by Steven Bird
“Oh... uh...” Jake said as he shuffled his drawing papers and pencils into his bag, embarrassed that he was caught off guard by his dad’s arrival. “Oh, hey, Dad. Sorry, I was just drawing. I let my mind wander off. It won’t happen again.”
Evan looked up into the tree from the ground and said, “Don’t worry about it, son. To be honest, I’m glad you have that as an escape. We all need to live in our own little world every now and then. So... what were you working on?”
“Just a character.”
“A character. What kind of character?”
“Just something from one of the games I used to play.”
“I didn’t mean to disturb you,” Evan said. “I just had to get out of the house and go for a walk. I finally talked your mom into letting me out of her sight for a few minutes, and had to take advantage of the beautiful day. So how are the sheep?”
“Good, I guess.”
“You guess?”
“I mean, they’re good.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to your work. Just try and remember to look up every so often. You’re lucky it was me who snuck up on you.”
“Yeah, I know. Sorry, Dad.”
“It’s okay, son. I just want you to be safe out here. And, by the way, thanks for picking up the slack while I was gone. Your mom said you were quite the man of the house. That makes me feel good to hear.”
Jake just smiled down at him in response.
“I love you, son,” Evan said as he continued his stroll.
“I love you, too, Dad,” Jake replied.
As Evan continued his walk around the property, he reflected on all of the things that had happened to them since the attacks. He looked around and felt truly blessed to be in their situation and to have their resources, while simultaneously feeling cursed from all of the bad that had happened to their friends and loved ones. The harsh reality of it all, though, was eating away at him. All it would take would be a UN convoy to roll up their driveway to make it all go away. They were no longer dealing with looters, criminals, and desperate people who wanted to take what they had; they were dealing with the might of a huge global force that had chosen to insert itself in their world. And to add insult to injury, it was at the invitation of their own government.
Returning his thoughts to reality, Evan knew that Daryl was right. They needed to put a contingency plan together, and they needed to do it soon. The only certainty seemed to be that things were going to get worse before they got better.
~~~~
Arriving back at the house, Lilly and Sammy greeted Evan at the door with their usual exuberance and excitement. “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy,” they said, running to his arms.
“Yes, my little angels, Daddy is still here.”
“How was your walk?” Molly asked as she put the eggs away that she had just brought in from the chicken coop.
“It felt good to be out. I’m still not myself, but I’m getting there. I found Jake standing watch in one of the tree stands... well, sort of.”
Looking at him with a confused expression, Molly asked, “Sort of? What do you mean ‘sort of’?”
“He was so preoccupied with his drawing that he didn’t even notice me walk right up to the tree he was in. I wasn’t sneaking around, either.”
“Did you get on to him about it?”
“No. I started to reiterate the importance of maintaining vigilance while on watch, but I thought I would talk to you about it first. I know it’s got to be hard for a kid his age going through all of this. The little ones don’t know any better, but teens, especially, were living in the electronic lap of luxury here in America, with every device known to man within their reach, along with a world that’s never gone without air conditioning and heat. They know what they are missing, whereas the little ones don’t.”
“Yes, he does seem to drift off here and there these days, like he is in his own little world. I was thinking of seeing if Mildred would want to get him and Haley together to hang out sometime. They need some interaction with others their age.”
Just as Evan started to mention the future possibility of getting Haley in contact with Sabrina and Rhonda Gibbs, Griff walked into the room and said, “Daryl and Charlie are here.”
“Great!” replied Evan, excited to see Charlie for the first time since their return.
Meeting the two men on the front porch, Evan walked right up to Charlie and gave him a hug. “I’m so glad to see you, Charlie.” He pulled back and looked him in the eye. “I’m also so sorry how things went when you got back here. I can’t imagine what you went through.”
“It is what it is, Evan,” Charlie replied. “There’s nothing hindsight will do to fix anything. We just need to learn from our mistakes as we move forward.”
Nodding in reply, Evan said, “So, gentlemen, what brings you out this way? Other than my wife’s fabulous cooking, that is.” He winked at Molly as she stood by the front door listening to the conversation.
Charlie and Daryl grinned at each other as Charlie said, “Yes, Evan, you busted us on that one. But the second reason we came by is that we’ve discussed the contingency plans that Daryl mentioned to you before, and we think we have, at a minimum, something to start with.”
“Okay, great. What do you have?”
Daryl spoke up. “Well, there are several potential safe places, as we see it, for the time being. Back behind Linda’s property, there is an old ATV trail that leads over the ridge and down into the bottom of a valley that’s pretty steep on both sides. If you keep following the natural flow of the terrain, you come up on what used to be an old hunting camp—used to be being the key term. The cabin is long gone, but the remnant of an outhouse remains as well as there being the year-round creek in the bottom. The natural layout of the terrain and the thick trees and vegetation give it almost an enclosed canopy feel, helping to hide from potential prying eyes above. Though not a long-term option, it could be a quick hide-and-wait camp with the basics of hygiene already in place. The next one would be the old mine, back behind the Muncie place... uh, I mean the Vandergriff place. Have you ever been there?”
“No, I can’t say that I have,” replied Evan.
