The man said in a whiny voice, “What do mean, away from here? What are we going to do? You killed my brother!”
Lee's voice was thick with anger, “We could just go ahead and shoot you now”.
The man looked truly frightened. One of the girls, under her breath said, “F-you, man.” She glared at the whiny voiced man and at Lee.
Jack looked at Michael, “I don't know what to do with this girl.” Michael had sat her down and she still looked drugged and dazed. The father of the kidnapped girl said, “We will take her and the other two girls. Our group has enough shelter and food to offer them a home. If they still have parents or family somewhere, perhaps we can find them. You brought my daughter back to me, we will try and protect these girls.” There was no disagreement from Michael or the other church group members.
Jack was relieved and said, “That's good. Jason, you and Eric use those plastic ties and secure these four. Lee, you need to hustle. Go back to the compound, take Cody and Dane with you. Load up the two girls and the other group member and bring them to the church parking lot. Michael can run back for the SUV, come pick up this girl and his man. Then he will meet you at the parking lot. They need to get their man to some medical attention. Joel and I will stay here, just in case there are some of this scum still around. Even with the girls they had not encountered twenty. Maybe the guy had been off on his count. When Lee drops off the girls, he can come here. We will load up the guy and girls and take them for a ride.
Jack said, “While you are taking care of that, Jason and Eric can find that room in the house where their weapons are stored. Also, we need to gather all of the arms from the men that went down. Let's bring them out here and divide up the weapons.” The four prisoners were sitting on the lawn with their hands zip tied. Soon, the weapon cache was piled on the ground. Both groups acquired about eight guns each and Joel took two. There was not really a lot of ammo.
There was some back slapping and hand shaking. They felt they had been successful. Very few of these men had actually ever killed another human, but these times demanded these measures. They knew that the strategy of early morning surprise had been their best asset. Just because the bad guys had guns did not mean they were good with them. There were some skilled shooters in Jack's family and in the church group. But this had been close quarters combat. If these bad guys had been better trained or trained at all, it could have gone very differently. This had been the first co-operative mission of the Unity Militia, it would be far from the last.
***
Jack and Lee barreled along in the War Wagon, their five unhappy passengers bumped along in the back. They drove about fifteen miles out into a country area that Jack knew had never been heavy populated. He used to hunt in this area. They took the five out. They were really raising hell, “what are we going to do, out here? We will starve...you aren't going to leave us here!” Jack was surprised that he did not care one bit for their predicament. What he thought he would never forget, was the four young girls, one dead, that had suffered under the same roof as these four were living under. They tossed out a gallon jug of water and a box of granola bars. He felt that was generous. If these no goods didn't have the toughness or smarts to survive, it was their own problem. As far as his heart and mind was concerned, every person in that house was guilty of assault and murder. The others had been executed. These five would make their own destiny. Jack held the .45 on them, while Lee snipped their ties. They both backed up, jumped in the wagon and sped away. Neither of them looked back. They were anxious to be home to the family and the compound. Their job was done for today.
It had been a long and disturbing day. It was late afternoon when the wagon eased through the garage door and came to a stop. Lanterns were already being lit, the smells of supper were rising from the cookers. He knew that shortly, there would be guards walking the fence. Lee saw Lynn and the twins, picking around in the small garden for some early tomatoes. The family was scattered about, doing various necessary jobs. He and Jack were greeted like returning warriors. Tomorrow there would be the story to tell. He would sit with twenty diverse people that were in reality, one, and enjoy sharing the tale. Jack would tell how he was proud of the way everyone worked together and accomplished their mission. The mission that made them all safer. He would brag on all of the family, each of this family was very important, each of them was an indispensable piece of their whole cloth. He would not tell, nor did he even know, that he was the thread, the glue that held it all together.
Chapter Five
UNITY
After the Big House Skirmish, there followed several weeks of peace. The Spring rolled into the steaming Summer. The family's only respite from the heat was the battery fans that the young men had rigged up. The windows and doors that were not boarded were opened up. Fortunately, Casa Dos and Jack's house, not only had the big shade trees but never got the direct afternoon sun. In the worst of the summer they would put shallow pans of water in front of the fans, where the air would blow across. That would give a touch of coolness to the fan's air, it made sleeping at least bearable. Functioning and getting the day's work done was very exhausting. They all rose early, did the chores, cooked for the day and tried to just get their breath, the rest of the day.
There were meetings and exchanges, at least once a week, between Jack and Beth's compound, the church group and Joel. The injured man from the church group was doing better. Of course, he would always have a limp. They had been able to keep infection away and he was healing. The older hermit that lived somewhere near Joel, had agreed to participate in the militia. However, he relied on Joel to pass along information to him. On occasion, he would show up at Jack and Beth's compound wishing to barter.
