by Eric Vall
“Yeah, me too, but that wasn’t part of the deal,” I said. My body was sore from the endless hours of lovemaking, and I couldn’t help but let out a small groan as I bent over to grab my pants. “We gotta meet up with Anna and Rolly at the farm, remember?”
“Yeah, alright, toss me my clothes then,” Tara said as she sat up.
“How’re you feeling this morning?” I asked as I threw her stuff at her.
“I’m pretty damn sore,” she said. “I think I’m gonna feel yesterday for a while.”
“I’m sore too,” I said with a grin. “I haven't worn myself out like that in quite a while.”
“We’ll have to do it again sometime,” Tara said with a wink.
“Hell yeah we will,” I agreed.
Once we were dressed, we shared a quick meal of dried meat and stale crackers before we packed up our stuff.
Tara made a quick trip to the cellar and filled her backpack with top shelf liquor and fancy wine. I had just finished preparing the camouflage four wheeler when she came back up.
“Ready to go?” I asked.
“I think so,” she said with a nod.
“Alright, load up,” I ordered as I hopped onto our ride.
Tara nodded, rushed over, and got on behind me. She wrapped her arms around me and pressed her face into my back. “Let’s get outta here before I freeze to death.”
I laughed and tore off down the mountain.
It wasn’t long before the clear skies of morning were consumed by a light blanket of grey clouds, and just about the time we left the chill of the mountain behind us it started to rain. At first it was nothing but a light drizzle, but it quickly grew into a steady shower.
“Man, why did it have to rain today,” Tara whined.
“I guess I should have checked the weather before we planned this trip,” I shouted back to her.
“Very funny,” she replied.
“It's alright, a little rain won’t hurt you,” I said.
“But I’m so sweet; what if I melt?”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that,” I said.
“Rude!” Tara exclaimed.
I laughed as she smacked me on the back. Though as our trip continued, the constant rain started to wear on the both of us. It wasn’t long before our clothes were soaked despite the cover of the trees around us, and that combined with the wind of the ride caused us both to shiver.
“I’m glad I didn’t put on any makeup this morning,” Tara shouted. “It would be all over my face by now.”
“Yeah, same,” I said in an attempt to keep things light.
Tara pressed herself closer to me and tightened her grip on my waist.
Our path grew muddy as the rain continued, but thankfully our ride was built to handle rough terrain.
“How much farther do we have to go?” Tara yelled at me.
“Maybe twenty minutes now,” I replied.
“I really should have brought one of those coats from the cabin with me,” Tara grumbled.
“If I had known it was going to rain, I would have suggested that,” I said. “Don’t worry, I’m sure that Betty can light a fire or something to help you warm up.”
We continued to wind our way through the trees until we emerged from the forest behind Betty’s property. We cut across an empty field and headed for the small little house in the distance, but it quickly became clear to me that something was not right. The pasture where I had seen the cows on my first visit was empty, and part of the fence looked like it had been cut open. There were also large tire tracks dug into the sort and muddy ground that led away from the area.
“Where are all the animals and why is the fence cut? Was it like this when you were last here?” Tara asked.
“It wasn’t like this last time,” I said. “Feels like somethings wrong.”
“I hope the others are okay,” Tara replied.
We pulled around the front of the house, and the scene that awaited us confirmed out feelings of unease.
Betty and Rolly were on the porch a couple yards away. Betty sobbed into the old handyman while he held her tightly against him.
Dan sat on a stool in front of the house with an ice pack held on his purple face. He was bloody, bruised, and swollen.
Anna stood next to the beaten man with her rifle at the ready. She brought it up as she noticed us come around the corner but visibly relaxed at the sight of me and Tara. She lowered her rifle and let out a relieved sigh as we approached her “Thank god you guys are here.”
“What happened?” I asked. “Are you guys okay?”
“Rolly and I are fine,” Anna said. “Seems we managed to miss Betty’s first visitors today.”
“Who were they?” Tara asked.
“National Guard,” Anna said. “At least that’s what Dan told me. Betty has been too upset to really say much. They came in early this morning and made off with their livestock, a lot of their food, and Jenny. Everyone is pretty shaken up, but Rolly and I didn’t know what to do, so we just waited for you two.”
Dan forced himself upright. “I never thought I’d be this glad to see you.” His lips were swollen so his words were a little hard to understand.
“Anna said you had some visitors,” I growled as I tried to keep my emotions in check.
“Yeah,” Dan coughed. “The National Guard rolled up here with some big trucks, and spouted off some bullshit about how the President declared martial law, and they were authorized to requisition supplies from the surrounding area or some shit.”
“Can they do that?” Anna asked me.
“Yeah, but when stuff like that happens people don’t usually get kidnapped and beaten too,” I said.
“The lead guy said that they were ordered to kill any anarchists who opposed the new form of law and order,” Dan continued. “Apparently that just means anyone who doesn’t want to do what they say. They beat the shit out of me when I told them to fuck off.”
“It was very brave of you to stand up to them,” I said.
