“You shut up, William!” a woman sitting near him cried out. “Don’t you be telling him about that, and you ain’t going nowhere. We still got two young’uns to worry about.”
“I know we do,” Will replied angrily, “but we talked about why we were leaving, and boy did we get uppity about how much better we are than they are. We ain’t been away even a day, and we’ve proved just the opposite. There’s two decent people sitting here at this table with us and all we’ve done is insult them. I say, shame on us, and shame on you, Lula Adams. Saint’s bastards raped our Maggie to death, and in another year, you know he was going to add little Ginny there to his whores.”
He looked towards the where the children had stopped reading and were looking at him. “You kids keep on reading, and don't pay attention to grown up talk. Ain't nothing bad going to happen to you Ginny, we're away from that now.” He turned back to his wife. “If I can do something to help these folks and get back at Saint, I’m doing it. I should have already figured out a way to kill that bastard, and if it weren't for worrying about you three, I would have.”
“Lamar, you’re keeping quiet,” Jake said, speaking to the man sitting beside Will, in an attempt to defuse some of the anger in the room.
“Ain’t got nothing ta say. I do whatever Will says ta do. He’s my friend.”
“What do you want from us, Jake?” Billy asked.
“The container trucks he uses for the slaves, where do they keep the keys for them?”
Will answered for Billy, “Saint got tired of people losing keys. The keys are always in the ignition of every truck.”
“Good, that makes things easier. What I want you three to do is follow us into the camp. While Beth and I are working them over, I want you to hijack those two trucks and head back here to Colquitt. Saint’s men are going to be too busy staying alive to pay you any attention.”
“In and out, for us. I like that. What time we heading out?” Will asked.
“I figure around midnight. We’ll try to arrive around two in the morning. When we get to the roadblock, I’m going to use our big truck to smash through. We’re not going to be doing any shooting until we hit the camp. We may not kill all the guards at the roadblock, so keep your heads down.”
“He doesn’t keep guards at the road blocks,” Will said. “He figures the cars blocking it are enough.
“Jeez,” Jake replied with bewilderment, “his overconfidence is astounding.”
Will barked a laugh. “He ain’t run into crazies like you two. Hell, he ain’t fought a real battle in the three years I been with him. Saint used to have regular formations and drills, but he got tired of hearing the noise, ‘cause of his drunken, drugged hangovers. For the last two years, none of his men have done any training.
“If we’re leaving that late, it probably wouldn’t hurt us none ta get a little shuteye too.” He nodded towards the man who hadn't participated in the discussion. Rob over there don't talk because he ain't got a tongue, but he knows how to shoot. Maybe you could arm him with something better than that single shot rifle of his. Him and the women can stay awake and listen for trucks just in case Saint does decide to worry about a few deserters. It might be a good idea to hide that tank of yours behind a building while you’re sleeping.”
*
They left for Bainbridge a little past midnight. Before they did, Jake prepared the remaining LAWS rocket launchers to be ready to use and emptied the grenade rounds into a cloth satchel Missus Benson supplied. His last chore was to hang several of the ammo canisters for the machine gun to the wall of the turret using wire he found inside a burned-out hardware store.
Beth carried two cases of MREs over to the library. While she was there, Missus Bishop asked for a private word with her.
“Beth, I’m sorry about my attitude earlier. I was wrong. I guess I been around trash so long I’ve just about become like them. My son and the others gave me hell after you two left. I think you’re going to find, ain’t none of us perfect, but we’re not bad folks.”
“I know you’re not,” Beth replied, “I want to tell you I’m sorry for what I called you earlier.”
“No, you were right. I was wearing those shoes, and calling me trash just about fit the bill. Just promise you’ll get my boy back to me. He’s all I got in this world.”
The sky was clear, and the nearly full moon made the headlights of the vehicles almost redundant. There was no need to rush, and Jake kept the speed slow. As they rode, he explained the details of his plan to Beth.
