the fire and said, "Let's go, ladies, we have to move. Don't take all day getting ready, either."
The women stood and I said, "We only have four horses, and Sue needs one alone because she's injured. Sandra, you'll have a horse of your own, while the rest, except Marty, can ride off and on. That means one of you will ride double, but at every rest we take I want the new rider move to another horse. Marty will not ride at all today."
I was waiting for Marty to say something, but wisely she kept her mouth shut while giving me a mean look. As I moved toward my horse I felt her glare on my back, only I honestly didn't give a damn.
I'd just pulled my poncho from behind the cantle when Tom neared and asked in a whisper, "What about Marty's shotgun?"
"Who has it?"
"I do."
"Keep it until I decide what to do with her."
Tom shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sounds good to me."
Turning to the group I said, "Let's move, we're wasting time."
Sue, who'd been sitting on a blanket under the shelter said, "I'm well enough to ride today and if I get to feeling faint, I'll let you know, Sandra."
I watched Sandra as she thought for a few minutes and then replied, "I don't guess you can do any more damage riding than we'd do tying you over a horse's back. Only you get to feeling poorly, you let me know and we'll stop."
"As we walk, Tom, we have to talk," I said.
He nodded.
Minutes later, as we moved as a group, Tom and I stepped to the front. I spoke over my shoulder to Sandra, "Move back about a hundred yards and cover our back trail for a bit. Tom and I need to talk a bit."
I waited until the group settled in well with the pace of our walk then asked, "Did you see my place?"
"Yep, went there right after I collected the women. I left them about a half mile from the farm and scouted the place out. Nothing was left of the barn and I counted three bodies in the debris, but they were burned beyond recognition. Then, of all things I saw a dozer in front of the barn and counted ten more bodies. What in the world happened back there?"
I quickly explained and once I'd finished he shook his head before he said, "You're a lucky man. If the leader of that group had been smart, he'd placed men all around the barn and ran the dozer into the windowless side of the barn."
"Yep, then picked us off one at time as we ran from the building, but he didn't."
"Well, I didn't see anyone on the way here and that's good, but the rain might have washed any tracks away."
"I was hoping for as much, but they'll keep looking for us."
Tom stopped walking, gazed into my eyes and asked, "Why?"
"Because we've embarrassed the leader of the group and he has to show them he's able to do what he promises to do, or he'll lose control. No, they'll come, but I'm not sure what we can do the next time."
"Give us a few days at the next camp to organize, and then we'll go to our cache and dig up our supplies."
"Oh, I plan to do that, but right now I'm tired and hungry. Enough talk. I want you to fall back and take Sandra's place on drag and tell her to keep a close eye on our friend Marty as we move."
Tom started to say something, but must have changed his mind. He nodded and stood to the side of the trail to wait for Sandra to meet him. I increased the pace.
*****
A week later we were living in the woods about 200 yards west of the old Wilkerson place. Sue wanted to stay in the house, but it was too well known for me to use. However, we'd taken bits and pieces of wood from the old structure and made us a few shanties, which would do for the time being. Sue was able to walk fairly well, but had a slight limp and occasionally needed medication for pain. Sandra, always the nurse, made sure the leg was exercised each day as they gathered firewood for the night. We'd decided at the last minute not to move further into the woods, mainly because we could take parts of the old house if we needed anything for a shelter.
Over time I'd learned about the others with Marty. Carol, the mother of the women, was a widow and just slightly over fifty. Her black hair was streaked with white and she was fairly quiet when compared to her daughters, but I knew little about her. Of all of us, she was by far the best cook.
Alisa was quiet as well, but a very beautiful woman with deep intelligence, who listened much more than she spoke. I would often catch her deep in thought as someone spoke, so I knew she was attentive. I guessed her age to be in her late thirties.
Of the three, Vickie was outspoken, the youngest, and just slightly plump, if anyone could be called that these days. Actually, she may have been big boned, but she had a cocky attitude that I liked. She never avoided any task given her and she was for sure a team player, but at times she didn't know when to keep her mouth shut. I'd discovered her bubbly personality was even rough for her siblings to accept at times, and I'd ended more than one argument.
I had no problem with an outspoken person, except at times they could cause problems in a camp our size. When people are living in close quarters, it doesn't take much to make tempers flare. In less than a month we'd doubled in population and while that sounds good, it's much harder to hide eight people and feed them than four.
Tom and I had recovered some of our supplies from our hidden cache, but not all, because we might need more in the future. We removed some food items, medical supplies, a few pistols and ammo, but that was it. We'd returned and placed the supplies in my shanty.