“Feels kinda foolish right now,” Dan muttered as he tapped on his bruised eye socket. “I would do it again, though.”
“This still doesn’t explain why they took Jenny,” Tara said.
“They took her because she’s a young woman,” I said. “These guys aren’t following any presidential order, they are just using their power to take what they want, women included.”
“Oh god, what if they head for the campus,” Anna said. “Paige and Bailey are there alone.”
“They can take care of themselves,” I said. “Plus, there would be little reason to head for a school if they are looking for supplies.”
“We have to help,” Rolly said. He then stood up and looked at us with an angry sneer across his face. His hands were balled into fists and they trembled slightly.
“I wasn’t exactly prepared for this, but we’ll do what we can,” I said.
“How are we going to take on real soldiers?” Tara asked.
“Very carefully,” I said. “Don’t worry, we’ll handle this just like we did the bikers.” I hoped that I sounded more confident than I felt. This was a completely different type of battle, and we were already behind. I knew what sort of stuff these guys would do to Jenny, and the longer we took to get her back the more time they had to use her. Whatever we did, we had to do it fast.
I turned my attention to Betty who still sat sobbing a couple feet away. I knelt down in front of her and put a hand on her knee to let her know I was there. “Hey.”
“Tav, thank god you’re here,” Betty sniffled. She wrapped me in a warm hug as tears continued to streak down her wrinkled face.
“We are going to get Jenny back,” I said. “And all the other farm animals and crops they stole from you.”
“You’d do that for us?” Betty asked as she wiped her eyes and looked up at me.
“Of course,” I said with a nod. “Decent folk have got to stick together.”
“Thank you,” the grey hai
red woman said with a smile.
“Do you have any idea where these guys might go next?” I asked.
“There are some farms nearby,” Betty said. “If they are looking for food, I would guess they are going to head for those.”
“Think you can point me in the right direction?” I asked.
“I can do you one better,” she said. “I can draw you a map.”
“Perfect,” I said. “The faster you can get that done the better.”
“I understand,” she said with a nod. “Thank you again.”
Then she let go of me and rushed into her house, and I turned back to face the others
“So what’s the plan?” Tara asked. “Are you just going to ride up to these farms and hope you catch the National Guard?”
“I don’t care what you do as long as you bring Jenny back here,” Dan said.
“That’s the plan,” I said with a nod. “Rolly, I want you and one of the girls to stay here and make sure this place is prepared in case the National Guard swing back this way. I will load up, take the other girl, and go after the trucks. Betty is making us a map so we can hopefully catch up with them.”
“Wait, you’re only taking one of us with you?” Anna asked as she raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t we all go?”
“Yeah, I might look bad, but I can still fight,” Dan said.
“No, we have to move fast, and we have to move quietly. If I bring more than one person with me, we have to use the truck and that will slow us down and make us much easier to hear coming. Also, I’m worried they might circle back here and decide they should just burn the place down. Having another gun at the farm will help with defense.”
“I have a little motorcycle,” Dan said. “I could keep up with you guys.”
“No offense, but you’re not one of my team,” I said. “If you came along, we’d have communication issues that would only slow us down as we learned how to work together. Plus, your grandma needs you here. Keep her safe while we get this done.”
“Alright,” Dan said as he hung his head.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get your sister back,” I said as I put a hand on his shoulder.
“I want to be the one to come with you,” Tara said.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yeah, I want to do this,” the platinum blonde said.
“You’re still cold and wet,” I said. “If you stay here, you can help them prepare and warm up for a while.”
“That’s not important,” Tara said as she shook her head. “Not right now. Just let me do this.”
“Well I’m not going to stop you,” Anna said.
“Alright, then Tara, you’re with me. Anna, make sure this place is prepared for an attack.”
“Got it,” the redhead acknowledged. “Do you think you’ll have enough ammo?”
“I honestly don’t know, but we don’t have time to go grab more,” I said.
Anna pulled out a couple spare AR-15 magazines and handed them to me. “Here, I have a feeling you are going to need these more.”
“Thanks,” I said with a nod.
“I’ll make sure the ATV is full of gas,” Rolly said.
“If you need more we have some,” Dan offered.
“Thank you,” I said, and then Dan nodded and headed off with Rolly.
“You really think you can get Jenny back?” Anna asked once the others were out of earshot.
“As long as Betty gets that map done soon, I do,” I said. “We are going to have to head out as soon as possible.” I looked up at the sky and frowned. It was hard to tell what time of day it was without the sun. “I’m going to go check on that map. When I come back, I want you to be ready to go.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Tara said.
I nodded, ran into the house, and found Betty sitting at the kitchen table making marks on a map.
“How’s it going?” I asked as I took a seat beside her.
“Almost done,” she said without looking up. “I don’t know if anyone still lives here, but they’re all good people, so be gentle with them.”
“I’ll do my best,” I said.
“If anyone gives you any trouble mention that you know me and they might be a little more willing to cooperate,” she added. “If the National Guard gets to them before you do they might be a little wary of strangers.”