“I didn’t have a true plan until we met that bunch, now I do. Beth, you said this morning we’re not killers. Deep in my soul I feel that’s true, but the fact of the matter is we’re going to be killing a lot of people tonight, and the way we’re going to do it is the stuff nightmares are made of.”
Beth interrupted the flow of his words. “According to everything you have told me, Saint and his men have been hurting people for years. Look at what they have done to me and Al, Agnes and Eva. We’ve got people back at the camp. Janie and Al are back there. The other people we care about, Connie and his people, their lives depending on us. We have to stop Saint from coming down the road tomorrow. Darling, whatever we have to do to protect them is okay with me. Just tell me what to do.”
“You saw the picture of how the tents are set in the parking lot. I’ll do the driving. What I plan is to enter the parking lot at high speed. Now that I know who is sleeping in which tents, I’ve altered the plan to do even more damage to Saint’s gang. This isn't going to be a simple destroy the equipment attack. I’m going to run over the tents that house his officers, and crush them while they’re sleeping. Then I’m going to do the same to the tents that house his regular army. It won't be pretty.”
“What about the women and children in there with them Jake,” Beth asked with distress.
“I’m not going to bother with the married soldiers tents. You’ll be in the turret. If any men come out of those tents, you’ll have to take them out. Do your best not to shoot into the family tents or the womens’ tents.”
“I’m glad you told me what we’re going to do,” Beth said. “You’re right. I needed to know you were going to run over them with the truck.”
“It’s a cowardly, lowdown way to go about it,” Jake replied, “but according to Missus Bishop, the ones I’ll be running over have embraced cannibalism to some extent. I wouldn’t do this if we weren’t so badly outnumbered. The scariest part is going to happen when I stop.
“Our goal is to take out as many of Saint’s vehicles as we can. I’m going to exit and use the LAWS until they’re expended, and then switch over to the grenade launcher. Your job is to cover me, kill anyone shooting at me, and any other target of opportunity. If you have no human targets, shoot at the tires of any vehicle you can. After that we’ll roll around behind the Walmart and take out his mobile refineries”
“They’re bound to hear us coming,” Beth said. “There will be some of them shooting at us when we get there.”
“You’ll have to take ‘em out. All I’ll be doing for the first minute is driving.”
“My stomach feels funny and my heart’s beating fast as hell,” she said. “I think I’m a little scared.”
“That’s called getting the butterflies, and I’ve got ‘um too.”
Jake saw a road sign that indicated Bainbridge was five miles ahead. He increased his speed to shorten the time of their arrival, hoping to give Saint’s men as little warning as possible.
The roadblock, just before the entry to the Walmart parking lot, was nothing but an unmanned set of two cars arranged end-to-end across the road. He slowed to almost a stop, pushed his way through the blocking cars and then floored the pedal, gaining speed as he entered the parking lot.
As Beth had surmised, some of Saint’s men were awake and alert, and they immediately began firing at the MaxxPro. Jake was only peripherally aware of the red ribbons of light from the tracer rounds pouring from the turret above h
im as Beth worked the machine gun.
He swerved in line with the first row of large tents, and in an instant was plowing through them. The canvas concealed the men he was running over, but the steady bumping he felt from the wheels told him he was crushing the bunks and whoever was on them.
As soon as he rolled over the last tent in the row, he swerved again and passed around the end of the family tents to gain access to the targeted tents behind them. Again, he felt the thumps of bunks crushed and bodies destroyed.
The entire time, mere seconds stretched by slow motion adrenaline intensity, Beth was pouring out steady bursts of fire with the machine gun. Jake barreled around the parking lot, running over the same tents again. He saw movement under the collapsed fabric of some of them, and did his best to run over those points. He finally chose a spot in an open area of the parking lot to stop. He exited through the side door, unceremoniously shoving the nine remaining LAWS out onto the pavement as he went.
