by A J Newman
“Beth, I want you to open the door, push it hard into the house and move out of the way so I can charge into the house. I will go to the right and cover the right side. You follow quickly behind me and cover the left side. Shoot anything that looks dangerous. Don’t think, just shoot. Our lives are more important than anyone in that house. We can’t take any chances. Ready, one, two, three, GO!”
John ran in and Beth was on his tail. Just as John turned and aimed his gun, Beth screamed and fired a burst from her M-4. John was ready for a fight when he started laughing.
“Darling, I think you killed that bear head on the wall. Shoot him again if it makes you feel good. Now let’s sweep the house and make sure there are no other bears around.”
“John, you said shoot if I saw anything scary. I shot that disgusting head. It scared the piss out of me.”
They checked the house and basement and didn’t find anyone. The house was trashed and someone had continued crapping in the toilet after the water stopped flowing. The smell was horrible. They checked the pantries and only found a few cans of soup that had fallen behind a garbage can. They also found about twenty jars of canned vegetables in the basement.
“Not much to show for our efforts, but I’ll start a fire if you cook the soup.”
“John, we just warm the soup up; there isn’t much cooking to it. We need to find some food. We can capture water from the snow, but I’m hungry.”
“Beth it’s snowing pretty heavy out there and the ground will soon be covered. I will be able to track a deer or perhaps a couple of rabbits if nothing else.”
They ate two cans of soup, placed the remaining cans and jars in an old gym bag and then started working on getting some water. John took several pans outside, scooped, some snow and brought it back in the house to boil. They found several empty water bottles and used some bleach to sanitize them before pouring the hot water into them. In a little over an hour, they had two gallons of water to take with them.
As they walked away from the house Beth asked, “If we can track a deer, can’t someone track us in this snow?”
“Yes they can. That is why we are going into the woods and walk along the road and not on it. If we stay a hundred feet or so off the road, we’ll have less chance of being spotted. We will have to be careful. If the snow continues at this pace our tracks will soon be covered.”
They walked another couple of miles and heard several gunshots. John picked a tree, which could easily be spotted, and hid the food and water close to its base. Then they cautiously walked towards the gunfire just in time to see a young lady and an old man dive behind a log right in front of them as two men shot at the two.
“Beth, we don’t know who the good guys are. Let’s watch for a minute.”
They watched for twenty minutes while the two men searched for the couple. The men weren’t in a hurry and appeared to be enjoying the hunt.
They steadily got closer to the couple and were only about a hundred feet from John when the closest man yelled, “If you don’t get your ass back in the house I’ll kill your dog and roast him for supper. We just want you to be nice to us. We won’t hurt you."
The man was obviously drunk and had sex on his mind. Beth and John crawled up behind the man and girl and caught their attention.
Beth whispered, “We are friendly and won’t let them hurt you. How many are there?”
"Ma'am, this is a mean bunch and they will kill him and make you a slave if they see you.”
“How many?”
“Just those two.”
John asked, “Are there any more bad guys close enough to hear gunshots?”
“They are a couple of miles that way. These guys have been shooting for an hour. A couple more won’t draw attention.”
John took aim and dropped one while Beth killed the other. The old man walked over to the larger of the two, kicked him in the side and stomped his face in with several kicks.
“That SOB won’t bother my granddaughter or me again. Hey, we can’t stay around here for long. The others will come by tomorrow morning and kill us when they find out that we killed their friends.”
“Where are they based and how many are there?”
“They all live in Enfield and forage around the countryside taking what and who they want. They are a bunch of ex-convicts and are bad to the bone. There is about thirty of them and they have captured a dozen young women they use for their pleasure. We were trying to kill a deer when they found us this morning. We have a cabin about five miles southwest of here and are having to cover a lot of ground trying to find game. We’d heard about these guys, but had never run into them until this morning.”
“How many are in your group?
“Just us, my wife and her parents were killed by a bunch of thugs just after the lights went out. We keep a low profile and hide from strangers. Now tell us about yourselves. We don’t know you are any better than those guys.”
“Do y’all hear any outside news? Do you know about the new country, the ISA?”
“We haven’t heard anything since the TV stopped working. We know quite a bit about the area and that’s all.”
“That’s good, we need your help. I’ll give you a brief update on what’s going on in the rest of the world. The USA was nuked by a group made up of rogue government thugs, Islamic terrorists and narco terrorists. The USA has broken up into three countries, the old USA, The PSA and the ISA. The USA is governed by the thugs that attacked their own country. The PSA is made up of the west coast states and the ISA is made up of a group of the southern states. Most of the military defected and joined the ISA. We are citizens of the ISA. We were visiting California and on our way back to Mobile when our plane crashed.”
“We have seen a few planes from time to time and wondered who was in them. Do y’all have electricity, TV and running water? What happened to the radical Muslim terrorists?”
