Snareville II: Circles
Page 27
I watched them roll the girl to the x-ray room, when I felt a light touch on my arm. Harriet stood beside me.
“You are the leader of these people?” she asked in a light German accent.
I turned to her. She seemed so small, but I had seen her bustling through the hospital as she took care of these people. “Yes. I inherited the position recently.”
“Have you word of my people? They might have come this way. They were under attack yesterday by the English from Louisville.”
“I talked to my people this morning. I’m sorry you weren’t updated. Our people are together. My Marines went to pick them up and bring them here. They should all be home by this afternoon.”
She sagged and started to go down. I caught her under the arms and guided her to a couch. She pulled a white linen handkerchief from her pocket and covered her face.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“No, Mister Dan. I simply did not realize how much fear I was in for my people.”
Jinks came back out to inform us that the girl, Jessica, would go back in for surgery. There was a small fragment lodged in a lung. Her rib had hidden it when she first came in. Her other wounds took precedence, so now they would take care of this wound. Harriet nodded.
The doors swung open and Boss Connie Yoder stepped in with her husband William and two older Mennonites, Karl Johanson and his wife Mary.
“I understand we have some Dutch among us today?” William said.
“Several,” I said, “And more on the way.”
“Willkommen, sister.” Karl said to Harriet as he stepped forward. She stood, walked to the couple and was wrapped in their arms.
Now I was about to cry, so I nodded at Connie, as I stepped out the door. She’d know where to find me. I got a cup of coffee from the pot inside the library, took it outside and sat on the stoop. A minivan pulled up in front of me. Jerry, the driver, stepped out. One of the men from last night stepped out with him.
“You the head nigger in charge?” the guy asked. He had a dirty long beard, greasy hair and clothes that looked like they hadn’t been washed in a couple years.
“I’m the leader here, yes, if that’s what you mean.” I didn’t get up.
“Why the fuck you sending us away?”
I stood, put my coffee cup down on the steps. “They being delivered, Jerry?”
“Yeah, Boss. They’re up at the chopper, like was ordered.”
I turned to the jackwagon. Took another step. Got a couple inches from his face. He leaned away from me, but found he was up against the side of the van.
“First, I don’t like you or your group. Anyone who would keep a couple kids on a leash and pass them around, aren’t my favorite people. Secondly, we took in some bikers not long ago and we’re still training them to be good citizens. Third, I got a hundred or so more people coming in this afternoon that I have to find homes for. I’m not going to have time to housebreak you assholes.”
I backed away.
“You don’t have to send us different places.” The guy stammered as he took a step back.
“Yeah, I could shoot you all and throw you all in the same hole.”
He ducked back into the van.
“Check the tavern for the pilots. They should be done with lunch by now.”
“They stink, Boss. They’ll have to fly home with the doors open.” Jerry grinned.
I waved as they pulled away from the curb. Was I being bigoted sending this group away while I was taking in the Amish? I didn’t think so. I didn’t want to deal with a bunch of people that had to be taught to be civilized again. Simple as that. It was tough getting some folks back into the groove. I had a feeling this little group of Amish was going to be difficult enough. Not that I expected them to try some coup. But from the looks of the girls who had come in, the younger generation wasn’t your normal pacifist group of Dutch.
Five thirty I got another call. My spotters on the wall saw the convoy coming into to town. They came in north from Princeton and dropped down over the valley wall. I called around and let everyone know they were coming in. People started to gather. The guards on the north gate let them in. I hustled out of the office. Pepper, Cindy and Cori showed up with the kids to stand with me and welcome them home.
Mennonites stood nearby, Harriet with them. Bailey, Leary and Jinks would start working on them right away with inoculations before they would go up to Plow Ridge. A cheer started at the west end of the street as the Humvees came into view. The Raider vehicles led the way, side by side. Bullet holes pocked the metal, windshields were shattered. Dirt was smeared across the rigs. Cody drove one, Johnson the other.
Behind them came the Marines, followed by the busses and the semis. A short parade, but I doubt any other came home to more tears and cheers than this one. They drove the two blocks that made up our business district and stopped in front of me. Troops stepped out of their rigs. Hawk called them to attention in the street. As one, they snapped a salute.
“Sergeant Hawk reporting with his Scouts, Sir.”
I stood at attention, snapped them a salute in return. “Welcome home. At ease.”
The small unit relaxed in the street as the rest of the folks in town surrounded them. They were a little overwhelmed as a couple hundred people came up to hug them, shake their hands and welcome them back. I shook my troops’ hands as I told them how glad I was they were home. I’d get their reports later. Now, it was time just to enjoy the relief of having them back.
