Once Upon an Apocalypse: Book 1 - The Journey Home - Revised Edition

by JEFF MOTES

  I consider the angle of the shots to each bastard and estimate the distance. The beer bastard is about twenty yards away. The bastard on the left is about thirty yards; the one in the middle about forty, and the one on the right, sixty or more. The last bastard is beyond the optimal range for my carbine. I unsling the hunting rifle and set it on the ground in case I have to transition to it for the longer shot. I whisper a prayer: “Dear God, make my hand steady, my aim true and my speed greater than that of my enemies. Amen.”

  I squeeze the trigger. A puff of red mist erupts from the front of beer bastard’s head. The gunfire masks the metallic sound of the carbine’s action chambering another round. I aim at the bastard on the left and send two 9mm projectiles. One impacts the base of his head and the other behind his left ear. I swing around to the bastard in the middle. He is turning to look at the guy slumped over. He calls out to him as I send two more projectiles. One hits him in the cheek. A non-fatal shot, as it exits below the right eye before it imbeds into an oak log. The second is two inches higher, entering through his left eye and exiting above his right ear. The third guy is onto me. He spins around firing an AK47. Bullets are impacting the ground all around me, spraying my face with dirt and debris. His barrage is relentless. I’m unable to return fire. He stands and approaches, firing as he does. A bullet hits the tree right next to my head and sprays wood splinters into my face. Then his head explodes. A shot from the road has taken him out.

  I get the radio and turning the volume up say, “Ducky, this is Tiger Cat. The tangos at the clear cut are down, except for two in the woods to the north. If you get somebody to flank them, I can move to cover and fire on those to your west.”

  “Tucker, left flank up the tree line at the clear cut,” Sarge barks. “Two tangos. Go get them. The shooters are down on the east side. I repeat, the shooters are down on the east side. And who the hell is calling me Ducky! Is that you, John? I told you to get the hell out of here!”

  “Jill wanted me to check and see how you were doing,” I reply. I replace the magazine in my carbine with a fresh one. Shortly after, I hear gunfire off into the woods and then the radio squawks, “Two tangos down, left side woods.”

  “John, Tucker, take up firing positions and pour the lead into those bastards across the highway,” Sarge orders. “Nobody fire into the clear cut.”

  Tucker emerges from the woods and we both approach the log cover. I click my radio three times, then prop the Remington 700 across a log. The scope on the rifle is a high quality Leupold. I turn the magnification up to 6x and spot one of the bastards across the highway. He hasn’t figured out yet that his buddies over here are dead. He must be about 250 yards away. If this was my hunting rifle, I would have it sighted for 200 yards. I make my adjustments accordingly and send a 7mm, 140 grain soft point boat tail projectile racing across the intervening space. The shooter jerks and slumps to the side. The other two shooters jump up and start running for the trees, but are shot down by the deadly accuracy of the M1A rifles.

  Into the radio, I say, “Sarge, a prisoner told me there were two more tangos in the woods on either side of the pasture.”

  “Bruno, Miller, flush the two on the left,” Sarge orders. “Joe and Mitchell, the ones on the right.”

  Moments later I see four men running into the open field. The radio crackles, “This is Bruno, we are clear, the birds are in the open.”

  Then, “Sarge, this is Joe, my birds are in the open. We are clear.”

  Sarge yells so loud I don’t need the radio to hear, “FIRE!”

  A hail of lead rains upon the bastards. They all four go down under multiple shots, then silence. The silence is so intense, it is almost deafening after listening to the sustained rifle shots for so long.

  “Everybody rally to the truck,” Sarge instructs. “We leave for Marion in five minutes. John, son, we are shot the hell up. We have one KIA and three wounded, one serious. Your little end-around came at just the right time. Thanks, son. I’m glad you stayed back. I’ve got to get these guys to medical care ASAP. Take the truck and complete your journey. We aren’t going to be able to go any further.”

  “I’m sorry, Sarge,” I say. “I’m sorry for your men. I can’t pay you here.”