“That’s the beauty; I doubt many people have. It’s a failed mine from the early 1900s. It never produced anything—I think they were looking for coal seams—but it never paid off, so they abandoned the place before roads and stuff were put in. It’s really low key. I played there as a kid and visited it just the other day with this in mind. The brush in the area is so overgrown you can’t even see the entrance. You sort of have to know it’s there. It’s big enough on the inside to house everyone, and deep down inside, there is a spring water pool. It’s ideal in my opinion—for those who can make it there, that is. And lastly, although not a physical shelter, I think we should hide caches of camping supplies and food at several strategic points away from the primary bug out locations in the event some or all cannot make it to the aforementioned locations, or if changing conditions dictate that we be frequently on the move.”
“Daryl, I’m sure glad you’re on our team,” Evan said with a smile. “I like it. I like it all.”
“Good, I’ve already spoken with most of the other homesteads and everyone is onboard with the idea. I’m gonna take a few folks on a tour to the sites I mentioned above so that everyone is familiar. I don’t want to draw maps or write anything down for obvious reasons. Griff here is gonna go with me to represent you folks.”
“What’s the plan for having the repeaters up and running?” Evan asked.
Jason replied, “Charlie and I are gonna go on a ‘hunting trip’ in the morning to set them up. Hopefully, we can get in touch with the Blue Ridge folks soon. The way things are going, we don’t want to stay in the dark for too much longer. The last thing we need is surprises.”
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Rats and the Cheese
As Ed stepped into the dark and musty room of the old, abandoned house, he glanced around to see several men looking
at him with uncertainty. He counted five total, including Henry, trying to gather as much information on his situation as he could in his typical analytical style. Each of the men were armed with various weapons, ranging from an A2-style AR-15, a bolt-action Ruger M77, an Israeli Galil, a lever-action Henry Big Boy, and of course, Henry with his shotgun.
“This is Ed,” Henry said breaking the silence. “He’s the fugative from Camp Twenty-one I was telling you about.”
“I thought you said there were two?” said one of the men, who appeared to Ed to be in his mid-fifties and seemed to be a fairly gruff and sturdy fellow.
“There are two; the other is still banged up. He’s back with Meredith right now.”
“You trust someone you just met to be alone with your wife?” another man asked, as if he was chastising Henry for the decision.
“Damn straight!” Henry responded firmly. “And that should be all you need to know to trust these guys like I do.”
A few of the men looked at each other as if they were looking for some sort of unspoken agreement to accept what Henry was saying. After a moment of silence, one of the men reached out his hand to Ed and said, “Any friend of Henry’s is a friend of mine. My name is Gary Sobolewski. Nice to meet you, Ed.”
“Nice to meet you, too, sir... and thanks,” Ed responded with a firm handshake and a smile.
Now that the ice had been broken, the other men each introduced themselves to Ed as the tension left the room. “So where are you headed?” asked Gary.
“My friend Nate and I need to make our way back to East Tennessee. We were on our way with some other friends of ours to Hot Springs, North Carolina, in an attempt to do some trade and barter at the swap meet we heard they had there. A UN helicopter and several Humvees with Russian soldiers apprehended us and split us up from the others. We aren’t sure what happened to the other two guys who were with us. They took us to Camp Twenty-one and tried to get any info they could out of us about the militia groups in the area.”
“Were they successful?” asked one of the men who had introduced himself as Paul Welch.
“No, sir. Not at all. Which is why they were less than friendly with us.”
“Regardless of whether you spilled the beans or not, they would have ultimately been unfriendly with you. They kiss your ass to get you to talk, then after you do and are expecting to win their favor, in the tin shack you go.”
“How do you know so much about Camp Twenty-one?” Ed asked.
“Because my treasonous brother-in-law became a ‘blue belly.’ I believe that’s how you guys referred to them. That son of a bitch never was much of a man in my eyes. It killed me when my sister married him. He just wasn’t a fit for the family. He likes to brag about the authority he wields there. I just let him run his mouth and make mental notes of it all.”
“Was he... was he there during the rescue? Not a lot of those guys made it out, from what I saw,” Ed said hesitantly.
“Nope, as usual I couldn’t be that lucky. He was off that day. They’ve got him on some kind of cleanup detail out there now. He hates it. He thinks that’s a job for his prisoners. Serves that turncoat right. Actually, he deserves a hell of a lot worse than that. They all do,” Paul said with contempt as he spat on the floor. “Just talking about him puts a bad taste in my mouth. If the militias don’t get him someday, I have a feeling I’m gonna end up killing him myself.”
“Back to business,” Henry said, interrupting Paul’s tirade. “This group of grumpy, socially maladjusted old men are sort of the neighborhood watch around here. We take care of things that need to be taken care of, and tonight is one of those nights. We thought you might be interested in a little payback.”
Ed smiled and said, “What did you gentlemen have in mind?”
“Ever since your bus incident, the UN has stepped up its patrols of the area. We assume they are looking for the few that got away. We would like to put a little dent in their operation. They’ve come through every day and every night, at varying times, and on varying routes, consistently patrolling the area, but especially on a nightly basis. If you’re willing to be the cheese, we can catch the rats.”
