by S. Ison
“Mr. Chump, I don’t recognize your government. I don’t recognize you as any kind of authority. I do, however, recognize you as a thief. You are using people to eat well, as I see you’ve not missed a meal,” Kelly said, a sneer she couldn’t hide coming to her face. Her green eyes glittered with malice, narrowing. Her grip on her weapon tightened.
“I saw the bodies out at the highway. I take it that was your work?” Chum asked, apparently not put off by Kelly’s speech.
“So? They tried to rob my home,” Kelly said dismissively.
“Well now, do you have proof? How do we know this wasn’t their place and you came here and stole it? This here is Richard Wolfe, he’s our sheriff. We just may have to arrest you until we can get this sorted out,” Chum said, rocking back and forth on his heels, seemingly pleased with this conclusion. The thin wrinkled man stood a little straighter and took a step forward.
“Well, Dick, this is my land and you need to get off it now,” she ordered, looking first at Wolfe’s reddening face and then at Chum. Kelly knew Schrodinger’s Cat could feel the vibrations of her agitation when she stood suddenly and began to snarl. Kelly knew the dog’s teeth were impressive, her visage very unfriendly.
“You don’t call that dog off, I’ll shoot the damn thing,” Chum said, fear causing his voice to rise.
Kelly brought her gun up in a smooth arc and aimed it straight at Chum’s head. “Not today, Satan, not today. Those bodies you saw at the road, well, those assholes thought they could hurt my dog. As you can see, I took care of them. You even lift a weapon and I’ll drop you right here and now. Now get your fat fucking ass off my property before I get angry,” Kelly said flatly, her voice calm, though she certainly didn’t feel that way.
The fat man began to sputter, and he looked to his companions for support. Their eyes shifted uncomfortably between themselves. They weren’t sure what to do, and the snarling from the dog was getting louder, the drool dripping from her fangs making her look even more dangerous.
“Look here, miss,” Chum sputtered, his already florid face turning purple.
“I believe my wife just told you to leave,” Tim said softly. He stood behind the group, his long rifle pointed at Chum’s head.
All four men whirled around. They’d not heard Tim come up on them. Beside Tim were the two six-month-old pups, Hope and Chance, their quiet stares unwavering on the invaders.
“Husband?” Chum squeaked.
“Yes, and my wife just told you to get off our property. I suggest you leave, unless you want to join the three gentlemen out on the highway. She’s a very good shot,” Tim said, a slight smile curling his mouth.
“Well, this is unsatisfactory. We are the govment,” Chum said, his accent creeping in under the stress.
“Mr. Chump—” Tim started.
“That’s Chum, goddammit,” Chum screamed. He was clearly nearing the end of his limits.
“We don’t recognize you as being a legitimate government. My wife and I are veterans of the military. We know what government is and looks like, and you, mister, are not it. You are a carpetbagger. Do you know that term? Ah, I see that you do. You are taking advantage of those around you,” Tim said. He turned and spat into the snow. “It is obvious that you’re here to steal what you can. You’ve made a grave mistake. Leave, and don’t come back. If you do, I will kill you. As I see it, you mean me and mine harm. This is your only warning.”
Kelly watched as the two younger men edged back to the truck. Wolfe turned stiffly, walked back to the truck and got into the driver’s seat. Chum continued expostulating, but wasn’t making any sense. Kelly didn’t bother listening.
He turned abruptly and went to the truck. On his way there, he slipped on a patch of ice. Kelly smiled with satisfaction. But, to her disappointment, he caught himself on the truck and his face turned a blotchy red and purple. He climbed into the truck wordlessly, and they took off at speed.
Kelly blew out a big breath. She was relieved Tim had come.
Her smile widened. Wife, huh? She looked down at Schrodinger’s Cat. “Looks like Daddy just declared his intentions. Apparently I’m his wife now.”
Bridgman, Michigan
A bitter wind whipped around Mike’s head. He was grateful for his black knit hat that covered his ears from the brutal cold. He guessed it was near midnight, and he was on edge. For the last couple of days, he’d been looking for the gang that had killed the people he loved and considered his brother and his sister. He’d left Zackary with Janet. He hoped he would see them again. He’d told Janet he would come back as soon as he could, but he didn’t know when that would be.
Though not of his own blood, he’d loved Stephen and Alisa, and even little Zackary, as his own. He been thankful for Alisa’s acceptance of his presence in her home, of his de facto role as uncle to her child. These bastards had killed Stephen, and they may have killed Alisa too by now. He hoped she was alive, but given how vicious this lot was, he didn’t hold out too much hope.
He would find Alisa and bring her home, and if she was dead, he would bury her with Stephen. Then he would hunt down every last man and kill them all. He’d been searching for two days and two nights. They must have had a vehicle.
He’d first gone back to where he and Stephen had first seen them. There had been signs of recent activity – a barrel that was still warm, but burnt down to hot ashes. He’d reckoned they must have gone on the hunt again. From there he’d searched from building to building with no luck. The abandoned buildings all smelled of decay and musty neglect.
