by A. American
“Is it empty?”
“It was when I found it. But the ground was dry under that big limb.”
“Alright, I’m going to get Mike to take a couple with him and move over there behind it. He can be our cover as we approach it,” Ted said, and quickly turned and headed off.
He told Mike what he wanted done, and in no time Mike, Fred and Aric were moving off. Ted told the rest of the group how to spread out. Jamie directed Lee Ann and Taylor where to go, then pointed out a place for Jess. Once they were all in position, Mike called and said they were ready. Ted looked at Dalton and nodded, and the two started moving towards the old tree. It didn’t take long to get to it and see it was unoccupied. Dalton pointed out the hide, and Ted Knelt down to inspect it.
“There have been at least two different people here,” Ted whispered.
Dalton knelt down beside him. Pointing out through the field behind him, he replied, “And they come and go through there.”
Ted looked out across the field. “That’s a long way to get in here.”
Dalton nodded, “Let’s get out of here and talk about it. I have an idea.”
Ted nodded, and they moved out and regrouped at the bunker. Much to the guys’ delight, the girls immediately formed a security perimeter.
“What’s your plan?” Ted asked Dalton.
“I figured we should set up an ambush for whoever is coming back. See if we can bag him,” Dalton replied.
Ted looked around and nodded, “I agree. I’d like to know who’s poking around. We’ll sort out who’s going and get it ready soon.”
“I’m thinking just the three of us, you, me and Mike. I don’t think we’ll need more than that, and these guys aren’t ready for that sort of thing yet,” Dalton replied, nodding towards Jess.
Ted smiled, “Don’t let Jamie hear you say that.”
Dalton looked at her, “Wasn’t talking about her. I think she can hold her own.”
“You have no idea my friend. She’s a bad ass chick.”
The two got with Mike and told them what they were going to do. The girls and Aric agreed to take over at the bunker and let Thad and Danny take a break.
“You guys be careful out there,” Thad said as he slung his AK.
“We will, but if you hear any shooting come a runnin’,” Mike replied.
Thad smiled and winked, “You know I will.”
“I’m headed home to dry out,” Danny said.
The girls and Aric moved into the bunker. Ted took time to explain to Jamie what he wanted her to do if any shooting started. She, Aric and Jess were to be a quick reaction force and come to the ambush. Lee Ann, Taylor and Fred were to remain at the bunker to cover them. With the details sorted, everyone moved out.
The guys moved into the woods and took up positions on the trail that was being used to access the hide. It was across a small pasture, and whoever would be coming would surely stop inside the tree line before moving across it. They would take them here when they paused for a look. They took some time setting up their hides, camouflage would be paramount. Once their hides were ready, the guys settled in for the hard part, the wait.
About dinner time, we got ready to go over to Danny’s. Little Bit was in the floor of the living room playing with a bunch of small plastic animals. I asked if she were hungry, and she immediately jumped up, “I’m starvin’!” She shouted.
She was holding a plastic snake, its tail draped on the floor. Seeing that, I smiled. “Let me see that.” She handed me the snake and I observed that it was nearly three feet long and almost as big as a paper towel tube. I looked at her, “You wanna have some fun?”
Her eyes lit up, “Yeah! What are you going to do?”
I knelt down. “Mr. Thad is scared of snakes. Let’s take this out and put it in the garden. He goes out there every day after supper; it’ll scare him good.”
She jumped up and down clapping her hands, “Oh yeah, let’s do it! It’ll scare him good.”
“You shouldn’t do that. If he’s afraid of snakes, why would you do that?” Mel asked.
I looked at the snake, then at her, “Cause it’s funny.”
“I bet he won’t be laughing about it.”
“Oh sure he will. Eventually,” I replied with a chuckle.
As she rounded the corner into the kitchen, Mel replied, “You still shouldn’t do it.”
I followed her around the corner. She was wiping down the counter and I came up behind her. Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I said, “I love you.”
Without pausing from her cleaning, she asked in a very sarcastic tone, “What do you want?”
I spun her around. “It’s not what I want. It’s what you want.” I reached into my pocket and took the Tiffany’s box out and held it behind my back.
She tried to look behind me, “What do you have? What are you doing?”
Obviously she wasn’t over the little incident on the porch. “Nothing,” I said.
She tried to look again and I swiveled. Narrowing her eyes, she said, “You better not be up to anything.”
I brought the box around where she could see it and held it up. “I just thought you might want this.”
Seeing the blue box, her eyes lit up. Then the excitement faded, “Where’d you get it? You didn’t take it off a dead body did you?”
I stepped back, “No! That’s really messed up. Here I am trying to give you a present and this is how you act?” I went to put the box back in my pocket, “If you don’t want”…….
She cut me off and grabbed the box from my hand, “I didn’t say that!” She opened the box and took the cuff out. Smiling, she said, “It’s really nice. I always wanted one.”
I smiled at her, “I know you did. When I saw it, I knew you’d like it.”
Slipping it on her wrist, she replied, “Where did you get it? It’s so nice.”
“A lady at the Altoona store. She had a bunch of jewelry.”