“We have electricity and running water in several cities, but not in the countryside yet. The Navy is helping us get power plants and water treatment facilities back in operation. The ISA is quickly ridding it of the criminals, biker gangs and racist groups. We are managing the country as the founding fathers intended it to be run. Everybody works, everybody pays taxes and everybody serves in the military when needed. We take care of the sick and disabled, but have no sympathy for fakes scamming the system. If you like what you hear, we would like you to join the ISA. Oh, and we nuked most of the radical Islamic strongholds. Iran is a glassy field along with 50-60 other mideast locations. The peaceful Muslims are now able to beat back the radicals.”
“I was in the Navy for 10 years and if the Navy is with you I am too, but we are staying here. I was chief petty officer on several ships over the years. We could use some help fighting off the thugs and some seeds and stuff. Would it be possible for the military to help get rid of the thugs and biker gangs? This is home and we are staying here.”
The ISA plans to ask the people of this area to join, but it was scheduled for next spring. Perhaps we can start an outpost to help you out and get our message to the people. Do you know anyone with a ham radio so we can get help? We have several injured people and no food.”
“Sorry, I don’t know of any, but there could be some over in Cody. As lonely as this place is in the winter, there should be hundreds of them.”
The young lady spoke up, “Sorry, we are forgetting our manners. This is my papaw, Eric Shelton and I’m Billy Shelton. We only have enough food for ourselves, but can feed you until we can teach you how to hunt and fish. I was in my last year of nursing school and I’d be glad to help treat your injuries.”
“Thanks. This is my wife, Beth Harris, and I’m John Harris. We know how to survive in the woods and can hunt and fish. We do need some help with where are the best places to hunt and is there a lake nearby. Before we leave this place, is there any food or supplies in the house that we can use?”
“Yes, and I need to get my dog," Billy replied. "She is all that I ha
ve and Callie is a good rabbit dog. We need to get out of this wind and snow. I’m freezing.”
Eric stared at John and said, “John Harris sounds familiar. Did you have a TV show or something?”
“Yes, I had a radio show on surviving.”
“Damn, I listened to you every week. More during the long winters. We have all of your books. We are honored to have you with us.”
“Thank you. Now I guess that we had better prepare to get out of here. Beth, you and Billy search them and get their guns while Eric and I search the house.”
John gave Eric one of the men’s rifles and went into the house. The sound of a barking dog was coming from one of the rooms and when Eric opened the door, a small Shih Tzu came running out and jumped in Eric’s arms. They searched the place and found a couple more guns and several boxes of canned meat and soup. The women joined them and Eric started a fire in the fireplace to warm them up a bit after being in the snow all day.
“John, what do you do in the ISA, I mean what is your job? You sound like a walking advertisement for them.”
John looked at Beth and said, “I work for the Secretary of Defense and was out in California helping the PSA get their military up to speed. The USA and the UN attacked us while we were out there and we think our plane crash has something to do with that attack.”
“Can you help us start an army up here to get rid of these scumbag criminals?”
"Yes. In fact, we will try to prepare you as much as possible until we are rescued and I will send a team up here to secure your area and train the people around you to protect themselves. Would you take on a leadership role until the ISA can convince the people to join us?”
“I’d be glad to. We only have a few deer rifles and are low on ammunition. The thugs raided all of the police stations and sporting goods stores and took all of the ARs and other weapons.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll equip and train you. Now we need to figure out what to do for the next couple of days. Our friends are expecting us back at the plane and the snow is piling up out there. We need to head back to them and then can we come to your place to rest up and figure out a long range plan?”
“Yes you will be welcome. We have a large house and a couple of fireplaces. I’ll draw you a map and give you directions. Our place is about four miles southeast of here and about eight miles southeast of your plane. Come over and join us while you mend. I have maps and can help point you in the right direction on finding a radio and help.”
It was 1:30 when Beth and John started walking back to the plane. They each had several cans of meat and soup in their backpacks and two gallons of water hanging from a rope around their shoulders. The snow was a foot deep and the weather had turned worse. It was a full white out blizzard. They trudged through the snow thinking about their hungry friends back at the plane.
“Beth, we won’t get lost because there is a steep gully on our left. We need to check every now and then to make sure we are on the road and next to the gully or we will walk in circles.”
They fell down from time to time checking for the gully and John’s shoulder hurt like hell from falling on it when it was his turn to walk to the left until he found the gully.
“I think I know how Helen Keller felt. We can’t see a thing and I am freezing. How much further do you think it is?”
“I’ve been counting our paces and I think that we have covered eight to nine miles. The plane is just ahead of us.”
“How will we know when to stop? What if we turned down a side gully that branches off the one we have been following?”
“Good questions, but darling we would have to have really bad luck to have that happen.”
Beth laughed and said, “So good luck is being in a plane crash and walking lost in a blizzard? I don’t want any fucking bad luck.”
