by Stalter, D
“Hey,” Riley said. “Did I ever tell you about the pretty girl in the university library?”
“No, but I’m sure you’re going to.”
“Well, yes I am. Okay.. A guy pulled a book off the shelf in the university library. He found a table. A pretty girl was sitting there reading.
“Do you mind if I sit beside you?" he asked.
The girl answered with a loud voice, "I do not want to spend the night with you!"
All the students in the library started staring at the guy and he was embarrassed. He slunk away and found another table.
After a couple of minutes, the girl quietly walked over to the guy's table and whispered, "I study psychology and I know what a man is thinking. I guess you felt embarrassed, right?"
The guy responded with a loud voice, "$200 just for one night? That's too much!"
All the people in the library looked in shock at the girl. The guys leans over and whispers, "I study law and I know how to make someone feel guilty. I guess you feel guilty, right?"
Riley couldn’t hold back the snort. “Okay. I’ll admit. That one was actually funny.”
Will grinned.
Riley stiffened. “We have movement at the house.”
Will rolled over and peeked over the top of the tree. A man and woman stood on the porch. The woman was poking her finger in the man’s chest. “What are they doing?”
“It looks like they are arguing. She’s definitely pissed. But, they’re talking so low I can’t catch what they are arguing about. Could be someone else is in the house these guys don’t want to overhear.”
Will chuckled. “He just walked away. Ninny still hasn’t figured out that the last thing you want to do is walk away from a woman who is yelling at you.”
They watched the man pick up a shotgun that was leaning against the porch rail and stalk into the woods west of the house. The woman stood with her hands on her hips and watched him go. Then she stomped down the steps and to the wood pile where she started throwing split logs into a wheelbarrow.
Riley scratched his cheek. “How do you want to handle this? They’re both in bad moods and he’s got a gun. I’m not sure we should just stroll in and ask what they are doing in someone else’s house.”
“Let’s give it a little while. Time for both of them to cool down.”
“I agree.” Riley slid onto his butt and turned sideways. He could easily see the house if he straightened his back and tilted his head. “We promised to teach the evasion class to the group tomorrow. What are you thinking? Just classroom type or do you want to do some hands on?”
“I think we can do a classroom type and then every day we can take turns doing one on one hands on. You can stay with the person who is evading so you can tell them what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. I’ll be the pursuer. It’ll make a lot more sense without distractions of a bunch of people.”
“Sounds good.” Riley peeked over the top of the oak. “Company,” he announced.
Will twisted his body and looked towards the house. A black SUV was making its way slowly down the driveway towards the house. The woman stopped loading the wheelbarrow and stared. She looked towards the tree line before hurrying to the house and disappeared into the back door.
The SUV pulled to a stop in front of the house and three men stepped out. They stood next to the vehicle looking at the house. They appeared to be waiting for something.
“Why are they wearing suits?” Riley asked. “Government?”
“That would be my guess.” Will scratched his whiskers. “Look at their faces. They’re all clean shaven. Clothes are fresh. They sure aren’t gang-bangers.”
They watched as the woman stepped onto the front porch holding a shotgun. She brought the gun to her shoulder and bent her head. “Who are you and what do you want?” she called.
“Federal Emergency Management, Ma’am,” the grey-haired man who’d gotten out of the passenger side stated.
“FEMA?” She lowered the gun slightly and raised her head. “What would FEMA want with me?”
“We came to offer our services. This area was hit particularly hard with the flare. We have areas south of here where we can offer you shelter and food. Just until the power is restored to this area. Then you will be free to return home.”
“Are you talking about one of those FEMA camps? I’m not interested.”
“I can understand your hesitation. But these are not camps with tents and smelly latrines. We have nice dormitory style buildings with kitchens and real bathrooms.”
“Hrmph! No, thanks. I think I’ll pass.”
“The weather is turning colder. Are you sure you have enough firewood to get through the winter?”
“Not yet. But I will.”
The grey-haired man turned to speak with his friends. He had just turned back to the woman on the porch when a shot rang out. He dropped to the ground. Both his friends dove behind the SUV which put them on the same side of the vehicle as Riley and Will.
“Where’d that come from?” Will hissed.
“I think her man is back. Is that him about five feet inside that tree line? Look. Line up behind that burn pile.”
Will nodded. “Yeah. I think that’s him. Stay low. If he shoots at those other guys, his missed shots are likely to hit us.”
A rumbling from the paved road caused them to look down the driveway. A two-ton truck was making the turn off the hard road into the driveway.
“What the hell?” Will ducked low. “They brought back-up.”
The two men next to the SUV turned towards the big vehicle lumbering down the driveway and pointed frantically at the tree line. The truck braked to a stop directly behind the SUV and a dozen rifle carrying men wearing green fatigues scrambled out the back and around the side of the truck. The three men in the cab slid out and took up positions facing the trees.
“They’re like sitting ducks,” Riley said. “They got no clue we’re back here. We could take them out in 30 seconds. No situation awareness at all. They aren’t trained soldiers.”