A man was racing towards him, firing his rifle as he ran. Bullets spanged the metal near Jake, causing him to duck. The man fell as a line of tracers from the turret found him. Jake stood, using the truck as a shield. He shouldered a rocket tube, stepped from the shelter of their armored vehicle, and targeted a large canvas-backed troop carrier. When the rocket hit, the vehicle almost disappeared in a blazing white ball of fire. Jake discarded the spent tube, reached for another, and stepped out to acquire a new target. Again, bullets spanged near him, but he paid them no attention, leaving it to Beth to keep him alive as he launched the rest of the missiles.
The parking lot was now a mess of flaming vehicles. The air was full of the screams of the mortally wounded, and the shouts of men giving orders. As Jake discarded the last spent rocket tube, he dove back into the MaxxPro, and came out with a grenade launcher and the bag full of grenades.
Even though Beth was hard at work with the machine gun, he was still coming under fire. Methodically, he fired grenade after grenade at the vehicles. Finally, he could see no targets that were not either blazing or else twisted piles of metal.
As he was scrambling back into the vehicle, he heard a final bullet hit the metal of the doorframe. He did not feel the ricocheting round that entered his skull at an oblique angle through his right eye. The bullet blasted a huge cavity as it exited his left temple, carrying with it shards of skull along with a large portion of his forebrain. He made no sound as he fell forward onto the metal floor.
CHAPTER 21
The murmur of muted voices pulled Jake slowly to awareness. He lay with his eyes closed, savoring the luxuriant feel of the soft mattress and the silky smooth sheet covering him, the soft pillow... The cozy feeling evaporated as onrushing memories turned his pleasure into confusion.
“What the hell,” he said, opening his eyes and attempting to sit. He fell back with a groan, barely noticing a badly startled Eva jumping away from the side of the bed. He did notice when his bed was surrounded by Beth, Janie, Al, and Agnes all asking questions. “How do you feel, do you know my name? What’s the last thing you remember? Are you okay, are you in pain?” He heard Eva telling everyone to hush and get out of her way.
“How do you feel?” she asked.
“I feel fine except for being weak. Obviously I was wounded at Saint's camp, but where in the hell am I?”
“We’re in Moultrie at the Holiday Inn. Do you remember getting shot?”
“I was shot?”
“Yes, you were shot,” Eva replied. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
Jake thought for a second. “I guess that would be getting back into the MaxxPro, although I don’t remember actually getting into it.”
“What’s my name?”
“You’re Eva, and that’s Janie standing next to you and there’s Al and Beth and Agnes. Now tell me what's going on and why everyone’s crying.” Jake paused for a moment. “And why am I so tired and hungry?”
“Because you didn’t eat for four days and you were just about dead,” Janie said, her tears turning to laughter, “Now you’re not. You got your eye back, and you’re just like new, only better.”
“My Eye?”
“Jake,” Eva said, responding to his confused expression, “Agnes is going to set an MRE warming while we tell you a very strange story.”
*
Jake was beside the transport firing grenades from his launcher. He had already fired all his rockets and the parking lot was ablaze with burning vehicles.
Beth was concentrating her machine gun fire towards the entrance to the Walmart. Several men were using the low concrete wall supporting the shattered front glass as a shield. They would pop up, fire a few rounds in Jake’s direction, and then duck down before she had time to target them. That did not work every time and her vigilance was taking a toll on their numbers. The only trouble was they were not the only targets she had to worry about.
The longer the MaxxPro sat there, the more time individuals and small groups had to overcome their initial shock and confusion. She was taking fire from several directions, and slugs were hitting the bulletproof glass and armor surrounding her, leaving pockmarks in the tough material. Several rounds had actually entered the turret through the firing aperture of the machine gun. One of them clipped a tuft of hair from the top of her head.
Her feet were in constant motion as she swung to keep those targets at bay, but only for a moment. She had to keep diverting back to the entrance. The men in the Walmart had a direct line of fire to where Jake stood; only partially shielded by the MaxxPro.
