Survive Texas Dead

by C. A. Hoaks

  Brian tore his eyes from the women spotlighted by headlights and examined the men dressed in camouflage. After a barked order from the man harassing the women, the dozen or so men milling around suddenly turned from the show and found purpose. The brush was cleared, and trucks were pulled off the road and parked in a large clearing. Brian led Leon closer.

  Supplies were removed from one of the pickups, and a fire was built on the side of the road. One of the men put a coffee pot over the small fire. Two men began scavenging supplies from dead bodies. They drove a knife into the eye of each before dragging them away from the camp. Three people went to the disabled vehicles and pulled supplies and personal items from inside each. Suddenly there was a yelp of excitement. One of the men reappeared from the minivan with multiple quart-sized liquor bottles in his arms. He passed one of the black-labeled containers to a fellow raider spreading out a sleeping bag near the center of camp. The man uncapped the bottle took a long draw on the amber liquid before giving it to the guy next to him. Within minutes several of the men were passing bottles back and forth. Some stopped at one drink then gathered bedrolls and laid down near the fire while others kept drinking.

  A man gave some gruff orders, and the group as a whole drifted to the side of the road where they quickly made a camp with a fire. Men gobbled down cans of food and a coffee pot.

  Chapter 19

  Into the Fold

  Doc opened the door and saw Jake sitting on the top step with a worried frown distorting his face.

  “Well.” Doc turned back to Amanda. “It seems we have a changing of the guard, young lady. Jake is outside.

  Amanda smiled at Jake from the bed and held out her hand. “He’s here for me.” She announced.

  Jake’s face bloomed with joy. “Anyway, I’m needed.” He rose and stepped into the bedroom to kneel at the side of the bed and wrapped Amanda’s hand in both his. “I…I….” He stuttered.

  Despite the grip of another contraction she whispered. “I couldn’t think of a better person. You’re a good man. I love you.”

  Jake grinned. “Really? Really?” He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “I was…I just couldn’t. Really?”

  Amanda laughed. “It’s alright. When you’re ready, For now, let’s bring our son into this world.”

  She turned to her side, and after a bit of direction from Doc, Jake massaged the small of her back through the next contraction. Amanda relaxed and focused on her breathing. With the contraction eased, Doc completed a brief examination and declared, “Well, it’ll be a while, and I think you two have things handled for now. Helen and I will be downstairs for a few minutes. Someone mentioned coffee?” They disappeared from the room.

  Jake sat back, and Amanda turned toward him with a questioning look on her face. He whispered. “I know you loved your husband and I’m sorry he didn’t make it. I know I can’t take his place, but I love you, and I’d try to be the best baby daddy I can be.”

  “I know,” She smiled. “You’re a kind, loving, man, and I couldn’t ask for better.”

  Jake grinned back until he saw her face melt into a grimace. “I’m gonna be a daddy.”

  Doc and Helen came down the stairs whispering and chuckling. They appeared at the kitchen door. “Did I smell coffee?” He asked as he walked into the kitchen where Matt, Larry, and the girls now sat.

  “We’re having a baby now?” Amy asked.

  “We sure are, little one.” Doc settled at the table, and Helen poured two cups of coffee, crossed to the table and sat down too.

  Doc took a sip of coffee. “Well, Matt, quite the merry little band you have here. I take it, the illustrious Reverend Jacob Billings is a new arrival?”

  Matt bounced Claire on his knee as she giggled. “It does seem to be getting a little out of control. And yeah, we got Larry to thank for Billings.” He frowned then grinned at Claire.

  Larry looked up from the cup of coffee in his hands. “I think I should have turned around and left the bastard there. But they were starving. They had those little girls.” His voice trailed off.

  “Who exactly did they have?” Matt asked.

  Larry shrugged. “Two middle-aged men plus Billings, then two young men, maybe early twenties. There’s eight women altogther, two old hags, two around thirty, four teens and then three little girls, preteen I’d say.”