“Potty mouth. You have been after me for years to stop dropping the F-bomb and here you are cussing like a sailor.”
“I know you are kidding, but now is not the time or place.”
John shut up.
***
Janet and Steve covered all openings with seat cushions, towels and anything they could poke in a hole. They had a small fire built on a piece of the wing which warmed the interior enough to make it bearable.”
“Steve, I just had a terrible thought. How will they find the plane in this whiteout? They could walk right past us without knowing it. What can we do?”
They brainstormed for a minute and Steve said, “We can stretch a rope across the road so they will know when to stop. We tie it down inside the cabin and hang some cans on it so we know someone is out there.”
Janet went to their Bug Out bags and took all of the para cord that she could find.
“Here is over two hundred feet of para cord. I need to tie it to something about waist high in several places. I think that I will run it out past the road just in case they are not able to stay on the road.”
“Sounds like a plan; I wish that I could help you.”
“Me too, but it is what it is. I’m also going to place a row of suitcases across the road just in case the line falls down in the night. I’ll check as often as possible, but don’t want them to miss us. I guess we should be prepared to fight if the bad guys find us.”
“Yes, as a matter of fact knock twice wait and then knock three times before you enter each time.”
Janet took the para cord and three suitcases and went out into the cold. She lined the suitcases and other debris across the road and made snowmen to hang the rope on. She stopped several times to warm up, but completed the task in a couple of hours.
“You built how many snowmen?
“Fifteen or so. Just the snowmen should get their attention.”
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Chapter 21
Snowbound
Wyoming
February, 2022
John was getting worried because he had already counted more than enough steps to have them back at the plane. It was getting darker so it must be around 5:00 and would be totally dark in a few minutes. The visibility was so low and the wind so noisy that he and Beth held hands so as not be separated.
Beth leaned over and asked, “Are we there yet? I have to pee and can’t wait.”
“No dear, but we are very close. I’ll try to block the wind while you do your thing.”
He was standing by Beth when he turned and saw a shadowy figure.
He drew his gun and yelled, “Don’t move or I’ll shoot.”
The man didn’t move. Beth was finished so they both took a couple of steps and saw a snowman holding a piece of snow covered rope. John saw several other shapes to the left and right of the snowman.
“Bless their hearts; they placed a roadblock to help us find the plane. Let’s go right and follow the rope to our friends.”
The cans clinked together and the rattle scared the crap out of Janet who had dozed off. The wind had created a steady jingle, but this was a violent shaking of the cord.
“Grab your rifle and be prepared. We have to be ready in case it’s not our friends.”
Steve was behind some seats and Janet hid in the cockpit with her rifle aimed at the door. The door opened a crack and a white handkerchief tied to the barrel of a rifle poked into the door.
“Don’t shoot. It’s John and Beth and we are freezing.”
“Come on in out of the cold. Did you find our rope?”
“We walked right into one of your snow monsters and it scared the shit out of us. Great idea and you may have just saved our lives.”
They spent the next hour filling Steve and Janet in on their trip and events of the day.
“Cody, Wyoming! I knew that we were off course, but never thought that we were this far north. Oh, shit! No one would think to search this far off course. We are on our own.”
“Steve, that’s what I’m thinking. They might figure out the decoy plane, but would have no way to figure out where we are. We have to act as if our
rescue is in our own hands.”
***
“Gus, I wanted to call you personally. I’ll send a report later, but the Admiral has some spies here in San Diego. There are too many odd occurrences and events leading up to the attack and the disappearance of Dad’s plane. They knew exactly where the underground bunker and Dad’s plane were located. The security guard’s helicopter had engine trouble and an identical Gulfstream IV took off at the same time as Dad’s plane. Surveillance shows both to have the same identification number. This was planned well in advance and took quite a bit of skill to accomplish.”
“Good job Scott. What can I do to help?”
“Have the Admirals intelligence group check the satellite photos for this area and see if they can get a course for the other plane. I’ll bet my life that our guys were on the plane. I’ll also bet that it didn’t get to its planned destination.”
“Why do you think it went down?”
“Because there hasn’t been any ransom request or victory dance. If the USA captured or killed Dad, the USA president would be having an orgasm and shouting aloud about his success in capturing the criminal. I think the plane went down during a struggle to recapture the plane. Not the best of scenarios, but Dad could have survived and be waiting for us to go get him, if we knew where he is located.”
“I agree. It’s some guesswork, but it’s all we have at the minute. The Admiral already has them looking at the first plane. I’ll have them start chasing down the other.”
“I’ll see if I can catch a few moles. My next call is to the Admiral to get him to double the security at the base and help catch these bastards.”
***
Joe and Imelda never got a chance to leave the house due to the blizzard. They had a big stack of firewood, water and enough food for a month.
“I don’t think we should venture out in this blinding snowstorm. We’d just get lost and freeze to death. We’ll wait it out and try to head back to the plane tomorrow as planned.”