Surviving Day By Day (Book 1): So it Begins

by Allensworth, Audra

  Alden cut a piece of the man’s shirt off and walked away to the tree line with Tonto. Holding it down so Tonto could get the scent he watched as Tonto’s sniffed then turned and put his nose to the ground sniffing. Tonto went into the woods and came back shortly and barked. Alden looked at Tabitha and Colt, “Tonto says he came from the north. I trust him.” He looked at Tabitha, “you said he pointed west right?”

  Tabitha was glaring at the man then looked to Alden, “Yeah motherfucker pointed west.” Alden walked over and knelt in front of the man, “Well now we have a dilemma. You see my dog says you’re a liar.” Alden looked at Tonto then back at the man, “My dog doesn’t lie. Your friends are expecting you back by now, so they know you ran into trouble and what was it you said to the girl you tried to take…. Oh yeah, the old man has killed enough of you already.”

  He leaned in and whispered, “I’ve only just begun.” His hand was a flash as his knife came out and slit the man’s throat. Alden stood and looked to Colt and Tabitha, “Get my black bag out of my truck. I’m going to dispose of this shit. He reached down and picked the man up throwing him over his shoulder. Alden went around the cabin and came back riding one of the horses with the man’s body slumped over another. He looked at Beth, “Go check on Charlie see if he’s okay and if he can get on his feet. I’ll be back in a few, Tonto stay.” He turned and rode east towards the woods.

  Tabitha turned and looked at Colt, “Let’s get on it.”

  Colt followed Tabitha, “What the fuck is going on here?”

  Tabitha hurried over to the truck and found Alden’s black bag. After she grabbed it she spun around and looked directly into Colt’s eyes. “Look Colt, in my neck of the world this is the kind of trash that always pissed me off and now it’s basically every man for themselves out here. I am going with Alden and help him take out the trash.”

  Colt ran his fingers through his hair and he started thinking of Jessica. How she didn’t like fighting and how it always caused her heart to break whenever they would get into even the littlest spat. But just then Colt looked back at the cabin and realized the world had changed and the people that he cared about needed him just as bad as he needed them. “You know Tabitha, I am with ya, let me help ok?” He took hold of the bag and then felt something in it that was rather long this caused him to say, “Woooooo hold up just one second…. what the fuck is this?”

  Tabitha opened the bag and Colt reached inside to find the rod. When he pulled it out into the light they both noticed that it was a green tube that was about two feet long. With the look of confusion on Colt’s face the only words that he could say was, “WHAT THE FUCK?!?!”

  He tilted it one way then the other, stamped in big white letters were L.A.W. His eyes went to Tabitha, “Ummm… I think we will just lay this right back down, I think it is a bazooka thing like Arnold had in Commando. You ever see that movie?”

  Tabitha laughed, “Yeah wouldn’t surprise me if Alden has one of those.”

  Colt gently laid it down, “I’ll just stick with a gun.” He swung the bag over his shoulder after Tabitha grabbed a couple of more weapons. They both turned and looked the direction Alden had left, “What do we do now?”

  Tabitha sighed, “Well obviously we guard the perimeter till he gets back!”

  Colt sucked air through his teeth, he really hated when he asked stupid questions. “Ok, so I’ll take the back, I’ll go see if Ceara is ok with me taking Max with me.”

  Tabitha called to him, “You better not get her dog shot again!”

  Colt waved her off and went in the cabin, he shuffled his feet but knew he had to get outside, “Look Ceara, Alden killed the guy and went to go get rid of the body. We are pretty sure he wants to go look for the guy’s camp when he gets back, but….”

  Ceara just looked at him waiting, Beth came in behind him. Beth could tell what Colt was asking and she also knew that time was wasting so not waiting no longer Beth interrupted, “Ceara, allow me if you will, to tell you what Colt is trying to say. He wants to take Maximus with them for the extra protection because they don’t know what they are going to get into.”

  Ceara glared at Colt, “Maximus isn’t going anywhere with him alone!”

