by Mack Norman
Max tried not to laugh as he said, “Babe that shotgun blast not only killed the man, it blew his private parts into bloody pieces all over the wall of that trailer. You couldn’t find his dick with a microscope.”
They ate their fill of cereal and fried slices of canned ham before putting their coats on and shouldering their backpacks. Both were so sore it was an act of endurance just to get the straps over their shoulders.
Max looked at his map and headed south down the access road to Joe Wheeler Highway. Then he led Amy east. They had walked five miles, and Max could see that Amy was already tired. He stopped at several abandoned houses with old cars and trucks but couldn’t get any of them running. Then they stopped at a home with an old Chevy step side pickup, but it wouldn’t run. Max was angry and complained to Amy that luck was against them. He looked past her, saw several bicycles lined up in the backyard, and went to investigate. One had a basket on the handlebars and one on each side of the back tire, but the tires were low on air. Another was in great shape and ready to go but only had baskets on the back.
Max searched a shed behind the bikes and found an old bicycle pump, a pouch with tools, and a bag with tire patches and glue. Max pumped all of the tires up, and they loaded their gear on the bikes. Max wired Amy’s backpack to the handlebars. They were ready to travel when a man walked up behind them with a shotgun.
“Where you going with my bikes?” The man protested.
Max turned and replied, “These aren’t your bikes no more than they are ours but what will you take for them? Money is useless, and we don’t have much.”
“I don’t want your money. Give me your guns,” the man said with a laugh.
“The only way you’ll get our guns is the lead first,” Max, said with his hand on the butt of his pistol.
Max moved to shield Amy from the shotgun’s blast if the man decided to take their guns. The man pointed at Amy and said, “Gimme your guns or gimme a half an hour with your woman. I don’t care which one but at least you’ll be alive after I’m done with her.
Max started to protest when Amy spoke, “Max it’s okay, and at least we’ll be alive. Drop your gun, and I’ll go in the house with our friend.
Max protested, and Amy replied, “Max trust me. I know what shotguns can do to a man, and this man should get what he deserves for letting us take his bikes.”
Max holstered his pistol, and Amy walked with the man into the house with the man’s shotgun trained on her back. The kitchen door slammed. Outside, Max felt hopeless, worried about what the man would do to Amy, but she had asked him to trust her, and he honored the request. Max hated himself for letting this brave woman sacrifice herself to this nasty asshole.
There was a bloodcurdling scream from the house, and then a shotgun blast rang out and was followed by another. Max ran to the back door, which suddenly flew open. Amy walked out with a bloody object in her left hand and her knife in the other.
“Amy, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Is that what I think it is under all that blood?”
“Yes. I showed him something he’d never seen before,” Amy said with a wicked grin.
“What?”
“The other end of his …”
Max cringed and interrupted, “Oh shit. I get it. Is he dead?”
Amy laughed and then chortled, “If not, he will be soon He lost his balls,”
She raised the bloody mess toward Max, and said, “And then I took his shotgun and blew both his hands off for touching me.”
Max coaxed her to pitch the man’s private parts and washed her hands as she sat on the back porch in a daze. Max finished cleaning the blood off Amy and her knife. He sat and held her tight against him for an hour with neither speaking. Amy was the toughest lady he had ever met, but he could tell the narrow escape had screwed with her mind. The attempted rape had made this killing machine focused on killing men like that bastard.
Then Max had a thought he didn’t like. He wondered if Amy could ever truly love a man and care for him even if he wasn’t perfect. Would she cut his balls off for making an innocent mistake? The old joke about a woman having her husband’s balls in her purse suddenly took on new meaning for Max.
“Amy that was a brave thing you did, and I appreciate you saving my life. I would love to take you to a safe part of the country and settle down and live a normal life,” Max announced.
“Max, what if this is the new normal? Well, at least it is the norm until we kill off all of the perverts in the world. Max, there were millions of these people flying under the radar only kept in check by fear of jail or public humiliation. Now that society has collapsed, they have come out of the woodwork. Do you remember back when all of those Hollywood actors, senators, and news people were fired or jailed for raping women and molesting children?” Amy asked.
“Yes. It stained Hollywood for a decade.”
“Tony had several prominent politicians from both parties and rich Hollywood types approach him to see if he could put them in contact with underworld types who could find children for them. Every one of them died, and Tony actually set up sting operations to snare a dozen more. He exposed them for what they were and made their deaths appear to be suicides.”
“Damn, we all thought they had a crisis of conscience and did the right thing,” Max answered very thoughtfully.
“Tony is a man of principles and won’t abide perverts of any kind. He makes his money off pornography, prostitution, gambling, and alcohol but everyone involved is there of their own free will and paid very well,” Amy confessed.
“Max took a gamble and asked, “Is that why you love him so much?”
“No, but I like and respect that part of him.”
“You don’t have to answer, but did you assist in ridding the world of those perverts?”
