by Steven Bird
As they drove away and lost sight of their family members, everyone was silent at first. The unknowns of what would happen to them, as well as their families back home were ever present on their minds. After several miles, Jimmy broke the conversational ice in the trailer by asking Nate, “So… how are things going with you and Peggy? Rumor around here is that we may be having a wedding sometime soon.”
Nate just blushed, looked out the window, and said, “If I can be so blessed. Things are going great. Things have been so busy lately around the farm getting everything ready for spring calves and planting, we haven’t been able to spend as much time together as we would like. Once everything settles down a little though, I plan on making her and Zack my number one priority.”
“She sure seems like a keeper to me,” said Charlie with a smile.
Just then, the tractor slowed abruptly and over Nate’s handheld radio, the men heard Jason’s voice say, “Movement… left side… at least two went into the woods.”
“Armed?” Nate asked in reply.
“Unsure,” responded Jason.
Nate signaled to Charlie and Jimmie to cover the rear and the opposite side, while he and Ed watched for Jason’s contacts and responded, “On it.”
After a few hundred more yards, the tractor sped back up and things seemed to return to normal. “Negative contact,” added Jason noting that they had passed the potential threat.
Once the tensions eased and the men in the trailer returned to their conversation, Nate said, “And speaking of me and Peggy, one of the things I’m hoping to come across out here is a ring. I want to propose, and I want to do it right—the traditional way, but it’s not like you can just run down to the local jewelry store these days. So if you guys could help me keep an eye out… I mean, I have no idea what we are going to encounter out here, but if we were to find a swap meet or something like that, I would be grateful if you let me know if you see something along those lines.”
“Anything for love man, anything for love,” Jimmy replied with a teasing chuckle.
As the men rolled into Del Rio on Route 107, they came across a roadblock, positioned in plain view, and guarded by several armed men. Evan stopped the tractor, giving Jason a chance to check the situation out from a distance with his magnified riflescope.
“What do we have?” asked Evan.
“It doesn’t look like a trap. They aren’t hiding a thing. It looks like possibly some town’s people controlling entrance to the town. One has a shotgun, another has a hunting rifle, and the third has some sort of black rifle, probably a CETME or a FAL. They are checking us out with binoculars too.”
“Can we get through? If they will let us, that is,” asked Evan.
“Probably. They just need to drag that flatbed trailer out of the way that they are using to block the road,” Jason replied.
Evan looked at Jason as he lowered his rifle and asked, “What do you think?”
“I don’t blame them for guarding the place. They’re probably okay guys, just doing what we would do.”
“Well, let’s mosey on up there to them and check it out then, but let’s drop off our backup first—just in case. We can’t get ourselves into a bind this early on.” Evan said as he nodded towards the trailer.
“Roger Roger,” responded Jason as he got on his handheld radio and updated the guys in the back on the plan.
Evan eased out the clutch and got the tractor rolling again. As Evan drove the big John Deere tractor and trailer combination towards the roadblock, Jason laid his rifle across his lap with the barrel pointed off to the side in a non-threatening manner. Evan had his VZ58 rifle with the stock folded slung over his shoulder, with both hands across the steering wheel in plain sight.
As they reached the roadblock, the men on guard tightened their grips on their guns while one of them motioned for Evan to come to a complete stop. “Hello, there,” shouted Evan over the noise of the tractor’s diesel engine.
The man then gave him the signal of a slice across his throat, indicating to Evan to shut off or ‘kill’ the tractor’s engine. Evan complied and then the man shouted, “State your business.”
“Hello, there,” Evan again said. “We are just here to see Pastor Wallace. You guys probably know Charlie Blanchard in the back, as well. He ran the little hardware store here before the attacks.”
As the men guarding the road looked back at the livestock trailer, Charlie opened the side door and said. “I think we’ve met before.”
The man holding the FAL said, “Yes, sir, I’ve been in your store a time or two.”
Evan then got their attention and said, “We are going on a supply run from our homesteads, and we sort of owe Pastor Wallace a favor. We just wanted to stop in and see if he needed us to keep an eye out for something while we’re out.”
“Are you guys from the homesteads in the hills just south of town?” the man asked.
“Yes, sir, we are. I’m Evan Baird and this is Jason Jones.”
“Are you guys associated with The Guardians, per chance?” he then asked.
Evan just looked at Jason and said, “We’ve heard of them.”
The man stood there for a moment and then turned to the others and signaled for them to unblock the road to allow them to proceed. He said, “Sorry, fellas, we don’t mean to seem unfriendly, but you can’t be too careful these days. A lot more people have been passing through lately, and some of them ain’t no good.”
“We know exactly how you feel,” Evan replied as he nodded to Jason. Jason got on the handheld radio and called Jimmy and Nate out of the tree line, rifles in hand. The men guarding the road looked surprised as Evan said, “See? We know exactly how you feel. We had to check you out first, as well.”
The man shook his head as if he couldn’t believe they could have been taken so easily. “Send the pastor our regards.”
“Will do, sir,” Evan said, with a tip of his hat. Charlie, Jimmy, and Nate climbed back into the trailer and they were, once again, underway.