“Cheese, huh?” Ed said inquisitively.
“Yep, a big ol’ slice of American cheese,” Henry said, pulling Ed’s old orange jumpsuit out of the bag he carried over his shoulder.
At first, Ed was taken back by the suggestion and had mixed feelings about being used as bait. After a few moments of thought, he looked at Henry and said, “Sure thing. Anything for the man who's kept me and Nate alive, and anything to get back at those bastards.”
“Outstanding,” Henry said with a smile. “Now, go ahead and change into the jumpsuit. You can keep your shoes on though. I suppose it’s plausible that during this time you’ve managed to scavenge a pair of shoes. I’ll explain more once we get to the rat trap.”
Taking the jumpsuit from Henry, Ed looked at him and said, “Just don’t let the rat eat the cheese, if you can help it.”
“We’ll do what we can,” Henry said with a crooked smile.
~~~~
Reaching Henry’s pre-planned location for their ruse, he, Ed, and the others slipped into one of the abandoned houses just across the street from where they wanted to position Ed. As Henry led them through the house, clearing it as they went from room to room, he looked at Ed and said, “Just because it was empty last time we were here, doesn’t mean it is now.”
Ed nodded in agreement and looked around the room, taking it all in. The house had clearly been empty for quite some time and had been stripped bare of anything of use. Even the wiring looked as if it had been torn from the walls.
As they crept into the living room and Henry signaled that the room was clear, he knelt down by the window to avoid exposing himself to anyone outside. Although it was well into the night, the bright moon provided ample illumination that could be both a benefit and liability.
Motioning for Ed to kneel down beside him, he said, “They have a common entry point into the neighborhood before they start randomly patrolling the streets. They come in from that direction,” he said, pointing down the street to their right. “Once they enter the neighborhood, they tend to take random routes through the surrounding streets. With that in mind, and as long as they follow that general pattern, if you hide out between those two houses across the street there…” he said, pointing directly across the street.
“You mean in between the brick house and the one with wood siding?” Ed asked to clarify.
“Yep, exactly,” Henry confirmed. “You hide over there and when you see them coming, dart across the street as if you are busted, and run back toward us. Paul and I will be in here, and Gary and Joe will be in the blue house next door. Once you run between the houses, we’ll take them out as they attempt a pursuit.”
“Seems fairly straight forward,” Ed said.
“You don’t really have anywhere to keep that pistol in that orange jumpsuit, do you?” asked Henry, looking Ed over, reconsidering the sidearm for their ruse. “Those bastards will shoot you on sight if they see that you’re armed. We want them to chase you.”
Ed considered Henry’s concern for a moment and said, “Maybe in here,” as he unzipped his jumpsuit down to his waist. He placed the holster securely around his waist against his bare skin and zipped the suit back up to his neck. “There, it will be a pain to get to, but it will be there if I need it,” he said.
“That’ll do,” Henry replied. “Okay, Gary, you and Joe head on over to your stations, and Ed, scoot on across the street. Once in position, everyone lie low until the fun begins.”
“Roger that,” replied Gary. He patted Joe on the back, and the two men headed out the back door.
“Stay safe,” Henry said to Ed as he turned to leave as well.
“You, too, sir.”
“Stop calling me “sir,” damn it. I was enlisted. I worked for a living,” Henry said in a grumpy and commanding voice.
Ed just smiled in r
eply, seeing Henry’s days of hard-fought battles in the lines on his face and the crackle of his voice.
~~~~
Several hours passed and the men hadn’t seen anything other than a feral stray cat and a squirrel. Ed’s eyelids grew heavy from the late hours, as well as the boredom of sitting in an overgrown bush growing against the front of the abandoned house. The only thing that kept him awake was the occasional need to swat an ant or some other pest off of himself, as he had become a fixture in their small world.
Nearly dozing off, Ed was startled awake by the sound of an approaching diesel engine. His heart raced as he feared what would become of him if things didn’t go as planned. An escaped prisoner probably wouldn’t fare well with the Russian soldiers, who were probably looking for revenge.
He watched as the vehicle approached. At first, he couldn’t make out the type of vehicle due to its blinding headlights, but once it neared, he confirmed that it was indeed a UN-marked Humvee. As it reached what he felt was the right point in the road to get their attention, while giving himself adequate time to make it across the street without being caught, Ed took a deep breath and sprinted out of the bush as fast as he could for the gap between the houses.
Unfortunately for Ed, he did not hear the commands to stop that he expected. Instead, he was startled by impacts on the pavement directly in front of him, from the rapid-fire shots of the turret-mounted machine gun on the Humvee as the soldiers opened fire.
Crap! Ed thought as he reversed course, running back toward the house from which he came. As the gun trained on him with bullets impacting the ground behind him as he ran, Ed made it between the houses just before the rounds merged with his path, narrowly avoiding being killed. Hearing the Humvee slam on its brakes and soldiers dismount behind him, Ed ran as hard as he could, never looking back. Jumping over a four-foot-tall wooden fence in the backyard, he heard small arms fire behind him, along with the sounds of high-velocity 5.45x39mm rounds whizzing by his head.