Amy looked up, smiled, and replied, “I enjoyed killing every last one of them. I was especially cruel to the politicians and took hours to kill them. I will always take the time to eliminate those perverts from this world and keep little girls and women safe.”
Max held her for a short while longer before they hopped on the bicycles and rode east. They didn’t talk as usual, and Max was deep in thought about the woman that he was falling in love with. He couldn’t reconcile the kind, generous woman that had shared his bed with the ruthless killing machine he had seen in action. They rode silently until they saw the town up ahead.
Max insisted, “Babe, the sign says City Creek and I want to find some strong antibiotics and rest up for a day or so before we move on up the road. Don’t protest because I can see your ass is dragging almost as much as mine is.”
“I want to go on, but my body is spent. Find us a safe place,” an exhausted Amy responded.
City Creek had survived better than most small cities; there was still law and order. Max and Amy arrived at a checkpoint on the edge of the small town.
“Stop and keep your hands where we can see them,” a woman ordered.
Max and Amy complied, and then the woman asked, “What do you want? We don’t have extra food, but you can have water. We don’t want strangers coming into our town.”
Max replied, “My wife was stabbed in the side by some men who kidnapped her several days ago. I rescued her, and we are trying to get back to Murfreesboro. She needs antibiotics and medical treatment if you have a doctor.”
Before the woman could reply, Amy laid her bike down and slumped to the ground exhausted. Max rushed to her side and said, “Please help us.”
The woman yelled for one of the men to fetch the doctor and then asked, “How did you get her away from the kidnappers?”
“She killed the leader and was in the act of escaping when I found her. I had to kill several of the men and one woman to get her away from them. One man followed us, and I killed him and his dog yesterday,” Max said with no remorse in his voice.
“Why kill his dog?”
Max pointed at his arm and said, “The monster trie
d to take my arm off. I need some of those antibiotics also.”
The woman whispered to another man and then said, “Was this family about thirty miles east of here back in the woods?”
“Yes, it was a bunch of hillbillies sort of like the Clampets, but Granny was a murderous old bitch, Jed was a fat murdering bastard, and my wife was about to become Ely May. We killed the old bitch and her son before he could rape my wife,” Max told them.
“You were lucky because that sounds like the Baxter KKK Clan. You just cut the head off the snake. You just did this community a huge service,”
The woman smiled, and then added, “Let’s get them into town to see the doctor.”
“I thought he was coming to help my wife.”
“Sorry. We saw your guns and called for the heavily armed backup squad. We have a shootout about once a week and have learned to agree with people until we have superior numbers and firepower,” the woman said.
“I guess it pays not to trust anyone,” Max replied.
“Yes and that’s why I’m going to ask you to give me your weapons. You will get them when you leave.”
Max hesitated but knew they wouldn’t receive medical attention if he didn’t turn their guns over to the lady. He took Amy’s pistol, his rifle, and the shotgun and gave them to the lady. She kicked his ankle, and he gave her the pistol that was hidden in his ankle holster.
She smiled and said, “You can keep your knives. Now let’s go to the doctor.
A pickup pulled up, and they loaded Amy in the bed with Max watching after her. He ran his fingers through her hair trying to tame her unruly hair as he held her head on his lap. She had passed out and was now sleeping even though the truck lurched along.
Max wished they didn’t have to go back to Gallatin and could stay here with these good people. He loved this hardheaded killer. He wanted to get her away from the other criminals and teach her to lead a normal life. He knew Tony didn’t love her, and Max was worried how she would react when the truth eventually hit her in the face, as it must one day.
They arrived at a clinic on the far side of town, Max placed Amy on a gurney, and two nurses pushed her into the clinic as Max followed. While the doctor tended to Amy, one of the nurses removed the bandages from Max’s arm and cleaned his wounds. She then applied antiseptic cream and bandaged the wounds.
“Sir, have you had a Tetanus shot lately?”
“Yes, last year when I ran a wire into my thumb at my ranch,” Max replied.
The nurse gave him an antibiotic shot in his hip and then gave him two pills and a glass of water to wash them down. The nurse told him to lie down until the doctor could check him out. Max fell asleep and didn’t wake up until the next morning.
Max woke up and heard, “Do you think the Clan will come looking for these two?”
“Unfortunately, I do. Those assholes won’t give up until these two are dead, and their bodies are hanging from a tree as a warning for everyone that screwing with them won’t be tolerated.”
“Then what do we do with these two if they present such a danger to our families and us?”
“I will have Bill drive over to Priceville tomorrow and offer to trade them for safety from future attacks. We can’t keep giving an offering to them every time they decide they want a new woman.”
“Do you think Becky will go along with the trade?”
“I don’t think she needs to know. She plans to ambush the bastards the next time they show their faces and then raid their stronghold to kill them all. We’ll give her to the gang as a peace offering.”
Max heard footsteps as the unknown people walked away and knew he had to make a bold move or he and Amy would be dead in two days.
Max asked, “Nurse, what was the lady’s name who helped get us to the clinic?”
“Oh, that was our Mayor, Becky Deane, she is a great person. Do you need to see her?” the nurse queried.