Time seemed to stand still. Because of her constant movement, it was as if she were experiencing the battle in segments. Swivel here, fire at a man running towards her from the tents. Swivel again, fire at a group of men using the small patch of trees at the corner of the parking lot for cover.
Spin back to the Walmart and try to pick off heads as they rose to fire at Jake. Twist this way and see two of the guys disembarking from the bus that followed them. They raced towards the slave trucks. Fire at two of Saint’s men running towards them. Back to the Walmart and manage to hit another head as it popped up. Change empty ammo canister for new one.
Back to the bus in time to see one of the men attempting to rescue the slaves get shot as he climbed into the cab of the truck. Kill the man who shot him. More targets coming from the tents, sweep a steady stream of fire until they are down.
The parking lot is in flames, a fitful wind whipped the acrid clouds of smoke in ever changing directions. She could feel the heat radiating from the burning trucks and jeeps. Blast the Walmart again. See the bus and slave trucks leaving the parking lot, one behind the other.
Target the Walmart. She realizes Jake is no longer firing grenades.
Risk a moment to peer into the passenger section. Jake is lying half in the vehicle, a pool of blood surrounding his head. Clamber down and pull him in, dive for the driver’s seat, not bothering to close the side door.
Drop the still running vehicle into gear and floorboard the pedal. Turn in a wide circle to follow the other vehicles. Two men were not able to dodge out of her way quickly enough. They were ground to tangled bone and meat as the big tires of the heavy vehicle ran over them.
Race towards Colquitt, blasting the horn to urge the trucks in front of her to go faster. Afraid to stop for fear some of Saint’s men will find a functional vehicle and come after them. Afraid to stop because, deep in her heart, she felt Jake was dead. As long as she did not stop, she could pretend she had not seen the big deep hole in the side of his head. Just watch the road and drive.
Pull in behind the other vehicles parked in a line near the library. Rush to Jake’s side, screaming for help. Oh God, the bleeding has stopped. He is breathing. He is still alive. Scream again for help. Will came rushing up, followed by a group of people.
“Get in the seat and drive Will, don’t stop for nothing!” she commanded. "The rest of you follow as soon as you can. Campground on the other side of Moultrie. Get behind the whee
l and drive, damn you.”
*
“You were still alive when they barreled into the campground,” Eva told him. “I don’t know how. The damage that bullet did, along with the amount of blood you’d lost, you should have been dead.”
“How long ago was this?” Jake asked, reaching instinctively to touch the side of his head.
“Leave your head alone, there’s nothing for you the feel. Just listen to the rest of this bizarre tale,” Eva said. “To twist an old phrase, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet.
“Beth was frantic, but I didn’t know what to do,” she continued. “The first aid kit in your pack couldn’t approach dealing with the extent of damage you presented. Connie suggested we move here to Moultrie where we would have access to surgical supplies from the hospital. I agreed, fully expecting you to die before we got here.
The truth is, even with a fully functional trauma facility there was not anything I could do, short of keeping you alive with machines. I estimated a full tenth of your brain exited the opening the bullet made in your skull and no telling how much more was destroyed by the concussion. At most, even if we could keep you alive, you’d be in a vegetative state.”
Again, his hand moved to feel his temple.
“You’re touching the right spot, but I told you, there’s nothing to feel. It was pitch black inside the hospital, but we did manage to gather much of what I thought I would need. Will told us the backup generators there were too complicated for him to understand. Connie remembered that the inn here had emergency generators. Will and some others managed to get them running. ”
Agnes came to the bedside carrying an MRE and a glass of water on a bed tray. Eva and Beth helped him struggle to a sitting position. Beth pulled a chair close to his side and sat quietly staring at him.
Jake gulped water and handed the empty glass to Agnes as she reached for it. “Keep talking while I eat,” Jake said around a mouth full of beef stew. “If you’ve got any more of, you may as well set one warming,” he added. “How long ago did this happen?” he asked again.
HARD ROAD: Heaven Bound Page 27