  Beth stepped in front of Colt and looked at Ceara then calmly continued, “Ceara, listen to me ok?? You’re injured and Charlie over there is injured as well. Now I am telling you, right here and right now, that Maximus is doing much better. I mean he was there and did a damn good job of protecting us. Alden will be with them and so will Tabitha, Hell so will we! I will stay with Colt and I promise you if Colt hurts your dog then I will give him a concussion of his very own.”

  Colt looked at Beth, “Excuse me?” Beth turned around and winked at him then said, “You heard me Colt!” Colt walked around the couch, “Look, I really only want him to go with me out back till Alden gets back. Tabitha is out front with Tonto and I thought Max could go with me for now.”

  Charlie sat up, “We are all going?” Ceara looked from Charlie to Beth, “Will he be ok?”

  Colt cleared his throat, “Can you guys discuss that later, I need to know about taking Max with me and get out there now.”

  Charlie nodded, “Take him dude, be safe!” Ceara looked at Charlie, I’m yours but Maximus is still recovering Charlie…”

  Charlie shook his head, “Ceara, we all need to let things go and Max is just fine.”

  Ceara looked to Maximus, “Go with Colt, Maximus.” Maximus jumped up and followed Colt out the door. Beth smiled, “He will be ok Ceara.”

  Charlie started to stand but Beth stopped him. “Hold up there Charlie, pull your clutch in. You are not going anywhere.” Beth gently took a hold of his arm and sat down with him on the couch. She put her hand oh his temple and looked into his eye. It was still dilated and she was convinced that Charlie did have a small concussion. “Charlie, if you don’t sit and relax then I will have to strap you down to the bed.”

  Charlie looked at her with this most confused look. “What the hell are you talking about?” Beth continued, “Charlie, I can’t sedate you, that would put you to sleep and if you go to sleep you may never wake up. I need you to sit still so that the swelling in your brain goes down. If that means tying you to a bed or tying you to a chair to get you sit still, then I will.”

  Charlie looked at Beth and then up to Ceara. “Charlie it’s going to be alright. You just sit here and relax please…. I don’t want to lose you too ok?” Not for the first time, Beth felt connected to all of the members. It was all clear to her, she didn’t want to lose anyone anymore and in the past months three times was just enough to cause her to not want to add a fourth.

  Ceara knew Beth was right, “Charlie, please sit still like she said. If we are all going to find these guys then you can move soon enough.” She gently stroked the side of his hair, it was starting to grow out, she pushed the hair behind his ear, “Do this for me please, you are worse than me, I have a little bitty scratch.”

  Something outside caught their attention, Tabitha was moving around outside looking everywhere at once. Ceara looked concerned to Beth, “How long has Alden been gone?” Just as she asked they saw Alden ride up on one of the horses pulling the reins of the second one.

  Beth smiled, “About that long.” Ceara smiled back, “Well, he can come in here and we can all talk, I don’t want Charlie moving until he has too.”

  Charlie was getting irritated, “I am grown, ladies. This isn’t a time to worry about a bump on the head.” Both women glared at him, “Glare all you want, and Ceara you can be mad but I am going out there and I am going now.” All three went outside so they could all talk to Alden to see what he wanted to do. Tabitha was already there, Colt joined them with Maximus right with him.

  Alden got off the horse as the group came up to him. He looked at Charlie, “How you doing son?”

  “I’m fine, just a little bump.” Alden glared at him, “Don’t you lie to me boy, now the truth.”

  “Alright alrig
ht,” Charlie started off, “It hurts like hell but I’m okay.”

  Alden looked into his eyes and saw they were clear though one was dilated, “You have a mild concussion so just relax.” He turned to the group, “Here’s the deal. That guy they sent they will expect him back and soon. If he’s late they’ll figure he….,” Alden looked at Ceara, “Well they’ll just figured he’d take advantage of what he had.”

  Alden saw the look on Ceara’s face pale, she knew what he meant. That along with the use of the horses can give us a bit of an edge.” Alden looked at all of them he was nervous about what he was going to ask them to do. Killing wanderers was one thing, this was different and he knew he had to choose his words wisely. “These people have attacked us twice. It’s apparent they want our supplies and judging by that guy they wanted you girls too. So now we have a kill or be killed situation.”