  “No little boys?” Helen commented. “That’s strange, and all the women seem to be dressed in those long dresses. They remind me of those Amish or Mennonite folks except the troubling look on the younger women’s faces.” Her voice trailed off.

  Larry continued. “The preacher insisted all the women stay in the big camper and the men are in the smaller one next to it. They turned the campers, so the doors face each other. Something weird about them, for sure.”

  Doc stood up and nodded toward Helen. “You gentlemen seem to have things to discuss, and we have a baby to deliver.” The older couple ascended the stairs without more comment.

  “Well, this is a fine mess you’ve gotten us into.” Matt chuckled and turned to Amy. “Time for you two to get back in bed. One of us will be in to tuck you in in a little bit.”

  Amy yawned. “Yes, sir. I’ll fix Claire’s bottle then we’ll go.”

  Matt smiled and nodded. “Thanks, sweety.”

  He let Claire’s hand slide across his face to his lips. He caught her fingertips between his lips and blew out. The baby giggled as she collapsed against him and hugged his neck.

  “Da Da.” She giggled. She pulled at his hair, then sat up and grinned.

  Amy appeared with the bottle in hand and reached out for her sister. “Good night, Mr. Matt and Mr. Larry. Tell Mr. Jake good night for us, please.” She disappeared down the dimly lit hall without a backward glance. The small lantern flicked on and a hint of light spilled from the back bedroom.

  “Dada?” Larry grinned.

  “Drop it,” Matt growled. “Now, about the preacher.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you, but I do know, all those women and girls can’t stay in that two-bedroom camper.”

  “What?” Matt jumped to his feet. “Aren’t any of the preacher’s group families?”

  “No. Far as I can tell.”

  “Who are all those people then?” Matt asked. “What in the hell is going on with them?”

  “I’m clueless. The only person I’ve ever talked to has been the preacher. I was hoping to get a few of the women and girls into separate quarters and get a chance to talk to them.”

  “How many units did you bring back?” Matt ran his hand through his hair.

  “Six,” Larry answered. “I put Doc and Helen and the girls in one, Red and Theresa with a couple kids in another, then the rest of their group in the third or the Rec Center. We can go back to get more units tomorrow.”

  It’s one thing to have a dorm for kids…but all the adults in the Rec Center with them, is leaving everyone cross and out of sorts. No one is getting any sleep between the snoring, kids giggling, and going to the bathroom all night long, it’s a fucking circus. Then add all the bitching…shit.”

  “How many more units can you get?” Matt asked.

  “At least three. The units are not in the best shape but movable. Maybe with a little cleaning and a new mattress or two, we can use them. We can keep looking for campers if we head back toward one of the bigger campgrounds closer to Kerrville.”

  “Hell no! We make due. No one is heading into that cluster-fuck.” Matt growled.

  “What if we get a bunch of tarps from that home improvement store or look for someplace with tents?” Larry suggested.

  “Tent’s might work if we can find a sporting goods store or a rental store. They have those big white ones like they use for weddings.” Matt offered. “Get a couple portable air conditioners and generators, maybe. But then we’re back to making way to much noise. That generator can only handle so much, and then we’ll not be hearing what’s going on around us.”

  “I
’ll talk to the team and see if anyone knows of a place that might have supplies we can use to expand our living space.”

  “Meanwhile, let’s go over to Billings and put half those women one of the empty campers. It’s stupid for all those women to be in one camper. The damned waste tank will be overflowing by morning.”

  Matt and Larry walked across the parking lot to the furthest pair of campers. They got to the preacher’s trailer and tapped on the door with the end of a flashlight.

  “Billings? We need to talk.” Matt called out. He could hear a harried discussion then the door opened a couple inches.

  “What do you want?” The man in coveralls growled.

  “I want to talk to Billings,” Matt announced. “Get him out here, or I’m coming in.”

  “He’s busy.” The man retorted.

  Matt sighed. “You were starving, and now you have a full belly. Either Billings gets out here, or you can load up that fucking bus in the morning and drive on outta here.”