As they proceeded up Route 107 through town, Jason kept a watchful eye, even though they felt at ease in the small, unincorporated town of Del Rio, knowing the remaining locals had pulled together to secure their community just as they had. Although Del Rio was in a fairly isolated part of the country, waves of migrants had passed through, trying to find safe haven and opportunity. Through both charity and theft, they had depleted most of the resources of the town, leaving the remaining residents with a very low tolerance for outsiders.
On their way to the church, Charlie Blanchard called Jason on the radio from the trailer and asked him to have Evan stop by his old hardware store to see if anything was left. During the initial phases of the collapse, he had the presence of mind to pack up a lot of his remaining inventory and take it with him to his home, which he had been using for barter with the other homesteads over the past year. He wasn’t able to move all of his stock, however, so he hoped at least something of use would be left.
As they pulled up to what was left of his store, Charlie was horrified to see that not even the door remained on its hinges. The windows had all been busted out and the building appeared to be completely gutted. Evan brought them to a stop in front of the store. As he and Jason climbed down from the tractor, Charlie, Jimmy, Ed, and Nate got out of the trailer to survey the damage.
“Damn!” Charlie said in disgust. “Hell . . . I guess this is what I expected. With me being holed up on my property, away from here all this time, I guess the people just took what they needed.”
“The migrants probably had their pick of the place as well,” added Jason. “You know how the mob mentality works. As soon as the first brick goes through the window, everything inside is fair game.”
The men entered the building to find that even his cash register had been stolen. “Now what the hell could anyone need that for right now?” shouted Charlie. He walked to the back storeroom to find signs that someone had been staying in the building relatively recently.
There was human waste in one of the corners of the room, with flies buzzing all around. He then walked back out to the front of the store and said, “That’s enough. Let’s go,” as he stormed out the front door and back to the street.
Without saying a word, the men got back aboard and continued towards the church, as planned. Once they got underway, Jimmy looked at Charlie and said, “I’m sorry about your store.”
“Oh, we didn’t lose much. It’s more of the principle of the thing,” Charlie replied. “The wife and I were nearing retirement anyway, so we had been letting our inventory get down to bare bones levels in preparation to shut her down. We knew there wasn’t a future in the small Mom and Pop hardware store business with the big chain stores moving into Newport. It was only a matter of time before we went under, anyway.”
“And now they’re gone too,” said Nate with a chuckle.
“Yep, so I guess none of it mattered, anyway,” replied Charlie.
As they pulled up to the church, two men stepped out of the front door, armed with shotguns, which caught Evan and Jason off guard. Following closely behind them, was Pastor Wallace.
“The church has stepped up their game a bit since the last time we’ve been here,” said Jason.
Evan nodded in agreement and said, “Yep, that’s not a good sign.”
“Well, hello, gentlemen,” Pastor Wallace said with a smile as Jason and Evan climbed down from the tractor. “To what do I owe this honor?” He then saw Nate step out of the trailer and said, “Mr. Hoskins, you sure look better than when I saw you last. It looks like these gentlemen have been treating you well.”
“Better than I deserve, sir,” Nate replied. “I’m staying and working on the Thomas farm, currently, with my brother, Luke, and his fiancé, Rachel, who you also met.”
“Oh yes, that was a shame what happened to Oliver,” Pastor Wallace replied in a somber tone. “It sure is nice of you to stay on and help his widow like that, though.”
“I’m just blessed that she’ll have me, sir,” Nate replied.
“So what’s with the tractor and trailer?” Pastor Wallace asked.
Evan replied, “We’re running a little low on supplies and thought we’d go out on a run to do some scavenging and bartering. We thought we would come by here and see if you needed anything—since we sort of owe you one.”
“Oh, you don’t owe me a thing,” he replied. “Getting Mr. Hoskins here reunited with his family was all a part of God’s plan, and I was just honored to be a part of it. But since you are offering, we are running a little low on food, and we could use some clothing and blankets. As you know, we’ve been opening our doors to give shelter to women and children who don’t have anyone to help protect and provide for them. It’s an ugly world out there right now, and it’s an especially ugly place if you’re a woman or child with no place to go. The sheer numbers of people we have reached out to help has depleted our resources to the point of desperation. The good people of Del Rio have given until it hurts, and many of those who remain have taken some of our refugees in, but there isn’t much more to give. We’ve had a few people stay with us while passing through, only to move on and return again later because of the state of things. Things are tough all over, and just aren’t getting better,” the pastor said with a concerned voice. “Hence the shotguns,” he added.
Charlie Blanchard replied, “We were wondering about that. What happened?”
Pastor Wallace paused for a moment and then said, “We had a group of migrant men find out we were sheltering women here. They snuck into the church in the middle of the night and abducted two young girls. The girls weren’t found until a few days later. They had both been raped repeatedly and severely beaten. One of the girls—God rest her soul—died of her injuries before we found them. The other survived and has recovered, but is now pregnant and carrying the child of one of the rapists. We vowed to never let that happen again. Some of the members of the congregation were upset initially about my decision to protect our guests with firearms, saying that we must trust in God. I explained to them, it’s like the joke about the man of faith during a flood.”