  Alden paused and watched as the expressions on their face changed. Charlie was looking down at his feet. Colt was looking to Beth and both Tabitha and Ceara looked at each other then back to Alden. Charlie spoke first, “I’ve never killed anyone before, but they were going to…. well they were going to hurt Ceara and I don’t think they care about what’s right or wrong they just care about hurting and killing for themselves. So you know what… FUCKEM! I say we do what we need to do to protect what’s ours.” He stood wavering a little and held onto Ceara. Ceara grabbed his arm to steady him.

  Tabitha watched and then looked at Beth and Colt who suddenly were holding each other’s hand. “He’s right,” she started off, “Our own little Rambo is right. I don’t want to be some sort of slave to those fucking assholes. I say we kill them before they kill us.” Alden reached down and grabbed the black bag. Taking the L.A.W. rocket launcher out, he set it aside. He pulled out an M-16 with a tube under it.

  Colt looked at him, “Okay I know what an M-16 is. What the hell is that under it?”

  Alden smiled, “That’s an M-79 grenade launcher. This one’s mine don’t worry you ain’t shooting it.” He pulled out two more M-16’s and a M4. “These are yours.”

  He handed one to Tabitha, Colt and Beth. Ceara looked at him, “What about us?” Alden looked at her. “You two will get yours in a minute.” He pulled out the magazines for the rifles and handed them to each one and showed them how to load it once more. “You’ve all been trained so you know what to do. If it misfires pull this handle back and clear it then physically look to make sure, then reload. Got it?”

  Tabitha smiled, “Yep, I got this.” Alden watched as Beth and Colt loaded their weapons then he turned and went to the truck. He returned carrying a large dark green duffel bag along with two large green cans that said ‘Ammo’ on the side. Opening up the duffel bag he pulled out a large machine gun, “This is an M-60 machine gun.”

  Setting it on the table he pulled the two legs out from the front slowly so Ceara and Charlie could see how it worked. He flipped a switch on the back and pulled the top up then opened the ammo can and took out a belt of bullets. “You set this in here, close the lid and pull this handle back. That loads it.”

  Alden picked it up and aimed towards the woods and pulled the trigger just once and it fired five shots. “There is no semi auto on this. If you hold the trigger you’ll go through a hundred rounds in less than twenty seconds. So use short bursts. Ceara will load, Charlie will fire. You two will not be going into their camp, your job will be placed to cover us. There are four horses so we need to double up, the fourth horse will be carrying the weapons. When we get close Tonto will let us know so stay quiet and stay tight. I’m not going to sugar coat this, this will be bloody but if you keep your heads, we will all come out alive.”

  Colt sat on the edge of the porch holding the gun, he didn’t know if he could willingly go look for people to kill, but he knew if they didn’t go there, then the group would come to them. Alden had said it, kill or be killed, but had it really gotten to this point? He knew the answer, and didn’t like it. “Well, I’ve been thinking… if they came here risking everything to get your truck I figure they are either running low or just want everything that they come across all for themselves. That may give a bit of advantage, not much of one, but a little.” He looked around to the others wondering if he just sounded completely stupid.

  Ceara was the next to speak, “I am ok with this, the assholes tried to kill you guys while we were in town and even shot Maximus. THEN they came back, I know Alden said they would but I kind of hoped they would leave us alone. They didn’t and next time we will be overrun… so we attack first!”

  Tabitha stood right there and wasted no time in her response. “I came into this situation having nothing to lose and now that I have you guys to lose….well that ain’t gonna fucking happen. I say kill the goddamn bastards and let God sort it out, cause I am sick and tired of standing around talking about this shit. It’s either them or me and it sure in the fuck ain’t gonna be me! Now let’s get this fucking thing started!” Beth looked at Tabitha then to everyone else. “I agree. Fuck’em!”

  Alden looked at them sternly, “Okay, it’s settled.” He placed the weapons back in the bags and then tied them to a horse. Taking the reins of the second horse in his hand he mounted and then turned and put his hand out to Tabitha, “You’re with me.” Tabitha took it and swung up behind him, her hands around his waist.