I'd had my talk with Marty a few days after we'd finished our new camp, and while she'd delivered a good sermon, I'd believed little of it. Oh, I'm sure she was honest enough with me, but she'd killed my dogs and I could never forgive her for that. I think I wanted to catch her lying to me, but I didn't. I finally ended the conversation with a warning, if she touched my last dog I would literally skin her alive. She knew I meant it and I could see fear in her eyes.
We then issued side arm
s to each person and Tom gave a good weapons safety course. "If you want to kill something, just point this end at your target and pull the trigger. Never point the business end of any weapon at anyone or anything you don't want to kill. Always keep your finger away from the trigger until you see something that needs killing. Now, since all of you have pistols, let me warn you. The first time I catch one of you playing with it, I'll take it away. A weapon is not a toy, it's used to kill, and while you don't need a gun to kill a person, it makes it whole lot easier than using a knife, club or rock. Any questions?"
"What do I do with this thing? I mean, where do I keep it?" Alisa asked.
"Each of you will get a holster and you're to keep the pistol on you at all times, even when you sleep."
I handed a box of ammo to each woman and said, "Your pistols are all Colt All American 2000's, which is only a fair weapon. There are only seven major parts to this pistol and each magazine holds fifteen rounds. It's a semi-automatic, which means it will fire as fast as you pull the trigger. Now, a lot folks have complained about the quality of the pistol you're holding, but I've discovered if you keep it clean and don't over oil it, it's a reliable enough weapon." Tom and I knew the weapons were of fair quality at best, but we'd purchased a couple dozen a few years back at two hundred dollars a pop and kept them. We'd purchased a few cases of ammo at a discount at the same time, only our budget just wouldn't allow us to purchase a better weapon.
When I made eye contact with the women, I saw serious questions in their eyes, so I continued, "Now, Tom and I will help each of you load a magazine, show you how to operate the safety, and provide you some basic shooting information."
We moved among the woman and began teaching. In less than an hour we'd completed our training and while condensed, we'd covered the major headings.
Vickie, with a grin on her face asked, "When do we get to shoot our pistols?"
I frowned and replied, "We don't have enough ammo to practice with, and I wish we did. Have any of you ever fired a weapon before?"
As expected, Vickie replied, "I used to hunt rabbits and squirrels with my dad, but it's been a few years. We'd always get a mess of rabbits. Why, one time the two of us shot over twelve rabbits one morning."
I knew Marty had been taught to shoot by her husband and now Vickie admitted she'd done some hunting, so that left only two to be concerned with, Alisa and Carol. I'll have to keep them under a close eye until we need their help, and then I'm not sure how much good they'll do.
CHAPTER 9
The next morning dawned cold, with clouds so low it looked like I could reach up and touch them, but they were dark and that concerned me. I walked into the woods, did my morning toilet, and made my way to the fire.
"Looks like snow," I said sitting on my heels.
Tom laughed and then asked, "When was the last time you saw snow around here?"
I chuckled and replied, "Okay, even if it does snow, it'll not amount to much. I don't know the temperature, but guess it's below freezing."
"I agree. Listen, we need to do a little scouting."
I picked up my cup and poured some coffee as I replied, "You and I are thinking alike. We've been a here a while, and I'd like to know if we've been spotted or if anyone else is in the area."
"Finish your coffee and we'll run a recon. I think the women will be safe enough, don't you? I mean there are six of 'em and I'll leave Dolly with 'em."
"I'll speak with Sandra before we leave and make sure she's got a handle on it. Do you want to take any of the daughters with us? It might help to give one of 'em some experience."
After a dry chuckle, Tom said, "The only one out of the whole group that has any grit that I trust is Vickie. We can take her if you want."
"Okay, Vickie it is. While I talk to Sandra, you give our new troop a briefing of why we are going and what's expected of her. Make damned sure she understands when to shoot and when not to shoot."
"I'll brief her, so don't worry about it."
*****
An hour later we were walking an ever enlarging circle, moving slowly as we looked for any sign of others. So far we'd found nothing, but then Tom stopped and motioned for us to get down. I fell in the grass and saw Vickie do the same. She'd not been a problem yet, at least after I'd told her we were not to talk as we walked. At first I think she thought we'd just stroll down the road talking, picking flowers, and scratching our asses. I'd broke that illusion for her with just the tone of my voice. On a more positive note, the temperature was going up and the threat of snow was gone.
Tom, turned his head and indicated he'd seen movement. I knew we were close to an old timber road that ran parallel to the fence line, but I saw no movement.