“I agree.” Will peeked over the top of the tree. “Trouble is, we don’t know who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy. All we can do is sit and watch this go down. Whatever you do, don’t shoot unless you’re in danger.”
“Got it.”
“Lady!” It was one of the original suit-wearing men. “Who is your friend? We’re here to check on you. This can’t end well like this.”
“Then get back in your car and get the hell out of here.”
“I can’t do that,” he called back. “Our job is to get a count on citizens, make sure they are okay and have enough food and supplies to get through the winter, and offer you a secure place if you want to come with us.”
“Well, there’s two of us and we have plenty of food and supplies. Now get the hell out of here.”
The man turned and spoke softly to his companion who duckwalked back to speak to the soldiers. He turned back to the woman on the porch. “Fine. We’ll go. Tell your friend to come out of the woods. I’m not allowing my men to walk in front of a sniper.”
The woman looked towards the tree line and called out. “You heard them, Chuck. Come out so they can leave.”
The man they’d seen earlier stepped into the open. He held his rifle across his chest and stared at the vehicles.
Two shots, nearly simultaneous, rang out. The man and woman dropped where they stood.
“Alright,” the man in the suit barked. “Find the supplies and load them up.”
“Son-of-a-bitch!” Will whispered. “That was a set-up.”
“Yeah,” Riley replied. “At least we know who the bad guys are. They flat out lied to get that guy out in the open so they could kill him.”
They watched as the soldiers moved away from the truck. One split off to go check the man and grab his shotgun. The others laughed as they strolled towards the fallen woman on the porch.
They were ten feet from the porch when three windows
of the house shattered and a barrage of bullets cut the soldiers down.
“Stay down!” Will’s voice was sharp.
“Don’t worry!” Riley flattened himself to the ground as bullets whizzed overhead.
“It’s safe to guess that both of them were lying to each other. Damn! That’s too close.” Chips of bark flew off the trunk of the oak tree peppering them.
The shooting died off. Heavy footsteps thundered towards them.
“Shit!” Will muttered.
The first person slid across the top of the fallen tree. Will was ready. He flung himself on top of the body, pinning it to the ground.
The second body flew over the top of the tree catching Riley unprepared. He sprawled on his butt barely keeping a hold of his rifle. The man who’d knocked him down was scrambling to his knees, his pistol raised. Riley swung his rifle like a baseball bat, hitting the man in the side of his head. The man went down. His face planted in the brown leaves covering the ground. A spot of blood formed on his temple.
Before Riley could reach out and grab the pistol, the sound of running footsteps pounded towards them. He rolled to his side, pressed against the tree.
As a third person flew over the fallen tree, Riley again used the rifle like a baseball bat and tripped the man who sprawled face-first next to the unconscious, suited man.
Only this one wasn’t a man. It was a girl. A young girl. Couldn’t have been a teenager.
Her short-cropped hair spiked at different angles from her tiny head. Her flannel shirt-tails bunched around her hips as she struggled to regain her feet.
Riley stared at the girl. Her mouth twisted in a snarl. She lunged at him. He wrapped both arms around her chest, pinning her arms at her sides. He shot Will a surprised look. The ferociousness of the girl did not match the smooth lavender scent that invaded his nostrils.
“Hey!” he whispered. “Settled down. We’re not here to hurt you.”
He loosened his grip just a little which caused her to twist. Bending her knee, she kicked his knee and drug her foot along his shin before slamming it onto his foot. Hard. He struggled to maintain his grip.
“Stop it!” he demanded, squeezing her harder.
When she relaxed a little, he whispered again, “We aren’t here to hurt you. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
“If I let you go, will you be peaceful?”
“Yes!” she hissed. “Just let me go. I can’t breathe.”
He loosened his grip, ready in case she fought again. She put her hands on her knees and sucked in air. Then she looked up at Riley and glared.
“Who are you and what do you want if you aren’t here to hurt us?”
“We’re neighbors. We know the homeowners weren’t here when the solar flare hit and we came to see who was living here.”
“It’s my aunt’s house. Dad thought it would be safer here than in the city.” Her bottom lip trembled. “He was wrong.”
Her shoulders heaved. She buried her face in her hands. Riley gently pulled her into a hug and held her while she cried.
Will had managed to unwrap the paracord he always wore on his wrist and fashion hand restraints for the man he had taken down. He drug him over and sat him with his back to the fallen oak tree. He moved to kneel beside the man Riley had taken down. He shook his head.
Riley watched him from over the top of the girl’s head. Will used his index finger to slash across his neck.
Riley raised his eyebrows and mouthed “dead?”
Will nodded.
Riley looked down at the young girl in his arms. Her breathing had slowed somewhat. An occasional hiccup caused her shoulders to jerk. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her away.
“Hey,” he said. “We need to get you inside where it’s warm. – You do have heat in the house, right?”
She nodded. “There’s a wood stove that keeps the kitchen and living room warm.”
“When those guys were coming towards the house, we saw at least three weapons come out windows. How many more people are in the house?”
She paused before saying, “My little brother and sister. But their guns didn’t have bullets.”
He looked at her and frowned.
“They were distraction.” She explained.
