“Oh, that.” I said, trying to play it off. I didn’t remember it that way at all.
“I guess it was just the stress of the moment triggering all the bad things I’d been forced to ignore all the way here. When I saw the Trimble girls in that tent, it just set me off somehow. That was just the last straw. I’ve been living in fear and having to run away instead of helping. I tried, I really did, but I was all alone. I had to pass up on taking larger groups of raiders and ..that just eats you up inside when you can’t help.”
Nick nodded somberly. “I think I understand. The thing is, Luke, now that you know you have that inside you, you have to be careful.”
“I’ll keep it under control, Nick. Almost three months now, and that’s the first time it ever happened.” I lied, but I didn’t want to talk about the rest stop right now.
“I didn’t lose my cool today,” I continued, “just got the job done.”
“Don’t get me wrong. What you did yesterday, that was amazing. I don’t know if I could have done it. I don’t mean would have. I mean, could have. You slotted those guys like a professional. One in the chest, one in the head. Every time. And you did it so fast, like a machine.”
“Doesn’t make me bulletproof, boss.”
“No, but it shows you have a talent. A gift at fighting.”
I looked down, examining the pattern of fallen leaves carpeting the forest floor. Finally, I managed to squeeze out a reply, my throat suddenly feeling tight.
“You mean killing, don’t you?”
Nick nodded before continuing, but when he spoke he made a point of maintaining eye contact.
“Yes, Luke. A gift for killing. But I’ve never seen or heard of you to kill anyone who didn’t have it coming. And, you don’t act like someone who’s learned to enjoy the act.”
“Well, I guess I have that going for me. Am I supposed to be some kind of Jedi Knight in training? Do I get one of those cool swords and get to call you Obi-Wan?”
“Well, your father did hang you with the right name, Luke.”
I had to laugh at that. I’d never thought about it. Those movies were so old I’d only seen them a few times on cable. I remember hearing about a new trilogy set for release, but the first one never made it to the theaters before the lights went out. Likely now, it never would. That thought, of all the cool movies I was looking forward to seeing, all the books I was waiting to read next, made me unaccountably sad. Like I’d lost a friend.
I headed back to the rest of our crew, following Nick as he led the way. Yes, I had a certain flavor of crazy living in my head, but the idea didn’t scare me like it would have before the lights went out. I was alive and probably cheated the odds to get this far.
I had a place here for a while with the Keller family where I could hopefully rest and recover while preparing for the next leg of my journey. I had a girl worth protecting, and friends too. If the cost was killing a few, or more than a few, outlaws and raiders to protect these people, I figured that was okay. What these folks had was worth fighting for.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
We were late getting started back to the farm. The ambush by the road yielded two more heavy trucks, one an enclosed delivery van and the other a stake bed farm truck. Once Stan diagnosed the third truck as inoperable, he started stripping everything useful off the truck itself while the rest of us transferred the cargo to the other vehicles. The three girls, the oldest couldn’t have been more than fifteen, all sat in the grass nearby and waited silently.
None of the men in our group recognized the girls from any of the surrounding farms or the neighborhood. They watched us with covert glances and worried faces. Finally, I just couldn’t take their fearful eyes anymore and walked over, taking a seat on the grass.
I looked over at the one I pegged as the oldest, a dark eyed girl with deep auburn hair cut short in a rough pixie cut.
“Hi” I said softly. “My name’s Luke. What’s your name?”
“Lori,” she finally said. She sat stiffly, her head bent. I noticed she was only wearing a thin t-shirt and cut off blue jeans and no shoes. If she decided to bolt, she wouldn’t get far in these woods.
“Lori, I know we might not look it, but we really are the good guys here. No one is going to hurt you or do anything bad to you or your friends.”
“Who are you people? Are you with the Army?”
The question didn’t come from Lori, but from one of the other two girls. She was a rail thin blonde with hair cut off close to her head. I guessed her age at about twelve, but honestly I wasn’t good guessing girls’ ages in that range.
“I work for the Keller family. See that guy there,” I said, pointing at Nick. “He’s in charge of security for the farm. We had just finished cleaning out this raider camp when the guys holding ya’ll rolled up. Probably part of the same group, I’d guess. So you’ve seen the Army out and about?”
The tiny girl nodded. She couldn’t have been over five feet tall but had the barest hint of curve to her shape that initially made me think she was nearly into her teen years.
“Soldiers came by the aid camp every few days. They had water in these big trucks and we had to stand in line for hours to fill out buckets. They seemed nice but people kept yelling at them. Saying they should do more. That really makes the soldiers mad, but they don’t do anything back.”
“Where was this?”
“Over outside Bentonville, I think. We’re not from around here so the towns are confusing.”
Interesting. So the Army, or more likely the Arkansas National Guard, was doing something after all.
“Where’s home?”
“McAlester. In Oklahoma.”
Crap.
“Miss, how many in your group?”
“I think there’s like twenty five of us left at the school.”
“How did you get stuck in Bentonville?”
“We were actually at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Summer camp for cheerleaders. The day the lights went out, our group was taking a tour of a WalMart storage place up in Bentonville. They let us stay a few days; then made us walk over to the school when the director there figured out the lights weren’t coming back on any time soon.”