“What joke is that?” Jason asked.
“It goes like this,” said the Pastor as he began to tell the story. “Heavy rains were coming down and there was a flood warning. The authorities sent a truck out to the man’s house to tell him a flood was coming and that he needed to evacuate. He refused and said that God would save him. The flood then came, and the man was on his roof trying to stay out of the rapidly rising waters when a boat came to rescue him. He told them no, that God would save him. He prayed and prayed, but the waters continued to rise and the man was now standing on his chimney, with water up to his neck, when a helicopter came to rescue him. He refused help from the helicopter and said that he had faith that God would save him. Soon after, he drowned, and being a good Christian, he went to Heaven. At his first opportunity, he asked God why he did not help him. He explained to God that he had tremendous faith that he would be saved by God, but was left to drown. God looked at the man and said, ‘I sent a truck, a boat, and a helicopter, what more did you want?’”
The men couldn’t help but chuckle at Pastor Wallace’s joke. Pastor Wallace said, “You see, sometimes you have to take the blinders off and realize that God has already provided you with what you need. And these good men here, who are willing to help us protect the church, may be just what he intended us to have. If I’m wrong, then I’ll have some explaining to do when I meet him, but until then, I vow to never let a young woman under my care to go through such a thing again.”
Chapter 11: Keeping Watch
Back at the Homefront, Daryl and Griff had just finished going over their plans for how they planned on handling their patrols while the others where away, when Griff’s wife, Judy, came around the corner and said, “Oh, there you are. Dinner is ready. Are you staying for dinner, Daryl?”
“No, ma’am. I need to be heading back before dark, although that is a tempting offer,” he replied, wishing he were able to accept.
With a look of disappointment on her face, she said, “That’s too bad. Well, I’ll run and make you a to-go basket. You’re not leaving empty-handed,” she said in an insistent tone.
“Yes, ma’am. I’d love that,” he replied with a smile.
Judy hurried back to the kitchen and started getting a meal together for him to take home, while he and Griff continued wrapping up their conversation. “So we’re gonna get started tomorrow, right?” Griff verified with Daryl.
“Yep, how about we meet at the Thomas farm at nine in the morning, then we will hit Charlie’s and Jimmy’s places and check in on their families together as we do our loop?” suggested Daryl. “You can just ride your bike over there, and we’ll get Mildred to lend you a horse for the next day or so until the guys get back.”
Griff nodded in agreement and said, “That’ll work.”
Just then, Judy came out of the kitchen with a basket of food for Daryl, with Molly and Peggy in tow. As Judy handed Daryl his basket, Molly said, “If you are just trying to avoid traveling in the dark, you are more than welcome to stay here.”
Daryl took the basket with a smile, and said, “I really appreciate the hospitality, ma’am, but I’ve got to tend to my animals and stuff before tomorrow, as I imagine Griff and I will be out for most of the day.”
“Well, okay then, travel safe,” Molly replied.
He then said goodbye to everyone, including the kids, and climbed back onto his horse for the ride back. As they all waved goodbye, Judy said, “We’ve gotta find that man a good woman.”
Peggy replied, “Don’t look at me; I’m taken.”
“Oh really?” said Judy with her hands on her hips, giving her the eye.
“Yeah, I don’t see a ring on that finger,” added Molly.
“Okay, that’s my cue to leave,” Griff said with a chuckle as he went inside.
In a stern voice, Judy then asked, “You’d better fess up about
how things are going with you and Nate, or we’re gonna put it in Daryl’s head that you’re available.”
“Oh, stop it,” Peggy said while blushing. “He’s too old for me. Besides, things are going quite well with Nate. I have a feeling he’s up to something. That’s why I am so nervous about the trip they’re on. I just have this horrible feeling that the one good man to come along for me and Zack is going to be taken away from me, like it’s all just a big tease. It’s dangerous out there, and I just want him to come back to me and never leave again,” she said as her eyes welled up with tears.
Molly gave her a big hug while Judy patted her on the back and said, “Oh, stop putting bad thoughts in your own head. Just remember what the guys have been through already. They can make it through anything this screwed up world throws at them.”
“God, I hope so,” Peggy replied, wiping away the tears.
“Let’s go see what Sarah is working on for dinner,” Judy said to change the subject.
“I think it’s rabbit,” Molly said with a smile as they took Peggy back inside.
~~~~
Early the next morning, Daryl and Griff met at Mildred’s as planned. Daryl had arrived early, which was his norm. Griff parked his bike and joined Daryl and Luke, who were sitting on the porch enjoying a cup of hot morning tea, catching each other up on the goings on as each of them saw it. As Griff walked up the steps to the porch, Mildred came outside with a hot cup of tea for him, and said, “Here you go, Mike.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” he said, thankful for the luxury of tea.
“The coffee is all gone so I hope tea will do,” she added. “Hopefully the boys will find us some during their travels.”
“Yes, ma’am, that would be nice,” he said as he took a sip of her delicious homemade herbal tea.
She then turned and went back inside as Daryl asked, “How was your ride in?”
“Uneventful, which means great these days,” replied Griff.