He came to the next building, a four-story brownstone, and stood outside. Most of the windows in the building were broken, like the teeth of a meth addict, and there were no lights. The faint stench of decay wafted from the doorway of the building.
Mike had dressed in black to blend in with the night. Janet had given him a flashlight, as his had been at the cottage. It was more than likely burnt to a crisp now.
Walking around the darkened brownstone, he heard nothing and saw no movement or activity. Around the back the door was missing, so Mike slipped in quietly. He heard the skittering of rats. He shone his light around the room and saw garbage and debris, leaves, branches, and clothing. He also saw a lot of empty beer cans and liquor bottles.
This was the first building that showed this kind of activity. He slowed his pace, as he didn’t want to run into someone unexpectedly. He took a few steps, listened, and scanned with the light. Coming to the first of several doors, he put his ear to the cold wood.
He sniffed, and smelled only filth, not fresh rot or decay. Placing his gloved hand on the doorknob, he opened the door carefully. Bringing the flashlight up, he scanned the room. A large utility closet, empty, with more bottles and debris. Closing it, he went on to the next.
Upon opening the door, he noted that this was an apartment. Going in, he closed the door softly behind him. Using his light, he made his way from room to room. The apartment had been ransacked. Like the other houses in the area, everything had been pulled from the cupboards and closets and thrown to the ground. Mike idly wondered why people threw everything to the ground. It was as if they took pleasure in destroying others’ possessions.
It looked like the gang had gone from building to building, trashing them as they went. It looked, also, like this was their territory, which made his job easier. If they kept coming back, then he could set up a base camp in the area and pick them off one by one.
He’d told Janet he knew he couldn’t fight them head on, that doing so would be suicide. He planned to hunt them down at night and take them out one by one, try his best to terrorize them in the process. He meant to put a hurt on them before he killed them. This was for his family.
He walked into the kitchen and looked around, avoiding stepping on broken dishes. The house didn’t have a musty smell, which told Mike someone had been here recently, and frequently. Other houses had the stale, unused smell, with dust and cobwebs covering door frames and furniture.
Flashing the light back and forth, he could see there wasn’t a lot of dust here, and no cobwebs. He moved quietly out of the kitchen. Opening another door, he gagged, the contents of his stomach rushing up his throat. It was a bathroom, and apparently in recent use. The tub was filled a third of the way with waste and toilet paper. He quickly closed the door.
He swallowed once more, trying to push his gorge down, his mouth drooling profusely. He found another door, held his breath in case it was another bathroom, and opened it. It was a bedroom. He let his breath out and shone the light around the room. His heart slammed into his chest hard, nearly bringing him to his knees.
Behind the bed lay a woman’s naked, bruised, and bloodied legs. Mike felt ice water cascade through his body and down into the pit of his stomach, his heart vibrating through his body like an overstrung harp with its cords plucked hard. The light in his hand began to waver and dance, his hands shook so badly. He tried desperately to bite down on his sorrow and fear.
He slowly edged forward, and came around the bed to shine the light on the woman. He dropped to his knees, a sob and stifled scream escaping before he shoved his fist into his mouth to quiet the anguish.
It was Alisa.
Her naked body was bloody and bruised, her eyes open, staring blankly at the ceiling. There was a single hole between her eyes. They’d killed her. Her fingers were bloodied: she’d fought like a tiger. It looked like they’d broken her right arm too.
Mike rocked back and forth on his knees, letting the quiet sobs wash over him. The grief became subsumed with black, murderous rage. He would make them pay. He would kill them all.
Carefully, and with trembling fingers, he gently smoothed her hair away from her face. He tried to close her eyes, but they wouldn’t close all the way. He couldn’t help feeling they looked at him with disappointment, as though he was complicit in her death. He tugged at the dirty sheet and placed it over her body, then covered her face. He held her in his arms and rocked her like a baby for a long while, his tears falling on the sheet.
He went to the closet and, looking around, and found three leather belts. He wrapped the sheet around Alisa’s body, folding and tucking it carefully about her. He then took the belts and secured them in three places along the body.
He then lifted her, so small and light. He once again swallowed a sob. He had to pack the grief down for now. He needed to get her home and back to Stephen first. There would be time for tears and recriminations later.
He slipped into an ally and made his way slowly from the brownstone. A distant gunshot sounded and he stood, frozen. He hugged Alisa’s body closer to him, protecting it with his broad shoulders. After a few minutes he began moving, taking Alisa home.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
San Gabriel Mountains, California
Charmain was on the shortwave, this time talking to Big Bear. They were coordinating where they would meet up. The temperature was warming up, and the raiding party would more than likely be on the move soon. Big Eyes had been keeping a lookout and had seen no movement, he’d passed that on to Charmain and now she passed it to Big Bear. Though quiet for now, everyone knew it wouldn’t last.
As it turned out, there were twenty-six men and two women in the group. All agreed that the group needed to be exterminated. This was a war of survival, and many innocent people were in the path of these animals, people who struggled every day to survive. They didn’t need to be murdered for their efforts.
Something Larry still didn’t want to admit was that he’d seen that some of the bodies had been missing limbs. He’d tried to convince himself that they were just tucked under another body or mutilated, but Charmain had busted that reasoning the other day with the possible truth that those animals may very well be eating their victims.
