by John Grit
Half an hour later, Nate slowed to hunting speed. A squirrel barked from a tall pine, telling him something had disturbed it. They were too far away to be the object of the squirrel’s scolding. Now, he slowly lowered to his knees.
Synthia pointed. “Look.”
“Shh.” Nate set her on her feet. Then he put his fingers to his lips and whispered in her ear, “Don’t make any noise.”
Her eyes grew wide. She nodded, looking around.
Nate whispered, “Do not move. Just sit here and be very still. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” The look on her face compelled Nate to hold her for a second. “Everything is okay. No one is going to hurt you. Just be still. Don’t move. I’ll be back soon.”
She nodded, her little chest heaving. She touched the knot on the back of her head, which was the result of her being thrown against a tree by one of the men who killed her parents.
Nate pulled her hand away from the gash. God damn it. Little kids should not have to go through this.
“Lie here behind this log,” he whispered.
Nate moved away, flowing through the woods, his rifle ready.
There was no one, but there were two sets of tracks.
Nate examined them. One was smaller than the other. He could tell they were moving slow, staying in cover. He noticed something about the smaller track that seemed familiar. Tension on his face eased.
After determining their direction of travel, Nate swung around, moving fast enough to get ahead of them. He had to hurry. Synthia would not wait long before wondering off.
~~~~
“I told you I heard something back there,” Brian whispered.
“Best not to go looking for trouble,” Ben said. “I think it was just the squirrel, anyway.”
Brian turned to scan their back trail. “It was no squirrel.”
Nate watched from behind a thick hickory. “Brian, it’s your long-lost father, don’t shoot.”
Brian swung around, shotgun at the low-ready. Ben dove behind a limestone rock, and then peered over it, his shotgun shouldered.
“I’m coming over. Don’t shoot me.” Nate stepped out in the open.
Ben and Brian lowered their guns, a look of relief and surprise on their face.
“What took you so long?” Brian asked.
“Circumstances beyond my control,” Nate said. “We don’t have time for that now. I left a little girl back there and I have to get to her before she wonders off.”
“A little girl?” Brian seemed more surprised by that information than finding his father in the woods. “Where did you get her?”
“They were selling children at a fruit stand on the side of the road.”
Ben snickered. “Everything’s okay around here. We’re just out patrolling and stretching our legs.”
“So, there’s no one else around as far as you know?” Nate looked Brian over.
Brian shook his head.
“No one,” Ben said. “Deni was with me earlier, but she got tired pretty fast. So I took Brian to finish patrolling the area.”
“How is she?” Nate asked. “I was afraid she might never wake.”
“She’s okay.” Brian’s eyes lit up. “I mean, she’s not stupid or anything. I think she still has headaches and she’s still dizzy sometimes. But she tries to hide it.”
“Yeah. I think she’ll be okay,” Ben said.
“I wish she hadn’t been hurt.” Brian looked up at his father. “Her being a soldier, you would think she wouldn’t be easy to shoot.”
Nate walked closer and put his hand on Brian’s shoulder, then knocked his hat off.
Brian picked it up and put it back on. “What I mean is… with her training, it must have been blind luck on their part.”
“They’re not all idiot thugs,” Nate said. "Some of them are military or ex-military, and some are probably just trying to survive in a lawless land. There are different types in that bunch. All fallen together, trying to survive. The problem is some of them are animals and many of the rest are just going along with the barbarity, holding their nose and stomach. I saw two who had seen more than they could stand. They parted ways with that bunch, headed into the swamp as fast as they could. As far as Deni getting shot goes, we have been kicking at rattlesnakes. You do that long enough, you’re going to get bit. And don’t ever think anyone is bulletproof.”
“I don’t. I guess I didn’t say it right.” Brian pointed over his shoulder. “I heard something back there.” He looked at Ben. “And it was no squirrel.”
“It was probably Synthia.” Nate walked past them. “Come on. I don’t want to leave her alone any longer than necessary. She saw her parents killed and has been through too much already. I don’t want her to think I abandoned her.”