  “Son, you already have, with our lives. You take care of that woman and get her home safe. We’re leaving now. Sarge out.”

  “Take care, Sarge. Thanks for everything.”

  I call Jill, “Barney, this is Pumper. Everything is okay. I’m on my way back.”

  “Barney here, 10-4, come to me, Pumper.”

  One of the dead bastards has a Ruger mini-14 rifle and a Springfield XD9 pistol. I sling the hunting rifle and mini-14 over my shoulder. The XD9 I tuck in my waist, then stuff all the magazines in my pockets. I consider checking the others for weapons, but we need to get out of here and I can’t carry much more anyway. I head back to the woods. When I reach the young boy taped up on the ground I say, “All your bastard buddies are dead. Maybe you should join them.”

  The kid’s face pales when I open my knife. He shakes his head rapidly, as if begging for his life. I slash down with the knife and cut the tape at his legs. “You’ve got another chance to do right. Don’t waste it.”

  Then I get up and head back to Jill.

  As I approach where the truck should be, I see no truck. I call frantically, “Jill, Jill where are you?”

  She runs from the woods. “I’m here, John!” She wraps her arms around me. Her frantic embrace and the extra weight of the guns send me to my knees. “John, you’re hurt. You’re bleeding!”

  With all the action, I had not noticed. “Let’s grab our packs and you can take care of it for me. Then we have to get out of here. Where did you put the truck? Where are Theo and Cassandra?”

  Jill frowns. “John, I’m sorry. Theo took the truck. He pulled a gun on me. I didn’t have a choice, but I was able to get the ATV. It’s over here.”

  I’m stunned and berate myself for not having considered that possibility. “Oh Jill, I’m sorry. I didn’t think of something like that. You okay? Did he hurt you?”

  “No, he didn’t hurt me, and yes, I’m okay. He was scared something would happen to Cassandra.”

  “Come on, let’s clean my face up so you can give me a proper kiss.”

  We set the extra guns against the back rack of the ATV.

  “Come help me with your pack,” Jill says. “It’s too heavy for me.”

  I follow her another twenty yards or so into the woods and we get our packs. Back at the ATV, Jill pulls my first aid kit and starts working on my face.

  “Looks like some large wood splinters. There are only a few.” Using the tweezers, she pulls them out. It stings a little, but not as bad as the alcohol wipes she uses next. She puts two band aids on, then looking into my eyes, she kisses me.

  “At the rate we’re going, there may not be anything left of me by the time we find a preacher. I’ve been shot, beat, and stabbed. I’ve got to look pretty rough.”

  She kisses me again. “John, you are a handsome man. If you do have any scars from this journey, every time I see them it will only remind me of how much you love me.” Then she asks, “What about Sarge?”

  “Sarge’s guys are pretty shot up. One dead, three injured. They can’t go any farther with us and are returning to Marion.”

  Jill gasps, “Oh no!” “You aren’t mad about the truck?”

  “At you? No. At Theo? Not about the truck, I don’t think it was going to be of much use anymore, but he is sure going to pay for pulling a gun on you. I promise you that.”

  “We probably won’t ever see them again.”

  “I’m pretty sure we will.”

  Jill touches my arm and looks up at me. “For my sake, please don’t hurt him.”

  I look down into those beautiful green eyes. “Trust me, Jill, he kept me from having to make a really hard decision. Let’s go. I want to get away from here and find a place to hole up until dark. Plus we have to keep
some distance between us and that mob heading this way.”

  “What do you mean by hard decision?”

  I smile over my shoulder as I pull the ATV out of the woods. “You’ll see.”

  She rolls her eyes.

  Chapter 61

  Jill

  Hello Theo

  Day 11

  I roll my eyes. “You’ll see,” is what he said. Good grief. Can’t the man ever give me a straight answer? I’m surprised he isn’t furious about the truck. We covered more ground in an hour with that truck than we covered on any of the nights since we left George and Betty’s home, but if I push him, he’s going to give me one of those disarming smiles and another cryptic response. I’m thankful the only injury he suffered was from wood splinters. There were so many gunshots, I was certain he would be badly injured. I love this man and don’t want anything bad to happen to him.