Larry swallowed hard at the thought. Raping, mutilating, and possibly eating the people they attacked? They had to be stopped.
He and Charmain would head out in the morning and head south-west once more. She’d given everyone the coordinates to the area where they’d spent the night after they’d scoped out the raiding party. It was about a two-hour walk from there to the group.
They would meet, take a couple people, go scope them out, then they return at night and hit them. They would all have night vision goggles, and they planned to hit and leave. They knew there was a big chance the large party would scatter once the shooting started, but with NVGs, they would be able to hunt them down. The raiders would be blind out among the trees.
Once the largest part of the group had been exterminated, they would hunt down and kill the rest. Once that was done, they would go in and bury the victims.
Charmain had run him through his paces with target practice.
“Have you ever killed anyone, Larry?” she’d asked him, blunt as always.
“No, but I don’t see these animals as people. What they have done and will continue to do, that just can’t happen,” Larry said, his mouth thin with determination.
“Well, just know that you might freeze. If you do, you will need to get back, because I can’t both watch you and fight them.”
“I promise, Charmain, I won’t let you down. I know if we don’t kill them all, they will just kill more innocent people. They may also find their way here.” He said this last part softly, ashamed of himself for being so selfish as to want to save his haven.
He relaxed when he saw understanding in Charmain’s eyes. “This is our home Larry, and be assured, I will kill anyone who threatens it. These people are clearly crazy, either because of the drugs and alcohol or perhaps because of eating human flesh. Eating human flesh can cause prion disease, and prion disease causes brain damage.”
“You mean like Mad Cow Disease?” Larry asked.
“Something like that. Humans have so many diseases, and along with the virus that has wiped out most of humanity, eating human flesh is as much a death sentence as eating tainted meat. These gangs have more than likely been eating people for a while.” She grimaced. “Gangs aren’t exactly known for their hunting and husbandry skills.”
“I just don’t see how they could do it in the first place,” Larry said, remembering back to his trek through the wilderness. As hungry as he’d been, he hadn’t even once thought of eating another human. Bugs and worms, yes, but not humans.
“Just think about their mindset,” Charmain continued, sipping her beloved Pepsi. “These look to be gangbangers, so they’ve lived their whole lives taking what they want, never really working for it. I don’t think they’d even know how to work,” Charmain snorted derisively. “When you left Los Angeles, you worked hard trying to live off the land. You didn’t have a large knowledge base, but you tried. These people don’t even know how to try. They were the apex predators in their world, and when the world went to hell, they just kept doing what they did back then, no new skill sets.”
“They’re predators for sure,” Larry agreed.
“They don’t give a rat’s ass how you or I’ve worked hard to live. They want what we have, and will kill us to get at it and not think twice.” Her lip curled in suppressed anger.
“Yeah, before we left LA, there were gangs of people breaking into apartments and such, stealing and killing anyone that got in their way. It scared the shit out of us. And it happened so fast,” Larry said, shaking his head in wonder.
“Oh yeah. All of us are only a day away from uncivilized behavior. Just think, did you ever see how people act on Black Friday? And that was for a friggin’ TV or a useless toy. They tore each other apart and acted like idiots. Now, those same people have no power, no water, and no food. They’ve never planned, and they expected the government to help them.” She laughed – it wasn’t a nice laugh – then belched.
“Yeah, I was one of those people, except for the Black Friday bit. I really thought the government would come and help us. You know, like the FEMA camps or something like that. I didn’t know it had gotten so bad so fast. I think the only thing that saved me was the
book I stole from the library,” Larry said, blushing at his theft of the book.
“But see, you knew deep down you needed to help yourself. So you did. You got yourself and your friend out and away from that nightmare. I know it didn’t end well for Jake, but you kept at it, you kept going, and you made it here. You found a home,” she said softly, and placed her hand on his arm and squeezed gently.
It was one of the few times that she’d been soft and tender. Charmain had a rough and tough exterior, but she had a kind heart and a generous nature. She’d never made him feel like he was a guest. She had opened her home to him without reservation or restrictions – except for the Pepsi.
Larry laughed out loud at the thought, drawing Charmain’s quizzical glance from where she sat at the radio. He smiled at her and shrugged. He got up and waved goodnight; she’d be on the radio for a while. They had an early start in the morning, and he knew it was going to be a long week. It would be a test for him to hunt down two-legged animals.
Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina
Pearl, Laura, and May were in the back yard of Pearl and Randal’s house, working the rich soil Pearl had babied during the winter months. She had started a compost heap, then worked it into the dark soil. They were now putting the soil out in small planting containers. On the picnic table were packets of seeds they planned to plant for the first go round for spring.
All had agreed to plant three different gardens. They would start a garden now, then wait four weeks and begin another, and another after that in another four weeks. If one failed, they’d have the others as backup. They had also decided to plant one at May’s home, dividing the gardens into two locations. May had a large front yard with rich soil, a good platform for a vegetable garden. The women had spent quite a bit of time planning the two gardens and the three planting periods out. Their lives depended on them being successful.