She held her wrist out to look at the cuff. Smiling, she gave me a hug and a kiss, “It’s very nice. Thank you, I love it.”
I squeezed her tight, “Love you too. Let’s go get some dinner.”
We went over to Danny’s where those not otherwise occupied were gathering. Ian, Perez and Mary were there along with Danny and Bobbie. Shortly after we arrived, Kay, Sarge and Doc rolled in as well. Everyone was sitting on the back porch chatting when I made my escape and headed for the garden. While I would still be in view, I hoped to be able to get the rubber anguis out of my pocket.
Once in the garden, I wandered around looking at the plants. Thad was doing an incredible job with them. They were growing strong and vibrant. The tomato plants had golf ball-sized green fruits on them. The peppers were already fruiting as well. The squashes had large bright flowers; it wouldn’t be long before they had fruits as well. Hearing laughter from the porch, I looked up. Everyone was wrapped up in some BS Sarge was telling, so I quickly knelt down and whipped the snake from my pocket.
I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about a line from Blazing Saddles, excuse me while I whip this out. I rolled the snake into a coil under the broad leaf of a yellow squash. I was chuckling to myself as I did it. Remembering Thad on the side of that lake, I couldn’t help myself. Now, if he responds the same this time I’ll probably shit myself. With my dastardly deed done, I headed up to the house.
We sat around and had dinner. Ian and Sarge kept taking shots at one another, which added some levity to the evening. Thad’s shotgun was lying on the table in front of him tucked inside of a leather scabbard. I pointed to it, “What’s that?”
Thad picked it up, “I made it from an old saddle I found in one of the sheds. The saddle was pretty torn up, but the base of it was nice leather. I’ve oiled the hell out of it, so it’s
really nice now.”
He handed it to me and I inspected the work. Thad was a patient man and had obviously spent a lot of time on it.
“Now I can sling it over my back and always have it with me,” Thad added.
I handed it back over, “Man that’s really nice. Can’t believe it was an old saddle.”
“I know. He should go into the leather business,” Danny added.
“Only one problem with that,” Thad replied. “You need leather!”
“Yeah, might be hard to get new material,” Danny said.
“Not if we were in Wyoming,” I replied. Both of them looked at me for an explanation. “I talked to a guy on the radio out there. They’re covered up with beef, more than they can eat.”
“That’d be a hell of a problem to have,” Sarge boomed.
“Wouldn’t be a problem for me; I can eat my own weight in beef,” Thad said with a smile.
Perez looked sideways at him and asked, “In one sitting?”
Thad started to laugh, “I’ll take a break in the middle and get a nap in.”
“Man I wish we had some beef,” Ian said.
“Florida was one of the largest beef producers in the country. There still has to be some out there somewhere,” I added.
“Thank you for dinner, Miss Bobbie and Mary. I’m headed out to the garden for a bit,” Thad said as he rose from the table and slung the scabbard over his shoulder.
Bobbie pushed her bowl away. “It wasn’t much, but you’re welcome.”
“I’m coming too, Thad,” Mary said as she quickly got up from the table.
As they left the porch and headed towards the garden, the women started talking about Thad and Mary spending so much time together. I waved at Sarge, and when he looked over, I pointed at the garden and mouthed the word, watch. Sarge’s brow furrowed, but he leaned over to be able to see. Ian caught on that something was up, and asked me as much.
Smiling, I replied, “Just watch. You’ll see.”
“Oh, you didn’t really do that did you?” Mel asked.
“What’d he do?” Kay asked.
I turned back to her and Mel, “Don’t say anything, you’ll see.”
Thad and Mary made their way to the garden. Normally Thad would kneel down in the garden to pull the stray weeds and talk to his plants. But with the recent rain, the ground was saturated; so he squatted instead. A smile spread over my face as I watched him work from the far end of the garden towards the squash plants. The tomatoes delayed him for a bit as he and Mary picked worms from them. They painstakingly checked each and every leaf, removing the parasites as they were found. Thad carried a small cup with him, and he’d drop the worms in for feeding to the chickens later. The chickens loved the worm treats.
I leaned forward in anticipation as he got to the squash, any second now. But Mary got to it first. I saw her jump back and point. Thad looked down and back-peddled a couple of steps while reaching for the shotgun on his back. He quickly shouldered the old side by side as he pulled Mary out of the way. The shotgun went off with a roar, and Thad stood there for a moment. Then I saw his head turn to the side, and he stared intently for a moment. Then he reached down with the barrel of the gun and lifted the rubber snake up and inspected it.
Realizing it was a rubber snake, his attention turned to the porch. It was still draped over the barrel when he shouted out, “You ain’t funny, Morgan!” He looked back down into the garden than back up, “You’re lucky there weren’t any flowers on this side of that plant!” He tossed the snake into the yard before calling out, “I’ll get you back!”
“It didn’t scare him,” Little Bit said as she sat back down at the table.
“Smooth move Ex Lax,” Sarge barked. “You didn’t even scare him.”
