by A J Newman
“Oh shit, I need to keep going. Mike, don’t stop! Don’t stop. Screw it I have to live with myself,” Mike yelled at himself as he pulled the truck up alongside the family.
“Ma'am, are ya’ll alright?”
A boy about 12 replied, “Mom hasn’t said anything since those men shot my dad and took our truck. I think he’s dead. Can you help us?”
Mike took a quick look around to make sure this wasn’t a trap and replied, “Son, I’ll try my best. Where do ya’ll live?”
“We have a farm out in Dale. We came here to get my grandma in Murphy and get back home before the shit hit the fan. Three men stopped us and killed my dad when he wouldn’t give them our old truck.”
“Son, I’m going on to Anderson to get my sister and niece. I’ll pick you up on the way back and take you to Dale.”
Mike looked behind the seat, retrieved an entrenching tool and gave it to the boy as he said, “Son I know this is a bad thing to ask, but can you bury your dad and be ready to head home in a couple of hours?”
Tears came to the boy’s eyes as it finally set in his dad was actually dead.
He wiped the tears away, took the shovel and replied, “I’ll have it done before you get back.”
The little girl and Mom just sat there staring into the distance while Mike drove away.
••••
Todd came downstairs and fixed himself a large glass of straight whiskey. He was halfway to the bottom of the glass when Joan came out of her bedroom and sat down beside him.
“How bad was it in town? I’m getting worried. There are explosions and smoke rising from the direction of downtown. Are the police and fire department doing anything?”
Todd took a big drink and said, “Leave me alone. I don’t want to talk about it. They were fucking monsters.”
“Todd, watch your language around Callie.”
Callie snickered and said, “I think Todd has been traumatized by this peaceful situation.”
“Don’t you smart off to me. I was almost killed by that scum at the office.”
“You mean those 'down on their luck' poor people that wouldn’t hurt a fly? Dad has been telling mom for years people will kill you for a biscuit when the shit hit the fan.”
Todd jumped up and slapped Callie who fell to the floor. Joan ran over as he tried to kick her while she was on her back.
Joan jumped on Todd’s back as he swung his foot to kick Callie. They both tumbled to the ground with Todd on top of Joan with his hands around her neck.
“Todd, stop! You’re killing her,” Callie yelled as she got up and tackled Todd.
She knocked him off her mom only to find him on top of her with his hands on her throat. Joan picked up a lamp and hit him on the back of the head just as Mike crashed through the front door.
“What the hell is going on with Todd? Why was he attacking Callie?” Mike yelled as he pointed his gun at Todd.
Joan replied, “He was attacked by a mob at the office and came home in shell shock. He tried to kill me first. Callie knocked him off me and then he tried to choke her. Shoot him. He tried to kill us.”
“Whoa, wait a minute. I don’t like the bastard, but he just lost it for a minute. Let’s leave him here and head to the farm. Get some clothes and all of the food you can get in the truck.”
Todd stirred and started to get up when Mike clubbed him with the butt of his pistol. Todd was down for the count. Callie had already packed so she and Mike gathered food while her mom got her clothes and a few possessions. Callie brought her 20 gauge shotgun and Henry .22 rifle. They climbed into the truck and pulled out to the street as Todd came out of the house.
“Don’t leave me here. They’ll get me. Please take me with you.”
Joan gave him the finger as Mike drove away.
“Well Joan, I guess I don’t have to apologize for taking a dump in Todd’s Corvette, do I?”
She laughed and punched him in the shoulder.
Before they got to Highway 351, Mike asked Joan to open the glovebox and get the Ruger 9mm pistol.
“What do you want me to do with this? You know I hate guns.”
“I want you to change seats with Callie and give her the gun. Callie after ya’ll change seats, point the pistol out the window and jack a round into the chamber. Get ready to use it if needed. I was shot at coming over here and we need to protect ourselves.”
Joan started to protest, but Mike told her to shut up.
They drove down 351 at about 45 mph dodging stalled cars and people wanting rides. No one tried to stop them so they got to 1078 and then the Baker intersection in about 30 minutes.
Mike pointed to the family and said, “I told them I’d give them a ride back to Dale. The father was killed when some creeps stole their truck.”
He pulled over and introduced his family to them, but again the mom and young girl never spoke.
The boy shook their hands and said, “I’m Paul Stone, that’s my mom, Ally, and my sister, Sue. We thank you for helping us.”
His mom and sister had that distant stare with no emotion. Paul threw a box and a couple of bags in the back of the truck and joined his sister and mom in the bed of the truck. Mike doubled back down the ramp to 351 East and sped away headed east towards Owensville.
“Uncle Mike, why are we taking the backroad?”
“Baby girl, some men shot at me a few miles up the road and I don’t want to tangle with them with you and your mom in the truck. I’ll cut over to Highway 60 and head over to Owensville.”
The drive over to Highway 60 was uneventful with only a few people waving at them and no one trying to harm them. Just as they crested the last hill before the bridge over the Green River Mike saw there was a roadblock before the bridge.