“I wouldn’t blame them for that,” I said as I drummed my fingers along the top of the table. “Rolly and Anna are going to stay here and make sure you guys stay safe.
“I appreciate it,” Betty said. “I was glad to see them pull up this morning, and the guns they brought along are going to go a long way towards making us feel prepared for stuff like this in the future.” She looked up and handed me the map.
“That’s good,” I said as I looked at the map. Then I nodded and stuffed it into my vest. “Alright, Tara and I have to get a move on if we want to catch up to these guys. We’ll be back as soon as this is done.”
“Thank you again,” Betty said as I hurried for the front door.
The group was gathered around the ATV as I stepped out of the house.
“We ready to go?” Tara asked as I rushed towards her.
“Yeah, we have a direction to head in,” I said as I pushed past the others and hopped on the four wheeler. I looked first at Anna and then at Rolly. “You make sure this place stays safe. Once Tara and I track down these National Guard assholes, we’ll take care of them, grab Jenny and the cargo, and come this way. I don’t want to come back to more bad news.”
“Don’t worry, no one is going to fuck with this place again,” Rolly assured me.
“Yeah, we’ll be ready for anything that comes our way,” Anna said with a smile. Though a moment later her smile faded, and she sighed. “Are you really sure you don’t want me to come along? I mean, we don’t know how many guys are out there, and the more guns you can bring along the better.”
“You’re just going to have to trust me on this one,” I said.
“Alright,” She said with a nod. Then she stepped away from the four wheeler. “Be safe out there you two.”
“We will,” Tara said. Then the platinum blonde hopped on behind me. All of her extra gear had been stripped away so that all she had was her pistol, rifle, and a hunting knife that she had found while in Lanceton before the biker attacks.
“Hold on,” I said to her. Then I gunned the engine and took off through the rain towards the first farmstead marked on my map. I couldn’t help but smile a little as, behind me, I heard Anna take command and start shouting orders to those who remained.
“Where, exactly, are we going?” Tara yelled in my ear after we had gotten a ways away from Betty’s farm.
“There’s another farmstead a few miles this way,” I replied. “If we get lucky, maybe we can catch up with the National Guard there.”
“What if we do?” Tara asked. “What then?”
“Then we evaluate the situation, come up with a plan, and kill the poor bastards dumb enough to cause trouble in our neighborhood,” I said.
“Hell yeah,” Tara cheered. “I can’t wait to get my hands on these lowlife cocksuckers.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the woman riding behind me and raised an eyebrow. In all the weeks I had been around Tara I had never seen her like this. She had an angry scowl on her face, and she stared ahead with a single minded intensity. Not even the biker gang that threatened our home had brought forth such anger and hatred.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she spat.
I nodded and turned my attention back to the path in front of me. She was clearly worked up about something, but I had to trust that it would not impede her ability to fight.
It took us a few minutes to get close to the first location. When we were about three hundred yards away I cut the engine, parked the ATV behind a clump of trees, and the two of us continued on foot.
Unlike Betty’s farm this place was not surrounded by tre
es, so we had to stay low and use the tall grass for cover as we made our approach. However, the tall grass soon gave way to open pastures and tilled fields.
I stopped at the edge of the grass and took a moment to assess the situation. A two-story farmhouse sat a hundred yards away. It had a busted in front door, and most of the windows seemed to be shattered. Beside it sat a small shed that was wreathed in bright flame.
“Shit,” I said as I leapt up. Under normal circumstances I would have waited for a few minutes to make sure the area was clear, but every second counted right now.
“Wait!” Tara shouted as she ran up behind me. “I don’t see any trucks, how do we know this was the National Guard?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” I said as I continued to run.
I stopped in front of the house and quickly surveyed the scene. There were fresh muddy ruts dug into the gravel road that led to and from the property, and several empty bullet casings littered the area. I crouched down, picked one up, and inspected it.
“What’d you find?” Tara said.
“The national guard were here,” I said as I flicked the casing over to her. “This is military issue ammo.”
“Well, what do we do now?” she asked as she looked at the brass tube.
“Let’s get inside and see if there are any survivors,” I said as I ran towards the broken front door. “I doubt the soldiers would trash this place so badly if they hadn’t found someone inside who resisted.”
“Oh shit,” Tara muttered.
“Keep your weapon ready though,” I said. “You never know what we might find.”
Chapter 7
I stopped only long enough to make sure that no one was waiting for me on the other side of the broken door. Then I rushed in with my gun up and ready. Tara was only a couple steps behind me, and she covered my weak side as we checked the first room.
The main door led into a large living room with grey carpet and cream-colored walls. There was a staircase at the back of the room that led upstairs and there was an opening in the back wall that led into what looked like a dining room.
The interior was more of a mess than the exterior. There was an overturned book case, a broken lamp, and a large chunk of the front wall was torn up and exposed. A flatscreen TV sat on the floor in front of the damage leading me to believe that someone had ripped it away from its home.