  Thank You God for keeping John safe.

  “How is Sarge going to get through that mob?” I ask.

  “I’m not sure. There were several roads off the highway between us and the mob, maybe he took one of those.”

  “I hope so. I liked him. He was so nice to let us use his house.”

  “Yes, he was. I’ll never forget him. I’ll never forget what this day has meant for us both. Jill, I love you. I’m going to get you home. I’m going to get you back to Lizzy and your mother. I never would have thought we would see roadside IEDs here in America. Never thought it.”

  “Do you know which of the guys was killed?”

  “Sarge didn’t say. We should honor him in our thoughts. Those men fought for us and one died for us.”

  I wrap my arms around John and squeeze tight. He flinches. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

  “That giant bastard did a number on me yesterday. I’m going to be hurting for days. You were true to your word and didn’t forsake me. Thank you for keeping me alive. You are a very brave person.”

  “John, I would give my life for you.”

  “I know you would. I missed too many shots and ran out of bullets. Things were happening so fast I didn’t have enough time to reload. My mistake wasn’t yesterday. It was two weeks ago, when trying to save weight in my pack I replaced the one 33 round magazine I had in my pack with a 15 round magazine. If I had not done that, I would not have been beaten so badly.”

  “You are a brave man. I don’t think I could make it home without you. Did you know your ‘just in case’ sandbag trick worked? There were bullet holes in both doors. The sandbags stopped them.”

  “I should have used more and protected more of the truck. I just didn’t think about it at the time.”

  “What? Where else?”

  “I just should have used more. You’ll see.”

  “John, I don’t like that.”

  That darn smile starts spreading across his face. “I know, but it’ll be clear soon. You’ll see.”

  I grit my teeth. I knew not to push it.

  “How far are we going?” I ask.

  “We’ve gone five miles. It’s about ten more miles to Pine Hill. I want to check it out after dark. It shouldn’t be long.”

  It starts to register on me that the truck we have been approaching is our truck!

  “Be alert, Jill. It’s going to get tense real quick. Trust me.”

  “I will and I do.” Cassandra is near the front of the truck with the hood open. Legs are sticking out from underneath the truck. I think, Oh no! Cassandra has run over Theo!’ We are rapidly approaching. Cassandra sees us and runs to Theo, who scrambles out from underneath the truck.

  The ATV is at the truck. Before it can stop fully, John is off with his Glock in his hand. Theo is reaching for the shotgun as John points the pistol directly in his face. Theo freezes.

  “Hello, Theo,” John says sarcastically. “Having a little truck trouble? Maybe low on fuel?”

  Theo says nothing. Cassandra is crying and pleading for John not to kill Theo.

  I stop the ATV and draw my Glock, not sure what to do. John grabs the shotgun by the barrel and holds it out to me. “Jill, put this by the ATV, please.”

  I take the gun from John, then put it on the opposite side of the ATV. John backs up a little, then gives Theo a fast and hard shove into the side of the truck. Theo still has not said anything. His eyes tell me everything I need to know. Given the opportunity, he would hurt John. I keep my Glock ready. John backs to the ATV, keeping his gun aimed at Theo’s face. Cassandra is on her knees, pleading. John is ignoring her.

  “Theo, twice this woman standing beside me has interceded on your behalf. Twice she has saved your life. I stopped here for three reasons and three reasons alone. First, I want to give you a chance to explain yourself.”

  Theo stares hard at John; then his glance leaves John. He looks at me, then lowers his head and in a contrite voice says, “I was afraid for my wife. I’m sorry. I truly am.” He looks back up. “You deserved better.”

  “I forgive you, Theo,” I say. “I hope only God’s blessings on you both.”

  Cassandra looks relieved.