“Callie, be ready for anything. These don’t look like thugs, so I’m going to drive up and ask to go across the bridge. I will stay back away just enough that we can get away if they try to pull anything.”
Mike pulled up about 30 feet from the roadblock, which was a couple of sawhorses and 2x4s. Three of the men approached him with pistols in their hands. Mike had his ready and Callie had hers under a handkerchief.
The oldest man walked up and said, “Good afternoon, how ya’ll doing today?”
“We’re fine and I hope all is well with you.”
“Well it’s looking better now that we have us a pickup truck.”
Mike replied, “That’s odd. I don’t see any trucks besides mine and I know that ya’ll don’t look like scumbag thieves.”
The man stopped laughing, pointed his pistol at Mike’s face and said, “We’ll see who has this truck and those pretty women tonight.”
Mike grabbed the man’s hand, yanked as hard as he could while he floored the truck.
Mike yelled, “Callie, shoot the bastards,” as he crashed through the barricade dragging the man beside the truck.
The gun was still in front of Mike’s left arm, as he drug the man across the Blackville bridge at 50 mph. Suddenly there was a blast in front of him and part of the window exploded showering everyone with glass. There were explosions from the other side of the truck as Callie fired on the men at the roadblock. The cowards had ducked and never fired on them as they sped away. Callie didn’t hit any, but she scared the crap out of them.
Mike saw they were getting away so he let go of the old man who still clung to the side of the truck. The old man screamed as he saw the stalled semi-truck on the left side of the bridge growing larger every second. He yelled stop several times before he hit the bumper and grill of the truck knocking him off the pickup. His gun clattered to the floor and Mike sped on towards Owensville. He looked back into the bed and Paul gave him a thumbs up. He smiled at the boy and drove on.
••••
Todd sat in the middle of the floor in a daze thanks to the butt of Mike’s gun. He took his time, but he finally got up off the floor, made a sandwich for himself and drank the rest of the whiskey.
“I’ll find th
ose bitches and make them wish they were dead when I get through with them.”
Todd grabbed Callie’s softball bat and started walking back into town.
“First, I have a score to settle with those scumbags. I have their files and know where they live,” he said as he hit his hand with the bat.
••••
Joan was silent the whole time they were escaping from the roadblock. She glared at Callie as Callie dropped the empty magazine onto the floor and slid a full one into the 9mm. Then she looked over at Mike and started to blast him for allowing that old man to die. She thought back to Todd trying to kill her and Callie and kept her words to herself.
“Mike how long before we get to the farm?”
“Sister, it could be an hour or a day depending on stalled cars and roadblocks. I almost pissed my pants when that old fart stuck his gun in my face.”
“That was scary and I did.”
“What did you do?”
“Wet my pants.”
“Damn, sorry.”
“I don’t want to ever be that scared again. Can you teach me how to fight and shoot guns?”
“Yes, big sister. It’s about time.”
“You and that dumbass husband of mine were right all along about this prepping crap.”
“It was a matter of when, not if. Zack made a believer out of me, but you…”
“I had my head up my ass as you always say. I want Callie and me to be able to defend ourselves.”
“Don't be too hard on yourself. Most people never thought that this would happen. Many of them are dying.”
“Oh, don’t tell Zack that he was right. He has a big enough head right now. Have you heard from him since the lights went out?”
“One ham operator passed on a message that had been passed on nine or ten times. It said that Zack was safe and travelling with two beautiful women who had to get back to Cincinnati.”
“I hope his dick rots off.”
“Mom, I heard that.”
“You left him, he didn’t leave you. We had better finish this conversation without Callie.”
“Yes, that would be best.”
“Mom, maybe if you groveled, dad would take you back.”
Mike laughed and got a swift punch in the ribs.
✪✪✪
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Chapter 10
Rear
Champaign, Illinois
We were making good time heading towards Champaign, Illinois on Highway 150, which ran along the side of Highway 74. When we arrived outside of Leroy, I asked Geena to cut across the fields and go around the city on 74 to avoid as many people as we could. Several people saw us and waved from a distance and we saw that several of the roads into LeRoy had roadblocks. We heard some gunfire coming from the south side of the city, but there were no shots fired at us. We attempted to drive around Farmer City on Highway 74 as we had LeRoy, only this time we saw a roadblock about a mile ahead. Sally spotted it with the field glasses and told Geena to pull off the road in the brush. I peered through the field glasses and saw that the roadblock was at the overpass where 150 crossed 74. Sally would have never spotted the roadblock if there weren’t an American flag waving above the overpass. I could barely make out people standing on the top of the overpass.
“Girls, I think that these are friendly people, but we need to be cautious. The brush and trees on the right side of the road run all the way up to the overpass. I’ll work my way up to them and spy on them for a while. I’ll wave you in if they are the good guys. If you hear fighting cut north across the fields and head for home the best that you can. Don’t trust anyone.”
Geena replied, “Zack, you just had a bolt removed from your side and you aren’t up to full strength. Let me go instead. I won’t make contact. I’ll sneak up, listen in and come back here to report to you before we decide what to do.”