  The door slammed, and another frantic conversation took place behind it, then it reopened, and Billings appeared. It was evident he had been in bed. When Billings opened the door to speak Matt caught a glimpse of a young girl in a white shift staring at him from the back bedroom. Her hair was a tangled nest while red marks marred her young face. Her eyes were red and puffy.

  Matt turned and whispered to Larry. “Assemble the men and make sure they’re armed. Tell Jasper and Joan to keep the kids in the Rec Center.” He whispered.

  Billings watched from the door as Larry disappeared then reappeared a couple minutes later with half a dozen uniforms. “What is the meaning of this?” He puffed up his chest and did his best to look authoritative.

  “Get out here, all of you. And leave your fucking guns inside, or I’ll shoot you dead, right here and right now,” Matt ordered as he pulled his handgun. Larry and the men behind him raised their weapons.

  Billings started to close the door, but Matt slid the Mag Light into the opening. “What do you want? You don’t have the right to order….”

  Matt grabbed the door and jerked it open with Billings still clinging to the barrier leaving him stumbled outside. Matt caught him and pushed him away from the trailer. With a nod to Larry, Billings was searched, then forced to his knees on the ground.

  The remaining men stared at the scene, unsure what to do. Matt reached into the camper and pulled the rifle from the man wearing coveralls. “You men get out here! Don’t make me shoot you,” Matt ordered. “I’ve had a long fucking day, and you’re pissing me off.”

  Matt raised his handgun while the little girl’s eyes grew large as saucers.

  Larry and the soldiers took control of each man as he came outside. Matt walked into the camper while the remaining men were each searched then forced to their knees next to Billings with zip-ties on their hands.

  Matt stomped over to the second camper and ordered. “Everyone out of there, too.” With a glanced at Larry, three men walked into the camper and herded the women and girls out into the evening.

  Matt walked back to the men’s camper where the child still stood trembling inside the camper. He stepped inside and sat down at the table while the girl stared at him. The child was terrified.

  “My name is Matt. You don’t have to be afraid of me. I’m here to help you. Can you tell me your name and how old you are?”

  “Mary.” She answered as tears slid down her cheeks. “I’m twelve.”

  “Is your father one of those men?” He asked.

  She moved her head from left to right then answered. “My daddy’s dead. I don’t have no family.”

  Matt was confused. “Your mother is not one of those women?”

  Mary squared her shoulders. “No! My family’s dead. Some sick people came into the camp. Daddy locked me in the camper, then he and mama and two other men kill them.”

  “What about the preacher and his men?”

  “They didn’t come out to fight.”

  “When it was over, they were covered in blood, and the preacher said they would get sick, so the men shot ‘em all. Just like that, they shot them.”

  “Did the other men have families?” Matt asked.

  “Yes. There was a lot of yelling and screaming. They killed Becky’s mom when she pointed a gun at the preacher. The other man’s wife and two daughters are here. Becky’s is my age. They came got me and said I belonged to them now.”

  Matt struggled to control the rage that was building. He wanted to kill the bastard. After taking several deep breaths to steady his voice, he asked. “Did he hurt you?”

  “He said he was saving me.” Mary turned toward the door and whispered. “He did the grown-up thing, it hurt.”

  Matt jumped to his feet with his fists clenched. When he saw Mary cringe, he realized her fright, and he sat back down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I’m just so angry right now.”

  “Can I shoot him? He did it to my friend, Becky, too.” Mary asked.

  Chapter 20

  Home

  Harry watched the first pickup tapped his breaks twice as they neared a ranch. “Guess this is the place Randy mentioned picking up a few more folks to lead up to the General’s place.”

  “Looking like more than just a few,” John laughed. “Looks like four vehicles lined up there. The extended-cab trucks are pulling trailers so must include livestock. They got a suburban and SUV so must be multiple families.” John added.