Brian followed behind his father. “She doesn’t know you well enough, then.”
Ben smiled while looking around, searching for danger, following behind Brian. “He does have a habit of taking in strays, doesn’t he?”
“So far, I’m glad he did.” Brian tried to see his father’s reaction from behind. “But I don’t have any idea what use a little girl is going to be to the group.”
Nate just walked faster. He smiled but said nothing.
Chapter 15
“Admiring your handiwork?” Deni stood still while Nate held her hair out of the way so he could check her wound.
“Most of the scar is hidden by your hair.” Nate stood back and looked away, averting his eyes. “I’m just glad you seem to be okay. There’s no sign of any infection, and the stitches can come out in about a week.”
“Does it hurt?” Brian asked.
“No,” Nate said. He was grateful for the distraction. “You just snip them and pull ‘em out with tweezers. Doesn’t hurt at all.”
Deni’s eyes flashed from Brian’s to Nate’s. “You guys! Both of you feel sorry for me. And you, Nate, feel guilty. You didn’t shoot me. You saved my life—and carried me miles. So stop it—both of you.”
Martha placed a pot of reconstituted freeze-dried soup on a small table. “She’s been dizzy, and I would bet her vision is blurred at times.” Her eyes met Deni’s. “She won’t admit it, though.”
“I’m getting better every day,” Deni said. “There’s nothing that can be done for me anyway. Everything that can be done has. And I am grateful to all of you. I am lucky to be alive.”
“Dad was pissed when he brought you here,” Brian said. “He didn’t stay long, just took off to go kill more of the bastards.”
“Brian…” The tone of Nate’s voice changed.
“I can tell when you’re pissed,” Brian said, “and you were pissed that night. That’s why I didn’t even try to stop you.”
“What happened at the bridge since you’ve been gone?” Ben asked.
Nate realized he was trying to change the subject.
Synthia stopped looking at a picture book with Tommy, where they sat on a rolled- up sleeping bag, and listened in.
“Well.” Nate opened a military surplus ammunition can and got out items to clean his rifle and pistol. “Synthia and I were in the house eating when three goons rode up on Harleys. I heard them coming, because of their loud mufflers, and we had time to run for the woods before they got down the driveway.”
Caroline was cleaning clothes in a bucket of water from the hand pump. When she heard what Nate said, she stopped. “They’re at the farm already?”
Carrie sat in a corner. She began to breathe faster as she waited to hear what Nate had to say.
“Only those three on bikes.” Nate noticed Carrie’s reaction. “I managed to destroy their bridge repairs and set them back several days. They won’t be getting any four-wheeled vehicles across for a while.” He glanced at Deni. “Deni may have told you they managed to get a few bikes across. I used one to get her to the farm when she was unconscious. Anyway, those three must have been scouting ahead. Maybe they left the main group for good. Who knows? All I know is they were pumping bullets into my fr
ont door when I shot them. I hid the bikes in the woods and dumped the bodies in the river.”
“Three more we don’t have to worry about,” Brian said. “How many more did you get at the bridge?”
“I don’t know,” Nate said. “A few, but there are still hundreds of them. We can’t take them on face-to-face.” Nate put his rifle down and walked over to Synthia. “But we’re safe here. They will never find us.”
Synthia stood and held her arms up.
Nate bent down and lifted her. She hugged his neck.
“Looks like I’ve got another little sis,” Brian said.
Caroline spoke. “If they do find us here, it’s not going to be fun.”
“They don’t have time to be walking around in the woods this far from nowhere,” Nate said. “I still think they’re running from someone. And that someone must be a large, well-armed group of people.”
“The Guard,” Deni said. She rubbed her aching head. “Either the ANG or regular Army.”
“Or the Marines,” Nate added.
“Or vigilantes,” Ben said. “Get enough common folk together and mad enough and they can be a force capable of dealing with even that bunch of killers.”