“Zack, Geena is right. Let her go.”
“So you can have Zack?”
“Geena, you are my best friend. I would never throw you to the wolves for a man.”
Geena broke out laughing and said, “I was just pulling your chain.”
They hugged and Geena prepared to go.
“Geena, wait! Tuck my .380 in your pocket and take the small field glasses. Stay in the brush and trees all of the way there. Watch for sentries away from the others. I’d have a sniper on top of that silo and a lookout at that rest stop. Be careful.”
I gave her a kiss on the forehead and she left. Instead of waiting on her to return, I sent Sally out to the south side of the brush and trees along Highway 150 and I took the north side to look for any other people or trouble. I didn’t want anyone sneaking up on us. We met back at the tractor in 20 minutes with no sightings of any danger.
“I saw a couple of women cooking on a grill at that farmhouse about a hundred yards towards town and a couple of men walking towards town on Highway 74. They had rifles slung over their shoulders and were packing a small deer hanging from a pole.”
“I didn’t see anything, but a couple of dogs eating a rabbit. I am worried about large packs of dogs becoming vicious as they search for food. You and Geena need to be alert to that danger and be careful around strays.”
Sally and I were talking about what caused the lights to go out when I heard some leaves rustle about twenty feet behind Sally. I saw Geena hiding behind a bush listening to our conversation. Apparently, she didn’t trust her friend as much as she made on. I changed the subject to my daughter and I wondered aloud what she was doing in Kentucky.
“Well, I’m back.”
Sally rushed over to her and gave her a big hug saying, “I was worried to death about you getting killed.”
I got on my feet, gave her a hug and said, “I’m glad you are safe. Any issues? What did you hear?”
“They appear to be regular people who are afraid of some biker gang that has been terrorizing the area between them and Champaign. The college in Champaign has had some contact with the state and federal government. Most of the world is in the same shape we are. Most of the large cities in the north and west coast are on fire with rioters out of control. What’s left of the military and state police are busy trying to bring peace to those areas. The rest of the country is fending for itself.”
“Has anyone tried to invade the USA?”
“No, but Mexico wasn’t hit hard and the government is worried they might try to invade the southwest.”
“Our friends to the south want their land back. I’ll bet a bunch of Texans might have a problem with that happening. Did you hear anything else?”
“Yes, most everyone wearing a pacemaker died that day and people on life sustaining drugs are beginning to die off. Drug addicts went cold turkey all over the country a couple of days ago. These biker and drug gangs are making drugs as fast as they can, but the raw materials are not being produced anymore. Oh, men are being killed off by these gangs and they are enslaving women.”
“The damn world is falling apart just like Zack told us it would.”
“My Uncle was a long time prepper, so it came naturally. I’ll walk up to their roadblock and introduce myself. If all is fine, I’ll wave ya’ll to come join me."
I grabbed a shotgun and checked my 9mm before walking away from the girls. I walked in the middle of the highway so they wouldn’t think that I was trying to sneak up on them. I got about a hundred yards away before I saw movement. Everyone at the roadblock ducked behind cover and watched me walk up to them.
When I was about 50 feet away, a man rose up and yelled, “What do you want?”
I replied, “Nothing except to pass on through on Highway 74.”
“Walk around, idiot.”
“I don’t want to cut all of your fences to go through. Let’s talk.”
“Lay down your arms and come over here.”
“You lay yours down and I’ll join you.”
“And then you just kill us all.”
“I could have killed all of you two hours ago. We c
ame up and listened to you talk for an hour. Who is Joe, Greg and Bob?”
“That doesn’t mean we can trust you.”
“You don’t have too. I’ll just drive around your town cutting all of your fences. I see cattle out there. They might get loose.”
“What are you driving?”
“An old John Deere tractor with a wagon.”
“Can you help us get some tractors running?”
“Ya’ll don’t have any running vehicles?”
“No.”
“Let us pass through and we’ll show you how to get them running.”
“We thought that they were all fried.”
“Didn’t that college tell you that only electronics were fried? Replace the points, condenser and maybe the sparkplug wires and all old vehicles should run.”
The leader laughed and said, “I guess you heard everything we said. Come on in and help us and we’ll help you on your way.”
I raised my arms and in a few minutes, the tractor came into view.
“Are those two girls your army?”
“Don’t sell them short. They’ve held their own in several shootouts.”
“And beautiful too.”
This was becoming our routine. We helped get their trucks and tractors running and they threw a big lunch for us. Brisket, corn on the cob and a fresh garden salad.
“I’m sorry, but we have to eat and run. We are only a few days from home and I have a young daughter I need to get home to protect.”
“We can’t thank you enough for showing us how to get the vehicles running and those tips about checking semi-trailers and warehouse are going to be a big help."
Geena was driving the tractor with one hand on the wheel and one resting on the 9mm pistol, lying across her lap. Sally was watching our rear while I was watching Geena’s rear. I know that sounds bad on my part, but the tractor seat bounced and jiggled just the right amount to keep my attention. After all, I am still technically a reforming whoremonger and not a totally cured one.