  “That’s real touching, Theo,” John says, his gun still pointed at him. “I think you just might mean it. My second reason is to give you some advice. It’s about twenty or so miles to Thomasville and another thirty to Jackson. If you do things right, you and Cassandra should be able to walk that in three to four days.”

  “Can’t we ride with you on the ATV?” Theo asks.

  “No, that’s not going to happen. You’re going to need water. Do you have any?” Theo shakes his head. “Do you have any food?”

  “Only what Jill left us.”

  “Jill, please set two gallons of the water on the ground behind the ATV,” John says, “and four of our MREs next to the water.”

  I’m slightly confused, wondering what he is doing, but proceed to do so.

  Theo’s eyes are moist. Cassandra has gone silent.

  “Jill, would you mind leaving your bottle of chlorine with the water?” John asks.

  “No, I don’t mind.”

  I know what he’s doing now. He’s saving their lives again. I get the squeeze bottle of chlorine from my pack, along with two coffee filters, and set them next to the water.

  “You can use the chlorine to treat water if you need to,” John says. “The instructions are on the side of the bottle. Don’t drink anything you haven’t boiled or treated. I suggest you travel only at night and sleep in shifts during the day. Someone should be awake and watching at all times. Don’t sleep where you can see the highway. You need to camp well out of sight. Remember, fires create smoke and can be smelled. Don’t guide somebody directly to your camp.”

  John takes a step back. “Jill, will you cover Theo? Shoot him if he does anything stupid.”

  I draw my Glock and have it ready. John walks over to his pack, taking something out. Then he opens a side pouch and gets something else. He goes back over to Theo. “This is an NVD. It’s one of the units I took off those bastards from yesterday. It mounts to the headgear like this.”

  John shows him how. He demonstrates how to put the headgear on, then hands it to Theo.

  “Here, put it on. The top button turns the unit on. Don’t turn it on now, wait until dark. The bottom button will turn the infrared source on. Don’t turn it on for any reason. It shouldn’t be dark enough to need it, and it will only be a beacon for anybody else who has an NVD. You adjust the focus by twisting the eyepiece and the front lens. Here is one set of spare batteries; it’s all I can give you. If you let yourselves get caught up in that mob coming this way, you will never see Jackson.”

  John gets on the ATV. I holster my Glock and climb on behind him.

  “Why are you doing this?” Theo asks John.

  John glances at Cassandra, then back at Theo. “Theo, that’s a good woman you have there, and I think maybe there is a good man inside you. I wish I could do more.” He cranks the ATV.

  Theo asks, “What was the third reason?”

 
“A promise.” John’s expression hardens, his eyes boring into Theo. It scares me. It scares Theo and Cassandra. In a voice of steel John says, “If you ever draw a gun on my wife again, I will kill you.” After a moment of intense silence, he says in a more normal tone, “I’ll drop this shotgun and a pistol off for you right up the road. Don’t pick them up till I’m out of sight.”

  John drives off. He stops about a hundred yards away and sets the shotgun, the XD9, and two pistol magazines on the pavement.

  “You knew they were going to be stopped didn’t you?” I ask when we drive off. “How?”

  “I thought they probably would be. I smelled gas where I parked at the woods and figured the fuel tank got hit. I should have put sandbags around it. I’m sorry I didn’t think about it before we left Sarge’s.”

  Sorry? This man is sorry? This man has kept me alive for nearly two weeks. He’s helped save the lives of how many people? A lot. He just helped two more survive. Two who left him for dead. He’s sorry?

  “John, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

  “I could have had you home safe tonight if I had thought more thoroughly.”

  “No, John, you might have gotten Theo and Cassandra home tonight, but you and I would be right here. You may have saved their lives a second time.”

  “We did, Jill, not me. Don’t think for a minute I don’t know how much courage it took for you to wait for me. How much courage it took for you to consent to follow my instructions. How much courage it took for you to want to help Sarge. You kept your wits and were able to keep the ATV for us. You have saved us more than I have.”

  “Making that promise was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

  “I know, yet by doing so, you helped save Sarge and his men. I love and respect you all the more because of it.”