Nate shrugged.
Caroline took Synthia out of Nate’s arms. “I’ll keep her calm. You need to finish cleaning your guns. You’ll soon need them again.”
Cindy had been listening while trying to sleep after pulling a four-hour security shift. “If it’s the National Guard, your friend, Mel, may be with them.”
“That would be great,” Brian said. “But I doubt he’s still alive.”
Nate went back to field stripping his rifle so he could clean it. “I don’t think they’ll find this place. It’s the farm that I’m worried about.” He looked at the others and settled his gaze on Brian. “I’m not giving up on the farm yet. They’re not going to raid it without taking more casualties. Mel’s supplies won’t last forever. We need that farm to feed ourselves.”
“I’m ready for another fight,” Deni said.
Brian stood between her and Nate. “No, you’re not. You need more time. I doubt you could even walk to the farm, much less the bridge.” He turned to his father. “Ben or me would be more help than her. She’s not ready yet.”
Nate gave him a hard look.
Brian looked apologetic. “Mr. Neely insisted I call him Ben.”
“Yes, I did,” Ben said. “And I also think Deni is not ready to go back out there and fight those bastards. I’ll go.”
“Three people have a lot better chance than two,” Brian said.
“Well.” Nate pushed a cleaning rod down his rifle’s barrel. “We could slow them down by cutting trees across the road. We have to hurry, though. It will take time, and the more places we drop trees, the better. Space them a mile or so apart.”
“Only the tallest pines would work,” Brian said. “And it will take one from each side of the road to reach all the way across even then.”
Nate put a clean patch on the rod. “And you two will have to use the two-man crosscut saw. We don’t have any gas left for the chainsaw. You’re going to have to work fast. In fact, we need to leave as soon as possible.”
“You need to rest first,” Brian said.
“If we’re going to do it, we need to do it now. They’re coming as soon as that bridge is repaired again.” Nate was already putting his cleaned rifle back together. “We might just have enough time—if we hurry.” He slammed a fresh magazine in, pulled the bolt back, and released it, loading the chamber.
“Just what are you going to be doing while Brian and I are cutting trees down?” Ben asked.
Nate unloaded his revolver and started cleaning it. “Sniping at them when they stop to remove the trees. I can double the time it takes for them to get going again if I kill one or two at each roadblock.”
“They will get wise to that fast and send people out in the woods on both sides of the road,” Ben said.
“Sure they will. That’s why I’m only going to be able to kill one or two, maybe three, at each roadblock.” Nate pushed a patch on the end of a cleaning rod into all six cylinders of his revolver, one at a time. “You guys will be doing all the work. I will have it easy.”
Brian snickered. “Yeah, right. I think I’d rather cut down trees than get shot at.” He grabbed his backpack. Then he pumped water into a pitcher so he could fill all of his canteens. “Ben, bring your canteens over here and I’ll fill them.”
Martha and Cindy were already selecting packages of freeze-dried food they could take with them.
When Brian grabbed his shotgun, Nate said, “Take your rifle this time. And plenty of ammo.”
Brian nodded and stuffed his pockets with 30/30 rounds. “I guess you think I might get to shoot down the road some, too.”
Nate reloaded his cleaned revolver. “Before this is over, we’re all going to be sick of shooting.”
Caroline, who had been standing by Carrie, holding Synthia, spoke up. “I can push on one end of that saw.”
“You don’t push it, you pull it,” Brian said.
“Whatever.” Caroline kept her eyes on Nate. “Pull it, then. I can help cut trees while one of you rests or stands guard.”
“With your injuries…are you sure you can walk far?” Martha asked.
“I’m sure I can walk as far and fast as Ben.” Caroline searched Nate’s face. Nate would be the one to decide.
Nate loaded more ammunition and food in his pack. Brian handed him full canteens and Nate put them in also. Nate stood and put the pack on. He said, “I don’t think you should go.”
“Why not?” Caroline asked.