The man was a small, somewhat bent over man. He had a wiry, dirty white beard and long hair to match. Overalls seemed to be his dress of choice. Nothing under them...probably not a stitch...in the summer and holey thermal tops in the winter. He wore boots that were never really his size. They called him Herm, short for hermit, because he had never volunteered a name. If he ventured out to Jack and Beth's, he usually was dragging a large old faded red wagon. It would be piled high with whatever he chose to let go off. They had no doubt that he had always been a hoarder. You never knew what he might be toting. Anything from a lovely old antique jug, to a blanket, a garden tool, some coveted bullets, a knife, a spare car part. An endless supply of surprises. Very much like the traveling peddlers of long ago.
The family loved to see Herm slowly climbing the steep drive. He had an old copper cow bell that he would clang, clang, clang, as he approached. The kids would squeal, “it's Herm! Gram, it's Herm!” That excitement was probably due to the fact, that after his very first visit he always had some little toy or trinket, for Nicky, Brook, BJ and even the twins, Mindy and Michelle. Even though he had hardly a word to say to them, he obviously noticed them. BJ would run up and grab his grubby old overall leg whether he liked it or not. He had various needs that he was trying to fill, but his most frequent request was liquor. Just a pint of whiskey seemed to last him a long time. Jack said, “probably for medicinal purposes.” Beth just smiled and said, “Sure, that must be it.” Herm rarely ventured any further than the compound. Sometimes, at the weekly meetings he would send several items with Jack's representatives and a request.
The meetings varied. They continued as they had all agreed, to keep a vigil on their own compounds and surrounding areas and report any signs of interlopers, good or bad. Shawna had become good friends with the rescued girls. She and Kat were allowed to ride the two, four wheelers to the church compound every couple of weeks. Usually a couple of the young men would go along. It was nice for the younger people to have others to socialize with. Kat continued to learn all that she could from the church group nurse and the vet. Matt, one of the oldest of the young men, had also become interested in the first aid and emergency training. He had been participating in the training. The mechanics were putting their heads together regularly,
they had been outfitting the automotive shop at Casa Dos and making plans for adding vehicles to the fleet.
There were two major occurrences in the next six months.
“Brother”, the sibling of Shawna, from the time that the two joined the compound had just never been strong and healthy. The family was very fond of him. They didn't mind when he could not always carry his part of the load. It wasn't that he did not try, some days he seemed weaker than others. He had a persistent cough, often had fever. He was very thin. The ones with medical skills had tried everything they knew and used all the resources they had but he seemed to be getting more and more ill. The nurse from the church group said, “Of course, I don't have the knowledge or testing means to be sure, but he must have some chronic disease or a virus that we can't knock out. There have been no other episodes of similar illness, so it probably is not a virus.” The veterinarian agreed. They studied the medical books, his vague symptoms fit the description of many illnesses.
On a gray and cool Fall morning, the young men could not wake Brother up. He was hot with fever and his breathing very shallow. They bathed him with cool cloths, gave him fever reducers, did all that they could. He never was conscious again. By evening he had passed away, seemingly in peace. Shawna was heart broken. It was obvious that she had become strong, to be the caretaker for herself and her brother, out of necessity. It would be a while, before she could adjust to the loss of the only blood family she had and get used to not feeling responsible for him.
It was the first loss within the family group. Grief covered them all like a soggy wool blanket. It was a mixture of deep sadness and fear of the things that had no remedies in this after world. Jack and Eric gathered some of the best wood that they had. They built a nice wooden casket for the boy. The other men worked together and dug a deep hole in the front yard of Jack and Beth's house. The family never spent time outside of the back yard compound. The front yard rose up high, with tall shade trees. This was the chosen place. Joel and his wife, Sandy joined the family. With the leaves falling like rain, they buried Brother in the front yard grave. They joined hands, cold with the nip of autumn. Shawna's voice, breaking but clear led them in Amazing Grace. They had decided that they would make a nice marker in the upcoming days.
They were still functioning in the fog of loss about three days later. Joel whistled at the small hatch in the side gate. He said, “Will you ask Jack to come out?” Jack and Joel stood in the front yard by the fresh grave. At the head of the grave, a simple but carefully constructed wooden cross stood. It had colorful rocks at the base, like you would find in an aquarium. Various pieces of silver jewelry and the engraved ends of silverware were embedded on the three tips of the cross. Across the center, Brother was carved. Jack looked at Joel, he could hardly speak, “thanks Joel, that is beautiful”.
Joel shook his head, “Oh no, Jack. I didn't do that.”
Jack gave him a puzzled look. Then it dawned on him. “You mean, Herm...?”
Joel nodded yes.
Whether it was the absolute strangeness of the times or just Jack's feelings of loss, he thought, I have never had anything touch me more. Shawna, David holding tight to her hand and then the family in small groups viewed the marker and paid their respects. The all shed their tears. Life went on.