“They must be terrified.”
“I need to get back there and take care of them.”
He looked at Will. “You stay here until we get to the house and put the other kids at ease.” He jerked his head towards the man in the suit. “Then, bring that asshole so we can find out what they had going on.”
He helped the girl over the fallen tree. She stopped and called out to the house. “Paul! I’m coming in with a neighbor who helped me.”
The front door slowly opened and a boy who looked identical to the spike-haired girl stepped onto the porch. He wore a navy-blue sweatshirt and jeans. His feet were covered with socks, but he wore no shoes.
He glanced at his sister and Riley before dropping to his knees next to the woman who lay on the porch. He raised his head and yelled, “Sissy! She’s not dead. Mom’s not dead. She’s blinking.”
Riley grabbed the girl’s hand and hurried her towards the porch calling to Will over his shoulder.
The woman was indeed alive. She stared at Riley and then moved her eyes to look at her daughter.
“It’s okay, ma’am.” Riley said, “I’m a neighbor. We’re going to get some help.”
Will hurried across the yard. He held the elbow of the suited man pushing him ahead. When they reached the porch, he shoved the man to the ground.
“Watch him,” he told Riley and knelt next to the woman. He quickly scanned her injuries. “I see three gunshot wounds. Her arm, her leg and this one high on her chest. I don’t think it hit her lung. I don’t see any bubbles in the blood.”
He unzipped his coat and reached in, pulling out a small walkie-talkie.
“It can’t be helped.” He looked at Riley who nodded.
Pressing the button on the side, he said, “Will to base.”
While they waited for an answer, Riley caught the girl’s eye and jerked his head towards the door.
She shook her head. “I’m staying here with mom.”
“Then get your brother in the house. He doesn’t even have shoes on.”
The radio crackled to life. “Base.”
Will pressed the button and said. “We have three children and a woman. The woman was attacked. She’s got three gunshot wounds. Please check with Allison and advise.”
The radio crackled, but nothing was said.
While they waited for an answer from Allison, Will gently scooped the woman into his arms and carried her through the door the boy held open. He laid her on the floral sofa watching her wince as he pulled his arms out from under her body. It was warm in the house. The smell of burning wood filled the air.
He walked to the door, passing the children gathered in a huddle near the end of the sofa. “It’s gonna be okay,” he whispered. They stared past him without acknowledgement.
The radio crackled as he stepped onto the porch. He lifted it to his mouth, pressed the button on the side, and said, “Will.”
“Sending a truck,” came the voice.
“Good. Send extra men if you can. And be careful coming in. The house was under attack when we got here. We got us about a dozen bad guys laying around.”
“Got ‘cha. They’re getting ready to pull out. I’ll go catch them.”
Will looked at Riley. “He saying anything?” he asked, nodding towards the man in the suit.
“Nope.”
“Keep an eye on him. I’m going to go check the father and the other so-called FEMA guys.”
He stared at the man in the suit. “You aren’t FEMA. We’ll find out who you are and what your game is.”
The man stared back at him expressionless.
Will checked the cord around the man’s wrists before turning and walking to the body of the man by the t
ree line.
He knelt next to the body and placed his hand on the shoulder. A low moan caused him to jerk back before he leaned over the man’s head and looked into his face.
“Hey,” he said. “It’s okay. The bad guys are dead. Your wife is alive. Help is coming. Hang in there.”
Another weaker moan greeted him.
“Riley,” he called. “Have one of the kids bring a blanket.”
Chapter 5 Riley
Don Schmidt’s grey one-ton Ford turned off the hard road and slowly made its way towards the house.
Riley saw three men riding in the back, eyes scanning all directions. Don drove while his son, Peter, reconnoitered from the passenger window. They worked their way slowly past the big truck and small SUV, coming to a stop next to the front porch.
“Is it the Haysons?” he asked Riley.
“No, it appears to be relatives. The girl said that the house belongs to her aunt and uncle. We were behind that fallen oak tree over there,” he said pointing at the oak. “These guys pulled up, said they were from FEMA, and as soon as the mother and father came out in the open, they shot them.”
“They ain’t FEMA. That guy laying next to the SUV there is Seth McLain. He worked on cars out of his garage. I saw a couple other guys I know laying in the driveway. One worked on the assembly line at the door factory. A couple others worked in shipping at the same place.”
He looked at the man tied up next to the porch. “Was he one of them?”
Riley nodded.
“Don’t know him.” He faced the man. “You from around here?”
The man ignored him.
Don kicked him. “I asked you a question.”
The man continued to ignore him. He stared across the yard.
Don shook his head and turned back to Riley. “What are you going to do with him?”
“Well, if he won’t talk, he’s no use to us.”
“Kill him.” The spiked hair girl had come out on the porch.
Riley shook his head. “I have a hard time killing someone who isn’t actively trying to kill me at the moment.”
“Then let me do it.”
“Look, I understand what you are feeling. I’ve been there. You want revenge for what he tried to do to your family. You want to make sure that he can’t do this to someone else’s family. But, we aren’t judges. We aren’t executioners.”