  Randy stopped to speak to a grizzled old man briefly then accelerated and waved Harry to stop and wait. As they waited, he glanced up at Cody in the rearview mirror. “Has she moved?”

  Cody moved his head from left to right. “No, sir. My sister is sitting with her, sir.”

  John turned to Harry. “I told you, I checked her. Looks like she’s sleeping, but I think she’s sick.”

  “She ain’t been right since the ambush. I’ve seen her favoring her side when she thought no one was looking. I hope her ol’ man’s place isn’t far.” Harry answered.

  “Randy’s motioning the trucks to move out. Hold back. It looks like we’ve got four more vehicles coming with us.”

  Harry pulled to the side to allow Pablo to pull up next to the camper. Harry gave a careless wave. “Picking up a few friends.”

  Pablo laughed. “Sí. Y cabras, goats.”

  John chuckled. “Makes sense. Goats can live on limited forage and can provide meat and milk. Smart.”

  Hugo, Pablo’s companion, asked. “What if we’re attacked, or someone tries to follow us?”

  Pablo shrugged. “Señor Randy say we shot them.”

  Hugo shrugged. “Sí.”

  Pablo nodded toward the last vehicle leaving the ranch entrance onto the highway. “Señor? You go now, por favor?”

  “Yeah. Got it.” Harry slid the camper into gear and to follow the last vehicle.

  Harry trailed the livestock trailer for another ten miles then saw Randy lead the caravan into a turn off of the highway. When Harry got to the turnoff, he guided the camper across a cattle guard onto what looked like a fire road. It was a gravel trail that was little more than a cattle path. He glanced at the side mirror to see Pablo pull across the ground metal guard and stopped.

  Hugo stepped out of the truck and picked up several dried branches from the roadside. He shoved the brushy stems into the grate of the cattle guard. Once he was finished with the camouflage of the entrance, Hugo used two more clusters of leafy stems to obscure the tracks of the vehicles that had just passed. He tied ropes around two limbs and secured the line to the back of the truck. He hurried to the truck cab climbed inside.

  The caravan spent another hour winding through scrub oaks, and rugged terrain. The road had been recently graded and maintained but without continued effort would return to washes and barely functional for most vehicles. Canyon walls gradually grew up from the rough landscape in the distance. Soon, the vehicles disappeared into the wilds of Guadalupe National Park.

  H
arry growled as the camper bucked and rolled at yet another dry gully crossing. “Damned road sucks. I wonder how much further?”

  John pointed at a building in the distance. It was not what he had expected. He could see an enormous log structure nestled amid a distance grove of trees in a distant meadow. On either side of the settlement in the distance could be seen towering faces of the canyon walls. The lodge was a two-story log structure with a metal roof of forest green. Additional buildings could be seen nestled amid the trees. “So this is it, Pine Springs?” John whispered. “Sure not what I expected.”

  “That is a hell of a spread,” Harry commented.

  The caravan headed through yet another stand forested area that lasted at least two miles. Finally, as the trees thinned and they drove into a clearing Randy, in the lead, headed for a metal structure that appeared in the middle of an open expanse between the edge of the forest and camp. As they drew closer, they could see a ravine that ran the full width of the canyon entrance.

  “You think that was natural?”

  “Maybe part of it,” Harry answered, “Someone went to a lot of trouble.”

  John pointed toward the left canyon wall. “It looks like there was a natural arroyo part way. They used heavy equipment to extend the trench before laying out that razor wire on the far side. It’s good to see the old man used the natural terrain to fortify the compound. Now it looks like only one way across the arroyo, that metal bridge.”

  Randy’s truck pulled up across from a guard shack and waved. A man appeared at the gateway, gave a wave, and headed for a nearby metal structure and giant spoked wheel on a metal structure.

  “It looks like there’s a bridge,” Harry commented.

  With the angle of the approach, Harry and John watched a guard raise field glasses to his face. He studied the vehicles approaching then turned the six-foot wheel. As the apparatus turned, chains at the top of two tall metal structure extended a skeletal platform across the abyss.