“Yes, I remembered something vital to your town that I heard while I was rescuing my wife. Oh, can I see her now?”
“I’ll send for Becky, and Rodney will help you into the wheelchair and take you to our small break room where we’re about to feed all of our injured.”
A few minutes later, he was next to Amy along with three other people and was served a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of water.
He kissed Amy and quickly whispered in her ear, “Some people want to trade us to that inbred gang to save their own skins. I think the mayor can help.”
Amy smiled and replied, “Yes dear. These are very nice people. We must find a way to thank them for the hospitality.”
They finished breakfast and were told the doctor would release them after lunch. A short time later, the Mayor arrived and said, “How are you two doing? I hope the rest has helped you recover.”
Max shook her hand and replied, “Amy and I feel much better, and if it’s okay with you we would like to leave and try to get back home as quickly as possible.”
“Well, I don’t see why not. The doctor says that the antibiotics will help you to a full recovery. I just wish we had more medicine. Most of the folks didn’t want to use our medicine on outsiders, but I reminded them that we are Christians and that one day we might need help from a stranger. You are free to go when you get ready. I’ll hand your guns to you when you are at the edge of town past our checkpoint,” the Mayor said as she smiled at them.
Amy thanked her and said, “Mayor, our home is only about a hundred miles north of here, and we have much more medical supplies than we need. Could you give us a ride home in one of your trucks? We will fill a truck and trailer up with medical supplies and send them back to you.”
“Oh, my God, that would be great. I would have to find volunteers, but I’m sure someone would go to get the medical supplies.”
“Great, that will help us, and we can help you,” Amy replied.
The mayor lost her smile and asked, “How do you have so much when the rest of the country is suffering?”
Max spoke up, “Mayor, when the crap hit the fan a group of us saw thugs and gangs looting stores and warehouses. We decided that we weren’t going to beg them for food or medical supplies, so we banded together and took all of the warehouses in a major warehouse complex. Now we trade the people in the area for things we don’t have. We trade the food, car parts, and medicine in our warehouses. We have over four hundred people who are paid to work in the warehouses and a free clinic to give medical aid to everyone in our community of about a thousand people.”
“That sounds great, and it’s what we should have done, but our people are afraid to fight the local Clan. That’s the same ones who kidnapped your wife,” the mayor confessed.
Max pulled the mayor off to the side and told her about the conversation he had heard this morning. She called the doctor over and asked him whom the two were that visited that morning.
“That was Jake Henderson and Mark Sidney. They said they were checking on these two so they could help them on their way later today,” the doctor replied.
The doctor left, and the Mayor said, “I knew those two were trouble, but I never thought they would try to sell us out to those thugs. I have to do something to stop this.”
Max looked at Amy, winked, and said, “My wife and I have some experience in dealing with people like this. Let us help you solve your problem.”
∞
Chapter ❷
The Town
The Mayor asked the doctor to tell his staff that Amy’s wound was more severe than previously thought and she should be on IVs another day. The Mayor then told her staff and the Sheriff the same cover. She and Max met to plan how to handle the traitors. She brought the Sheriff into their confidence later that day. He was her brother, and she trusted him with her life.
“Becky, we have to be careful how we handle Jake and Mark. They have a considerable following that listens to their bullshit about appeasing that gang of murderers,” the Sheriff cautioned.
Max looked at the two and said
, “You do know they have to be eliminated. Don’t you?”
Tom, the Sheriff, replied, “I do, but my sister is a softie. Becky these men are plotting to hand you three over to that gang to rape, torture, and then kill. They need to go now.”
“Tom we can’t just shoot them down on the street. Their supporters would go nuts,” the Mayor responded.
Max offered, “Let them volunteer to take us home and bring the medicine back. We’ll take care of them, and then return with their bodies exclaiming what heroes they were. We will tell everyone stories about how they fought and died to save us from the Clan. That takes care of the troublemakers and rallies the troops to take action against the Clan.”
“Max these are ex-cops from Birmingham. They are well-trained and well-armed. You would be slaughtered, and we would be back at square one,” the Mayor replied.
Max looked at Amy and said, “I am the County Sheriff of our new county, and Amy is my chief problem solver. She is a Special Operations person with specialized training in how to solve problems such and those two clowns. She could handle this on her own, but she likes my company. I promise you that we will bring them back to receive their rewards posthumously.”
“Okay, that solves that issue. Now the Clan will send someone over here to collect their protection offering in three days. We need a plan to eliminate them and then another to deal with the large group back at their stronghold,” Tom said.
The Mayor left the group to ask the traitors if they would do her a favor and take the two outsiders home in trade for the medicine.
“Becky, why are you asking us to volunteer? We don’t exactly see eye to eye on many issues,” Jake asked.
“I know, but surely we can put that behind us to get medicine and help our community. Look, besides Tom and his deputies you two are the only ones in town with the experience needed to get those two safely home and get the medicine back here,” the Mayor, insisted.