What a heartless move. I hoped the cannibals got that guy. That might sound terrible, but in my mind I really hoped that happened. Or something similarly horrific. Sending these girls out into the open, unprotected, was essentially signing their death warrants. After they had been through a virtual hell first. I didn’t ask if they had been raped, yet, and I really didn’t want to know.
“What grade are you in, miss?”
I try for an adult tone and must have carried it off. Her eyes misted up as she tried to answer.
“I was going into the seventh grade in the fall. I just want to go home, mister.”
That triggers the tears and all three girls started crying. Just then, Nick came over to check on our newest group of rescued hostages. Or sex slaves. I think we all knew the score there.
“What’s up Luke?”
“These young ladies were just telling me about their situation. Miss? I’d didn’t catch your name?”
Lori finally stopped crying long enough to make introductions.
“I’m Lori, that’s Carrie,” she says, pointing to the young girl who spoke last, “and this is Hailey. We were all at the shelter in Bentonville when those men came.”
“How did they get you out of the shelter?” Nick asked.
“They just gave the guards some food,” the last girl, Hailey wailed. “That guy, Randall, he just walked up to the Red Cross man and they argued a price for us. Well, for three girls. Randall picked us out of the crowd and his men loaded us up.”
“Just like he was buying cattle,” Lori whispered. She had gotten past the tears and anger etched her tanned features. From her dark skin and hair, I suspected there might be a touch of Native American blood in her background. Not that it mattered to me, but I knew there were plenty of Cherokee
in Oklahoma.
“Well, like I said you before, you ladies are welcome to come back to the farm until we can get something worked out. We already rescued another batch of prisoners from these…men.”
I listened to Nick’s words but my thoughts were on what Hailey had said. I knew bad things, terrible things, were going on out there in this country. I’d seen the rape tents in the National Guard camp outside Jefferson City. I’d heard the screams of women and girls being assaulted nightly as I tried to get out of the hell that was Illinois. For some reason, though, this casual sale of girls to bandits for food just got my blood up.
“How did they even know to go there?” I asked, more to myself than anyone present.
“Mr. Rufus sent them,” Hailey said without hesitation.
“What?” Nick asked, trying to keep his face straight.
“I was listening” Hailey explained. “They didn’t know I was listening at the door in the principals’ office. Lori had tried to get the soldiers to take us home. They took down some information on us but the man said he couldn’t promise us anything. That was last week, okay?”
I nodded my understanding, and for the girl to continue.
Hailey shivered, though the air was warm even in the shade. “This morning, these men showed up. They called the guards to the gate and Randall said Mr. Rufus sent them. He knew how many girls were there and where we came from.”
I looked at Nick but he wouldn’t meet my eyes. Shit, this must be bad.
“Alright then, if you ladies would be so kind as to come along. We are heading home and my brother Mark has found a place for you to ride.”
“We are not going back on those boards,” Lori announced.
“No ma’am. In the back of the delivery truck. My brother unrolled some of the blankets to make a cushioned area for you all to ride in comfort.”
“Why do we have to ride in back?” Hailey complained, and I looked her in the eye when I answered.
“If we get attacked, you will be behind some boxes that will hopefully stop the bullets. Also, we don’t want any more bad men getting a look at you all. We have lots of guns and are obviously willing to use them, but if somebody with bad intentions sees the three of you, they might attack anyway.”
“Oh,” the young girl said. Lori, at least, gave me a grateful nod for giving it to her straight. Carrie looked like she might ask for a rifle to help repel the attack. I liked her attitude. She reminded me of another spunky blonde I knew.
As we walked over to the trucks, I tried to catch Nick’s eye. I saw, and shook his head ever so slightly. I got the hint. We would talk later. We would definitely have that conversation, whether he wanted to or not. Clearly, Nick thought he knew Mr. Rufus and for some reason the news would not be good.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The drive back to the farm went smoothly until we were about a mile out and all hell broke loose on the radio. Or so I gathered. I was riding in the back of the big farm truck and the road noise made my radio useless.
Bruce, in the lead vehicle, came to a sudden stop and I vaulted out of the back to take up position in the nearby ditch before the dust settled. I had no idea what was going on but I figured taking a security position couldn’t hurt. With five trucks and eight men we were dangerously short on shooters but Nick elected to take back the two extra vehicles we captured.
When Nick unassed his truck, the second in line, he waved us in for a quick discussion. Following Mark’s lead, I huddled up but knelt with my rifle shouldered, facing outward. I noticed Bruce and Scott took up similar positions while the other men looked on. We could hear but kept our eyes peeled for threats. I noted Sid had a bemused expression as we watched us setup.
“I just got a call from the farm. Mom was on the radio and reported a large group approaching the front gate on foot. Given the direction she gave, they must be just ahead of us on the road.”
Well, that did not sound all that great. As I had warned, the starving masses were moving out into the countryside. Being right didn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy though.
“Wait a minute. We drove past three farms since turning onto this road already,” Bruce exclaimed. “Why didn’t they stop there first?”
Nick shrugged before continuing.