Long minutes passed and then I heard a loud curse followed by a laugh. An unknown voice suddenly ordered, "Cut the chatter and laughing! You two keep playing grab ass and I'll see your whiskey ration cut tonight."
"Chill, man, there ain't nobody around but us and we're the meanest bunch of bastards in the state."
"I said shut your damned mouth, Thomas, and I mean now."
I glanced toward the road and saw a long file of men moving away from our position, heading north. Some were wearing parts of military uniforms, but most wore jeans and civilian jackets. I looked at Tom and he motioned his open palm toward me and then motion downward with his hand, indicating he wanted me to wait and not move. Five minutes after the main group passed, a single man passed. I knew right then I was dealing with a prior military unit.
Twenty minutes after the drag man passed, we move to a huge pine tree about two hundred yards away. It worried me that such a large group was operating in the area.
"I must have seen the point man's movement, but I never saw him clearly." Tom said just above a whisper as he shook his head.
"I counted fifteen and you?" I asked.
"Sixteen counting the drag."
"Who were those men?" Vickie asked, keeping her voice low.
"I have no idea." I answered honestly and then continued, "But, we'll treat them like the enemy until we learn different."
"Most were armed with shotguns, crossbows and arrows, and one man even had a compound bow." Tom stretched his legs out in front of him.
"I saw five long guns," I replied.
"Long guns?" Vickie asked.
"Rifles or shotguns."
She gave a sheepish grin and said, "I counted five of them too, but I didn't see any pistols except on two or three."
"What now?" Tom asked, but he knew the answer.
"We hang back and follow them. No need to get close enough to see 'em, we'll stay in the woods and follow their tracks. That many men will be easy to follow."
Vickie started to speak, but didn't, so maybe she was learning. Nonetheless, I knew what she was thinking, only it would have to wait until we found out more about these men.
We moved parallel to their tracks for over five miles, when I noticed about four thin fingers of smoke rising in the distance. Tom must have noticed it as well, because he raised his balled fist to stop us. Then he pointed at himself, motioned the direction of the house, and finally pointed to his eyes. He's going to scout the house out and wants us to wait, so I nodded in understanding. He moved forward.
Vickie was kneeling on the ground and not once did she move that I could see. She'd picked up the routine quickly, so all my worry had been for nothing.
A few minutes later, Tom returned and pointed back down our trail. I took point and covered about a half mile before I angled into the woods to our right and finally stopped under a large post oak tree. We all knelt.
"What did you find?" I asked.
"Huge compound, with a lot of men and women, and even guard towers. It's not a place I'd want to try to get into or out of. I even saw a few machine guns, old M-60's, mounted on two of the towers and one sandbagged bunker near the gate. One joker was walking around with what looked to be a flamethrower, so I backed off."
I thought for a few minutes a
nd then said, "It could be an old reserve or guard unit that stuck together for safety after the fall. If so, the leader is likely a full colonel with a lot of experience in commanding a combat unit in the field. I don't like this, not at all." I scratched the side of my face and then asked, "Did you see a flag flying?" Hoping the unit still supported 'Old Glory.'
"Not that I saw, but to be honest I didn't stay there gawking at the place very long. What now?"
"I'm not sure, so let me think about this on the way back to camp." I was concerned, but not overly shocked. I just never suspected someone had a base camp this close to us, and I felt strongly inclined to move our current camp.
As we moved the wind picked up and a light rain began to fall. Tom and I pulled out ponchos, but Vickie didn't move.
Tom asked as he turned to her, "Don't you have rain gear?"
"No, not a thing. Hell, I didn't have anything where we were living, but I'm okay."
Tom handed his poncho to her and said, "Here, use mine." Vickie hesitated, so he added, "I'll be alright, because I have my hoodie."
As soon as she took the garment, Tom reached into his pack and pulled out a dark green wool hoodie, that would not just keep him dry, it would also keep him warm. Wool insulates even when wet, so we both carried one in our pack.
One thing about Tom, he was a true Southern gentleman most of the time, unless he was mad about something; then he was a different man. I'd once attended an awards program where he'd been presented a silver star for some heroic act he'd performed in Iraq during a combat tour and when I later asked him about it, he'd simply replied, "Those Iraqi's made me mad."
Lightning filled the air and thunder cracked sharply as we cautiously made our way back to camp. The temperature dropped a bit and I could see each breath I took. I glanced at the other two, looking for symptoms of hypothermia, only they looked fine. Vickie was tired, of course, but not one complaint from her. You'll do and I'm glad to have you as part of our team, I thought and then my mind moved to the group we'd just seen. We need to move camp and do it quickly.