“Ahh, Mary saw it first. If he’d seen it first, he would have pooped himself.” Choosing my words carefully because of Little Bit. “I’ve seen it before, and it’s funny as hell.”
“I suggest you start looking over your shoulder. That big man is going to break your ass in half,” Perez offered.
Looking to change the subject, I glanced at Doc, “How are Tyler and family?”
Doc jerked his head, “Not good. He’s sick, bad sick. Brandy is sick too, and will probably get worse.”
“How about the babies?” Kay asked.
Doc rested his elbows on the table, “That’s the funny thing. They appear to be fine. I would have expected them to get ill too, but they’re OK. They want to go outside really bad; and Brandy and Tyler are having trouble taking care of them. Other than that, the kids are good.”
“Maybe we should get the kids out of there,” Kay replied.
“I’m still nervous about that. They could be infected and not yet symptomatic. I think we need to give it a little longer.”
“If they can’t take care of them, then we’re going to have to do something,” Bobbie said.
Mel stood up from the table, “We can’t let the kids suffer. They’re in there watching their parents suffer. We should get them out.”
“We’re getting some help tomorrow. Let’s see what this clinic is capable of when it gets here. I know it’s hard, but we can’t risk exposing everyone here,” Sarge replied.
“Speaking of that, is it on for tomorrow?” I asked.
Sarge nodded, “Yep. Talked to them right before we came over. The rain’s moved out and we’re good to go tomorrow.”
“Good. We’ll get some help then. Hopefully it comes in time for some of those folks in town,” Mel said.
“Are they bringing any ammo?” Ian asked.
Sarge nodded, “Oh yeah. I gave ‘em a shopping list. We’ll have to see what they bring; I doubt they will give us everything I asked for. Plus, with what we brought back from Riley, we should be in pretty good shape.”
“I’ll take anything they give us,” Perez added.
“They’re bringing some food out too,” I said.
“That’s good. We’re getting low, really low,” Bobbie said as she collected bowls from the table.
“Don’t hold your breath; we don’t know what they’re going to send out,” I replied.
Ian stood up and stretched, “Alright Perez; time to go to work.”
“You guys on watch?” I asked.
Perez moaned, “Yes. You relieve us at midnight.”
“Yeah; you and me,” Danny added.
“We’ll be there,” I replied with a smile. “Have a good night.”
“I want to wait here for the girls,” Mel said.
“We’ll go relieve them. I’m sure they’re hungry,” Ian said as he collected his gear.
Ian and Perez left to change the watch, and Thad and Mary came back up on the porch. Thad had a look in his eye that was less than comfortable. He was pointing at me as he came through the door.
“You think you’re a funny man.” He smiled and added, “That’s alright. I’ll get even.”
“Ahh, come on. It didn’t even scare you,” I replied.
“It scared me,” Mary said with a light giggle.
“I wasn’t trying to scare you. I’m sorry,” I replied with a smile.
A sudden racket at the front announced the arrival of the girls. They were very loud, as if they were really pumped up about something. When questioned, they all said it was nothing, and they were starving. While they ate, we all chatted around the table. Doc soon announced he was tired and headed home. He reminded Mary about their trip to town in the morning. She said she’d be packed and ready to go on time. Sarge and Kay joined Doc, and everyone said their good nights. As soon as our girls were done with their dinner, we also headed home.
“I’ll see you about midnight,” I said to Danny as I headed out the door.
He waved, “See
you then.”
The girls were still pretty wound up, and carried on all the way home, though it wasn’t far.
“What’s got you guys all spun up?” I asked.
“Nuthin’,” Taylor said. “We’re just glad to be able to help out. You know, do our part.”
We walked for a minute before I replied. “You girls just be careful. This isn’t a game.”
“We know. That’s why we’ve been training with Ted. He’s really good,” Lee Ann replied.
“Dalton scares me,” Taylor said with a shiver.
“He is kind of scary. He yells a lot,” Lee Ann agreed.
“He yells at you?” Mel asked.
Taylor snorted, “He yells at everyone!”
“I’d pay attention to him. From what I’ve seen, he’s pretty good at what he does,” I replied.
We got into the house and everyone headed for their rooms. Mel went and tucked Little Bit in; and soon we were in our room. I was tired, even though we had spent the afternoon snoozing. As the girls quieted down, I climbed into bed.
“It’s going to be hot tomorrow,” I said as I flipped the sheet back on the bed.
“Why? It’s been nice with the rain. Cooled things off.”
“The rain is why. It’s going be like being in a steamer.”
“Oh great. Just what I need.”
With a chuckle, I noted, “Well babe, like I said; it only gets worse.”
Mel jerked the sheet, “Well aren’t you just a little black rain cloud.”
Chapter 12
I woke up about a quarter till midnight. Moving quietly, I got dressed and collected my kit before slipping out of our room. After getting my boots on, I grabbed a quick cup of tea and chugged it; the caffeine would help. Heading out the door, I woke the dogs up. They all got up, staggering around and began yawning. I rubbed their heads and was rewarded with tail wags all around. When I headed out for the bunker, they fell in behind me and followed me silently down the road.