“Got no answer for you, Bruce, but that’s what she said. Dad’s out right now with the rest of the guys. They’re manning the positions we set up at the front gate.”
I thought about Amy being at the farm, and of the farm being overrun. The fate of women caught up in such a catastrophe didn’t bear contemplation. We’d already seen the like with Mrs. Trimble and her daughters. My voice was harsh and low as I growled, “Well, Let’s go kill the motherfuckers. What are we waiting around here for?”
“Hold on, tiger,” Nick cautioned. “We need a plan first.”
“What if they aren’t hostile?” Sid asked, and I started to retort with a smart ass remark but Nick held up a hand.
“If they aren’t hostile then we will let them go about their business. Maybe they are just using this farm road as a short cut to another destination. The other way comes out not too far from Gentry.”
That was news to me. I’d never taken the road that way but I should have known. My maps for the area were not as detailed as I would like, and my travels had simply not gone in that direction since coming to the farm.
“Mom said some of them were armed, but she didn’t give any further details. If they don’t shoot at us, we won’t start anything but they are not getting through the gate. Period fucking dot.”
Nick laid out our plan quickly, picking Stan and Mike Neal to take the panel truck with the girls and the pickup loaded with bulk of the recovered weapons. They would turn back and park up the lane leading to the Laretto farm. Hopefully out of sight and safe.
That left us with six men and three trucks.
“Can you drive, Luke?”
I nodded before realizing Sid was one of the ones going in with us.
“I’ll ride shotgun for Sid,” I said rather forcefully, and when Nick tried to catch my eye I just nodded. We would be discussing this later for sure.
“I’ll be in the front truck, Bruce driving. Mark, I want you as driver and Scott on shotgun. Remember little brother, that ain’t a tank you’re jockeying now.”
Mark gave his older brother the finger without looking up. He had his rifle shouldered and pointed down the road, towards the farm.
“We are going to approach slow and with our weapons down but ready. I’ll see if I can talk to someone and find out what they want. Bruce, I want you to stop about fifty feet from the back of the group. Sid, I want you and Mark to pull up parallel but give us room to open the passenger doors. If they start shooting, get down behind the engine and you drivers, get us the heck out.”
Nick didn’t mention that if shooting started, he would be right in the middle of it. This whole thing felt wrong but I wasn’t going to challenge Nick. He was in charge and this was his operation. I would, however, be out of the truck and back in the ditch to provide some cover fire for Nick if this went wrong.
“I’m going to call ahead on the radio and let them know we are coming. See if they know anything else,” Nick said as his instructions began to wind down. “All of you stay safe and keep your heads on a swivel.”
Our group broke up quickly and we relocated to newly assigned vehicles. Not waiting for Mike and Stan to get their trucks turned around, Bruce and Nick headed out at a pace barely above walking and the other two vehicles quickly fell in line. I knew with our group of eight gone, the Keller farm was dangerously shorthanded. Even with more than a dozen adults onsite, Darwin was having to fill in positions with women and teens who lacked the proper training. I’d bet money though that Amy, Cass McWorter and Ruth were all manning that fortified fence line.
The ragged band of refugees quickly came into sight and I felt the first pangs of guilt from my earlier, bloodthirsty demands. Yes, some looked to be armed but I also saw th
e small shapes that told me there were children in the mix. I didn’t think I had it in me to kill children. Hopefully I wouldn’t find out today.
As planned, Bruce stopped the truck well back from the rear edge of the group and we pulled up alongside, effectively blocking the road. As we approached, I noted how the refugees quickly reoriented on this new potential threat. The men, most of which looked to be armed, moved through the crowd and took up positions placing their bodies between us and their dependents. Not all of the men were armed, and not all of the armed people were men, but that was the general trend.
I waited for the bullets to start flying but after a minute of simply eyeballing each other, I noted a man emerge from the press of bodies and approach the middle truck. He looked emaciated and driven beyond exhaustion, barely able to place one foot in front of the other. Despite his appearance, he carried a shotgun in the crook of his arm and a sizeable pack on his back.
Nick, weapon also cradled, exited the truck and slowly approached the other man. Nick seemed to stumble and I brought me rifle up to bear on the crowd, ready to unload a magazine with the carbine set to full auto. I hesitated when Nick appeared to recover and I heard his voice, tentative and questioning.
“Glenn? Jesus, Glenn, is that you?”
Whatever the other man said was enough for Nick to turn his back on a possible threat and call out to us.
“Stand down, boys. Everything is okay. Just stand down.”
Nick might have been satisfied but my paranoia refused to release me just yet. I risked a quick glance over at Sid, who had yet to say a word.
“Glenn?”
“He’s my nephew. Gary’s boy.”
Great. I remembered hearing Gary Keller’s son had yet to make the trek from Branson to the farm. If Gary’s son was anything like his old man, I’d need to hit the road soon to avoid a knife in the back. Of course, my plan to rest up and recover here had been disrupted by almost continuous fighting interspersed with small doses of hard work. I doubted I’d gained back any of the weight Cass had been hounding me over.
Home Fires Burning (Walking in the Rain Book 2) Page 9