Nate thought for a moment. “I need to talk to you alone.” He grabbed his rifle and opened the door.
Caroline followed him outside. “What?”
Nate closed the door. He spoke low so the others could not hear. “Several times I have woken in the middle of the night to find you standing over Brian. What is that about?”
Caroline looked Nate in the eye, though it was dark and they could not see each other very well. “I would never hurt Brian.”
“That’s reassuring. But it does not answer my question.”
Nate heard her sigh in the dark.
“It’s Carrie,” Caroline said. “She keeps asking me to check on him.”
“What? Why?”
“She had a younger brother. Brian reminds her of him.” Caroline stopped talking.
“So?”
“She has opened up to me a little. A lot more than she has the rest of you, anyway.” Caroline hesitated. “She made me promise not to tell anyone. So, please, don’t let her know I said anything.”
“I won’t, but you need to explain a lot better than you have so far.”
“She has it in her head you’re going to abuse Brian. And—“
“What!” Nate’s voice was loud enough those inside heard.
“I know. It’s crazy. If anything you’re…I’m sorry. Her father killed her brother a couple years ago. She was in a foster home when the plague hit, and, like I said, Brian reminds her of her brother. I told her a hundred times, but…she’s been through a lot.”
“Both of you have.”
“You have to believe me. I would never hurt anyone here. And I don’t think Carrie would, either.”
“But you can’t be certain of that.”
“No, but I know I would never…”
“Okay.” Nate opened the door. He stood aside and waited for Caroline to walk inside.
Everyone but Tommy and Synthia was standing in silence, waiting for them to return.
Nate cleared his throat. “We need all the help we can get. Caroline wants to go, so she’s coming with us.”
Caroline smiled. “Good.”
“Do you think you could find your way back here if anything happens to the rest of us?” Ben asked.
Caroline blinked and seemed to be thinking. “Just don’t let them take me alive. I don’t intend to come b
ack without you.”
Brian pulled items out of a pile until he found a backpack and a two-quart canteen. He filled the canteen while Martha loaded the pack with food.
Caroline stuffed the canteen in and put the pack on. She found the shoulder straps were adjusted too long.
Brian hesitated, and then adjusted them for her. “That okay?”
Caroline nodded. It was the first time she had let a male touch her since Nate cut the chain off her wrists before Martha and Cindy cleaned her wounds.
Brian stepped back. “You’re just as much a part of this group as any one of us.” He shook his head. “No one is ever going to hurt you again.”
Nate walked over to the rack where extra carbines hung and looked over an AR-15. He handed it and a loaded magazine to Caroline. “Load it.”
She timidly slid the magazine in.
“Take it back out,” Nate said. “Load it again, but this time, slam it in. You won’t hurt it. You need to make sure you seat it all the way home.”
She did as he said, taking little time to find the release button.
“Now make sure it’s on safe, and then load the chamber. You’ve seen us do it.”
Caroline turned the carbine so she could read where the “S” and “F” was, flipping the safety switch so safe. Then she pulled the bolt back all the way and let it go. She kept the muzzle pointed up.
“Now it’s ready to go,” Nate said. “All you have to do is flip the safety lever with your thumb, aim, and fire by pulling the trigger. Never point it at anyone you do not want to kill.” He pointed at the door where no one was near. “Keep your trigger finger straight against the receiver and away from the trigger. Aim at the door by looking through the back sight and centering the front sight in the little peephole.”
Caroline shouldered it and aimed. “I’ve shot a gun before. I’m no crack shot, though.”
“You don’t have to be,” Nate said. “A man is a big target all the way out past one hundred yards. The main thing is to always look through that back sight and use the front sight. Center it in the peephole and on a man’s chest. Then squeeze the trigger. Keep your head and make sure of your target.” He stuffed two more magazines in side pockets on her pack. “No man can get his hands on you as long as you have that in your hands and you keep your head. You’ve got ninety rounds. Make them count and they’ll not be wanting to get close to you.”