***
Now, Shawna was receiving comfort from the girl friends that she had given comfort to. She continued to work with them all on self defense. She rode along for one of the meetings, with Beth, Trish, Dianne and Lynn. Jack, Lee and Eric were along. Jack or one of the senior men, always stayed at the compound for security reasons. Jason stayed home. At the meeting the discussion turned to what would be the second occurrence. Michael had been in contact recently with the friends at the lake. They were not only mutual friends of Jack and Beth, but also, members of the original church. The one that now was the church survivors group. Michael told the combined members of the meeting, that he thought the situation of the friends was becoming very precarious. They had the huge asset of being on the water, however, the area that they lived in had a number of bad groups. They had been having a lot a frightening encounters and were concerned for the safety of their group.
Michael looked to Jack, and spoke to the gathered group, “I talked with them about re-locating. You know, the eastern border of our new “town” has no one that we can trust living there. There is of course, plenty of empty housing in the divisions. It would be a big decision for them to move but it could be beneficial to all of us. They have no vehicles and would require our help to re-locate their family group. Do any of you have input on this?”
Beth spoke, “Of course, from my point of view, it would be a positive thing. We all know these people. The more united we are, the safer we all are.”
Jack said, “We have the wagon and a small U-haul trailer. There is Michael's SUV. Surely, we could locate some other type of trailer. And I believe, Tate said the truck is running pretty good now. We should be able to re-locate them. We would have to just use a driver for each vehicle and leave room for them to ride. We could not use the fuel to make more than one trip. We would have to get their group members and all that they could bring in one big haul.”
“Unfortunately”, said Trish, “there would be no house-hunting trip. We would need to take them into the division and they would have to choose a home.”
Eric spoke, “We don't know of any trouble over to the east, but we would have to check and clear the neighborhood, at least in their nearby vicinity.”
The leader of the church group, said, “Let's take the votes of our two groups and Joel. We will communicate on the short wave radio. If the majority approve of this, Michael can communicate with the lake group. If they say they want to make this move then we will form a plan to help them.
It was agreed.
A week later, the new people, the lake group had been moved to the division on the eastern border of the township. Their group numbered about twenty five. This included another family that were old friends of Jack and Beth, Smitty, his wife, his daughter and grand son. They had chosen a couple of two story brick homes. The homes were next to each other and not very far off of the main highway. In the division, the houses all had tall privacy fences like in Jack and Beth's neighborhood. The lake group, like the other groups had arms and ammunition. They were able to fortify and protect their compound. They had about fifteen in their group that were competent with weapons. This would increase the militia force to approximately fifty strong.
There was a meeting at the church group compound. The new lake group had representatives present. It was agreed at this gathering that this growing township would be named Unity. There was more or less a recognized leader of each family group.
An elder, with Michael being his right hand man, led the church group. With the rescued girls they took in, they had about thirty five members. Their compound was on the southern border of Unity. Joel, with his wife, lived on the western border. Just a bit more west, the old man Herm had a shack, he was alone. Jack led his family, numbered 21. Their compound was in the neighborhood that was near the northern border of Unity. The new lake family was led by Gilley and his wife. They were about twenty five and that included the friend and his wife, their daughter and grandson. They now had a compound on the eastern boundary of the town. Unity, Texas, population 86.
***
The area that was Unity had been a close suburb of the large city, so there were lots of housing developments within the loose three square mile “city limits”. Except for the new residents, all were abandoned. In this area there were still woods, some open fields and vacant lots. It hadn't taken long for the goats in the vicinity to become free range. When it had become obvious that this change in the world was not going to be a quick fix, maybe never the same, many land owners had cut fences and let their cattle go. Many head of beef cattle were grazing free. Diary cows, produce milk when they have a calf. There was possibly some of them surviving. At one of the town meetin
gs, it was decided that they would form some teams to search for cows, goats and chickens. There was a fenced field, maybe five acres, within their borders. If they made sure the fences were in repair, built some chicken roosts, they would be able to have a small amount of stock. They could have eggs, maybe milk and meat. They could have a community garden. It would take a co-operative effort to care for stock and crops but they could all share in the benefits.
In their roaming they had found a family surviving on a farm. They had done some bartering with them for eggs. They intended to go back and try to get chickens, when they had some chicken houses built on the five acre plot. The family mentioned that four women had come begging. It was several months earlier, in the early summer. They had given them some food and sent them on their way. They had never heard from them again. Looked like the kidnapper exiles had lost the man. Otherwise, the family said they had experienced no real trouble out in their country haven. At least, not any that they had not been able to handle. They family of six related this with their weapons at their side, the Unity citizens got a feeling that others watched from hidden sights.
There was a small stock pond on the five acre property. Still, water could be an issue. Water was a big issue for the township. They agreed that problem was going to need some brainstorming. In the area there were plenty of lakes and ponds and rivers. Transporting enough water at one time to fill the various families needs was the difficulty. The problem was presented to Tate and the mechanics. The automotive shop at Casa Dos was equipped and ready to start building some new vehicles for the town.
No Normal Day II (Unity) Page 6