  “The other two are around back already saddled.” Alden kicked the horse into a walk as the others followed around the cabin. Colt and Beth got mounted up with Colt having the reins. Ceara jumped up and Charlie climbed on behind her. He looked to Alden, “What? My head hurts.” Charlie trusted Ceara’s handling of a horse a lot more than he did himself.

  The group rode off with Tonto in the lead. As they were riding Alden was watching their faces. Words were one thing but expressions told the truth. He knew his little group of soldiers were scared but he also knew they were willing to fight for each other and that gave them the ultimate edge. As their horse wound through the woods Tabitha suddenly leaned forward, “Psst, Hey Alden.” She said quietly. ”Yeah what is it?” Tabitha giggled, “We’re coming to get you, Barbara.”

  Alden turned his head and smiled, “Good one Tabby, Good one, now pay attention.” Tabitha felt Alden laughing as they rode off, with the others following…..

  Chapter 8 – We’re coming to get you

  Ceara gently guided the horse through the trees, Charlie had one arm wrapped around her waist and held a knife with the other. The smell of the trees were all around, she smelled oak, chestnut, juniper, hickory, and even a brush of holly here and there passed her nose. She leaned back to Charlie relaxing her head on his shoulder, “This would be so nice if we weren’t so worried about what was about to happen.”

  Charlie gently kissed her cheek, “Our time will come, but first we have to know that the area is somewhat clear.” Ceara smiled and sat back up guiding the horse to follow in behind Alden and Tabitha. Looking back she watched Colt and Beth, both were watching all around and neither seemed to want any part of this. Ceara understood Beth’s issues; she is a healer and Alden is asking her to take lives. Colt, she didn’t know what to think of. He should hate these people but he still acted all self-righteous.

  The adrenaline that was coursing through Tabitha’s body was so intense that the only thing that she thought about was killing all those son of a bitches and taking no prisoners. That asshole back at camp sure didn’t want to fucking play when he took Ceara and when Tabitha saw how Alden ended his pathetic life made her want a piece of the action.

  As they continued on Tabitha looked from right to left and noticed that the wind was blowing slightly and she could smell smoke way off in the distance. “Alden?” whispered Tabitha in his ear, “Smell that?”

  The only response that Alden did was gave a slight nod of his head in agreeing with her. That was enough for Tabitha to pull her gun out from behind her back. This was Alden’s party and she was just waiting for further instruction. She looked up over his should
er and tried to see if she could make out any images, movements or hear any other noises. Nothing, but she knew what she smelt and so did Alden.

  Alden had watched Tonto as they rode through the woods; he was their best bet of pulling this off. The fact that he was going up against superior odds with a handful of kids had him real worried. “What the fuck are you doing old man,” he thought to himself. He listened to Tabitha, he worried about her too. She was young and full of piss and vinegar, but she was too eager.

  As the group closed in Tonto stopped and circled three times. Alden halted the group by putting a closed fist in the air. “Tonto says we got company,” he said to Tabitha, “We need to dismount” Tabitha got down, then Alden. He walked back to the rest, “You all stay put, I’m sending Tonto ahead to see what’s what.”

  Colt followed the others, wondering if he would see tomorrow’s sunrise or if that he saw that one, then how many more would any of them see? He felt Beth’s arm tightened around his waist, he looked back over his shoulder, “What’s up?” Beth pointed to the front, “Alden stopped.” Colt pulled up the reins stopping the horse; he was starting to get the hang of riding the horse. He helped Beth down just as Alden and Tabitha walked ahead, “Do you think we are supposed to follow?” Beth shook her head and whispered, “Let’s just see what he does.”

  Alden looked to Tabitha, the hate in her eyes over rode her fear and that wasn’t good. “Tabitha, you come with me.” The two walked a little ways up and Alden snapped his fingers, Tonto took off quickly but low to the ground. “He’ll search and get close if they see him they may just figure he’s a stray and they’ll try to catch him. Try mind you.”

  Alden turned to Tabitha, “You need to put that hate away. Hate will cause you to make an irrational decision and that will get you killed, which will upset me. The worst part is you may get one of them killed,” pointing to the group, “and that will piss me off. I need you with a clear head and a clean heart.” Tonto barked twice in the distance.