The Amish began to climb off the busses as Hawk slid his arm around Mart’s waist. A blond girl came to stand beside them, AK-47 slung over her shoulder. He began to introduce the girl when Harriet shouted.
“Elizabeth!”
The girl turned, her eyes immediately filled with tears. “Mama!”
They swept one another into hugs as they wept.
“Glad you made it home, Hawk,” I said. “Next time you go out, we may have to send more people with you.”
“Thanks you, Dan. I don’t know that more people would help, unless everyone from Snareville went with.”
“Big group you ran into, huh?”
“Yeah. Lot of military in them too. I don’t know what’s going on.”
I thought as we walked toward the hospital. “We might have to get down there with a combined force from here and The Arsenal.”
We got closer to the hospital. “How was it last night?”
“Crazy. We got some bit and scratched.”
“Us too. The docs are going to take care of that.”
Jinks piled into Cody’s arms. He lifted her off the ground as he spun her around and kissed her. Elizabeth caught up with us as we turned the corner. I was introduced. I introduced my wives and Cori. Hawk slid his other arm around Elizabeth. I looked at the man. He told me he’d explain the situation in his report.
Things were hectic for the next couple of hours. As the sun started to set, we rolled the stock trailers out to the pastures we’d be using. The sheep went into a smaller enclosure close to the Mennonites. The cattle we let out of the trailer in the valley between the two settlements. Horses and the half-dozen dairy cattle went into Plow Ridge itself. As the last horse came down the ramp, the stock trailers pulled away. Henry stood beside me as Mart led the draft horse to a barn, she and Elizabeth chatting away in Dutch.
“So what’s it like out there in Indian Country?” I asked as we tagged along.
“Empty for the most part, Boss.”
“You plotted out four other settlements of survivors. That’s good. We’ll have some more trade going soon and get the Alliance a few more people counted in.”
“Yeah.” Henry kicked a rock. It skittered a few feet in front of us before it came to rest. He kicked it again as we caught up to it.
I looked up. The Amish were taking their personal items out of the box trailer that was parked in the main street of Plow Ridge. They carried them into houses that had been empty for a generation. Lanterns wer
e being lit. The little village was coming to life.
“For now though, we get everyone settled in. Get them used to being part of a new community. Which reminds me, you headed for Geneseo tonight?”
Hawk looked up. Mart and Elizabeth walked toward us. Two different women from vastly different backgrounds, but both had found a home here.
“Naw,” He said as he slid his arms around them. “Think I’m sticking around.”
About the Author
D.M. Youngquist has had many jobs over the years; from horse trainer to painting contractor. Through the years, he has always had a passion for the written word. His first paid writing job was while he attended Western Illinois University, where he worked for the college paper. After graduation he freelanced between teaching gigs for places such as Carousel Horse News and Trader, American Hunter, and SHOOT! Magazine. He became bored with nonfiction, however, and turned to the dark side of fiction. His first story, ’77 Coupe DeVille was published by the British webzine DarkefireUK in 2006. In 2007, his first collection of ghost stories was published by Quixote Press, followed in ’08 by his second. Frustrated with the publishing industry, he turned with five others and founded Dark Continents Publishing, in 2010. He currently serves as President and Publisher of DCP. He lives in Illinois with his wife and family.
SNAREVILLE 3:
Ties That Bind
The terror goes transatlantic.
“How do they do it in Europe, and England and places like that where only the government have guns? Gotta be frakkin’ medieval now.”
There is a new Special Relationship between America and Britain. Major Danny Death and his Snareville Raiders are not just fighting to stay alive; they’re fighting for the future of humanity.
Liaising with them on the other side of the Atlantic are Doctor Alex Towne and his beleaguered survivors in the English market town of Wallingford. Towne has found a chemical solution to the zombie menace. If it can be manufactured there is hope for mankind.
A savage betrayal threatens that hope…and a lethal side effect of that chemical is about to manifest itself. Now, three survivors are on the run from a military dictator and a new zombie menace. Only a rendezvous with Danny Death and his team in Glastonbury will secure humanity’s last hope.
But Danny’s got problems of his own… and getting across the pond will prove to be the biggest challenge of his life. And waiting for him in the ancient isle of Avalon will be a reckoning, a confrontation with his family’s past. The ties that bind will lead to a battle that could destroy them all…
Dark Continents Publishing
Table of Contents
Introduction
Acknowledgements:
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
About the Author
SNAREVILLE 3: