Beverly stood, hands on hips. “Sure, we can cook them, but you guys can kill and pluck them. Deal?”
“Deal, six dead chickens coming up.” David laughed at the fact that he would not hesitate a second to kill a human being who might threaten them but hated the idea of killing the chickens. He caught one at a time, cut its head off, and when it was done flopping; he plucked the feathers, delivered the hens to the ladies, and began another search for anything they might be able to use.
Brandon discovered what he considered a gold mine. He walked through the center of the partially fallen barn. Outside, eight mares grazed in the pasture. “Hallelujah, brother. We have transportation,” he muttered. “Someone must be watching over us.” He removed boards from the side of the fallen tack room and found a row of saddles with a stack of bridles.
David strolled to the smoke house and opened the door. Nothing inside. Shit! He had hoped to find a side of smoked pork or something.
Anita turned to Beverly. “I’ve almost got breakfast done. I used six eggs for breakfast and I’m boiling the rest to take with us. I have a pan of biscuits in the oven. Bev, do you want to stir up a couple more batches, and we can take them along with our boiled eggs and fried chicken?”
“You got it. Is there anything else around here we can take in the way of food? Who knows how far we’ll have to travel.”
“I haven’t seen much of anything,” Anita said. She pulled the pan of biscuits from the oven. “I think we’re damned lucky to have the biscuits, eggs, and chicken.”
Beverly shouted to the men that breakfast was ready. It didn’t take them long to wash their hands and come inside.
“Man, that food smells good. Wish we had some big ham steaks to go with it.” David said.
Beverly answered, “Wish in one hand and I think you know the rest.”
Brandon smiled and casually mentioned. “I came up with us some transportation.”
“What? That’s great news. I’m tired of walking,” Anita exclaimed.
“How good are you two at riding horses?” Brandon asked, thinking the women probably had never been on a horse.
“Wow, that’s great. I love to ride horses,” Beverly announced.
They turned and looked at Anita.
“You’re joking that our transportation is horses, aren’t you?” She bit her lip. “I’ve never been on a horse in my life. I’m afraid of anything larger than me, and that’s most everything.”
“Well, its time for you to put aside your fears and learn to ride. It’s either ride a mare or walk.” As he spoke, Brandon stuffed a large chunk of biscuit in his mouth.
“Change of plans.” Brandon said a couple minutes later. “We need to teach Anita how to ride before we take off. We can’t let her get hurt because of us being in a hurry. Let’s stay here tonight and leave first thing in the morning. I know we’ll have to scrounge up more food . . . if that’s possible.
The guys left the table to go wring a few more chicken’s necks and to find jars of food not broken in the cellar.
By the afternoon, Anita had lost her fear of the large beast and did well learning to handle the horse. She actually enjoyed riding.
Before they went to sleep, they packed everything so they’d be ready to leave at daybreak. Each had a small bag containing chicken, biscuits, and boiled eggs.
~~~
The packed food lasted three days. Five days later, Brandon’s group found themselves close to Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The only food found on the trail was ears of corn snatched from cornfields and a few apples and pears they’d picked from the edge of an orchard. They skirted farmhouses and towns, and even though they spotted fires or smoke, they ran into no trouble. In fact, it seemed the roads they crossed were eerily deserted. Of course, they were all sore from riding sunup until sundown every day. Anita finally got the hang of riding correctly on the third day. At least she no longer bobbed her butt in the air and slammed down on the saddle with every step the horse took.
Brandon looked around at the beautiful countryside as they dismounted and let the horses drink from the shallow stream. He took out the radio, turned it on, and punched the send key. “Jackrabbit, you got your ears on? Over.”
The women looked at him, then at each other, and shrugged as if they didn’t have any idea what Brandon was up to. They were intent on refilling all the canteens.
“Jackrabbit, do you copy? Road Rabbit here. Over.”
“Hell, yeah, I copy, RR. Been wondering about you. Over.”
“RR just in the area and thought I’d drop by. Over.”
~~~
Another hour found Brandon’s group in the living room of the Jackrabbit.
“Oh, by the way, my name’s Bill.”
“I’m Brandon.” Brandon grabbed Bill’s extended hand in a hearty handshake. He pointed to the other three standing in the doorway. “This is, David, Anita, and Beverly.”
“Glad to meet you all and have you here. Make yourselves comfortable. Just sit anywhere,” the man of about 40 said, waving his arm around the room. “Pay no mind to this wheelchair. I’m used to it. Got hurt in Desert Storm.”
Looking at Brandon, he said, “I know you want to check in with Macaroon right away. Follow me.” He wheeled off down a long hall. “Bet your group is worried sick about you. I was, and I don’t even know you. Here you are.”
Brandon followed the wheel chair to a room at the far end of the house. He immediately ran to the unit and called out, “Macaroon, Road Runner here. Do you copy? Over.”
“Macaroon copies. Out.” Stephan and Cord let out war whoops to hear Brandon’s voice and know he was okay.
“Now, why don’t you go put those horses in the corral next to the barn? You look like you need a good bath and a rest.
Girls, if you want a change of clothes, which I think you do by the looks of the rags you’re wearing, go in that room right there. There are boxes of women’s clothing I never got rid of. They belonged to my wife and sister who were killed in a car wreck a few years back. Help yourselves to anything you need. There’s a bathroom in there if you wanta get the trail dust offa you.” Bill’s smile was almost too charming as he spoke.
“Thank you so much. You’re a Godsend,” Anita said.
“We truly appreciate all you’re doing for us,” Beverly stated. “But won’t it bother you seeing us in their clothes?”
“Anita, glad I can help you people. Bev, no, it won’t bother me seeing you wear them. In fact, I’m glad they’ll be worn again.” I won’t tell the girls how much I hated my wife and sister . . . or while I was gone to the Gulf war, they’d become Lesbian lovers.
The girls turned and entered the adjoining room to get cleaned up.
“How would you guys like a cup of hot coffee? I put a new pot on when you radioed me. Also have ice tea, or bourbon and Coke.” Bill offered.
“Give us a few minutes to take care of the horses, and we’ll be glad to join you. The bourbon and Coke sounds good.” Brandon never had been much of a drinker but, by damned, he deserved a good stout drink.
“What do think about this guy?” Brandon asked David out of earshot in the barn.
“He seems on the up and up. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in there, did you?”
“What gets me, he’s linked us to Macaroon and those boys. He’s one sharp cookie. I’m still going to sleep with one eye open.”
When Brandon removed the bit from the mare’s mouth and hit her rump, she ran out to the corral with the other three horses. “Now let’s go get a shot of bourbon.”
As the men sat relishing the drinks Bill fixed, Anita and Beverly emerged from the bedroom all bathed and fresh in shorts and tank tops. “Phew! You guys need to clean up. I hate to say it, but you don’t smell real great.” Beverly wrinkled her nose. She sat at the table sipping ice tea while Anita stood at the stove stirring a pot of homemade stew Bill had started when he got their call on the radio.
“Damned, fellas, she’s right. You fellas
are pretty rank.” Bill said and chucked. “If ya’d like, my old fatigues are in the upstairs bedroom. You’re welcome to them if they fit. There’s plenty of underwear and stuff in the dresser drawers. If there’s anything you can’t find that you need, just yell out.”
“Thanks, Bill. Okay, we can take a hint.” Brandon laughed as he and David left the kitchen.
~ 24 ~
Three days passed with Brandon’s group living with Bill. His farm was remote and well stocked with food. Not only did he have supplies because of the long winters but also because he was a survivalist. Money had been no problem after collecting hefty insurance settlements from the wreck; a tanker had slammed into his wife’s car head on, causing one horrendous fireball.
Bill used the money wisely and planned ahead. He’d bought a generator as back up power, which was now in use due to the electric lines being down and no one running the power plants. The thought of a melt down at one of the plants was a constant worry.
“I wish the four of you would stay with me at least through the winter,” Bill stated one evening as they sat on the front porch watching lightning bugs flash across the dark yard. “I know you want to join up with Macaroon, but I need you guys. I’m here alone, and it’s going to be hard for me to keep the gas going in the generator. Also, all four of you can shoot, and I need help defending the place. I have no idea where you’re headed, but if it’s the Rockies, you’re starting out pretty late. Hell, if you stay ‘til, say April, I’d even straddle a horse and go with you.”
No one said anything. They hadn’t thought about sticking the winter out with Bill. “Thanks for the invite, Bill. I don’t know what to say. All I’ve had on my mind was moving on. I have to say you do make sense.” Brandon answered
“Well, you folks give it some thought and talk it over among yourselves. I’m going to go listen to the radio and see if anything’s stirring.” Bill rolled the wheelchair into the house and headed to the back room.
The four heard short wave static and some chatter. Brandon motioned for the other three to follow him away from the house so they could discuss Bill’s offer out of Bill’s earshot.
“Well, what are your opinions?” Brandon asked.
“I like the idea of staying here. I can see out and go out. So what if the satellites see us? We’ve probably been spotted. I was in one cave and don’t hanker to go and sit penned up with a group of strangers in another.” David finished, looking straight at Brandon.
“I agree with David.” Anita replied.
Beverly shrugged her shoulders. “Me, too, I guess. Good chance we may never even find your friends in Colorado.
“Well then, that makes it unanimous. I want to stay, too.” Brandon said.
“I do have one question,” Anita said softly. “What about food for the horses this winter?”
“There’s an adjoining farm behind Bill’s place. I went over there yesterday to scout out the area, and there’s not a soul in sight. Their fields are full of hay bales. I figure a little hard work, and we can have plenty of hay over here for the mares,” Brandon said.
“That lady was one for canning. I bet there are hundreds of jars of food sitting on the back porch in cardboard boxes and looked like she had just canned them. We should bring the food over here. Otherwise, the jars will freeze and break this winter, and no one will benefit from her hard work.”
“I agree,” Anita answered. “Bill has a lot of store bought cans, but with five of us eating, we might run out. Besides, home canned is better. I say we start bringing it over first thing in the morning. I’m sure we can find a few places to store them here in the house”
“Let’s go tell Bill our decision.” David suggested. “I’ll bet he’s sitting in there wondering.”
Brandon faced the house. “I thought I saw something. Play along with me, and don’t ask questions. I want you three to give me time to go around the house and get in position. You three keep talking out here in the front yard and laugh some. Gradually work your way closer to the house so your voices get louder. Something hit me as strange. We haven’t seen a single damned person at any of the farms we’ve passed in this whole area. Most are burned to the ground. Isn’t it strange that Bill is living the life of Riley and no one bothering him? Do like I said.” With that, he was gone, running in the shadows toward the back of the house.
Brandon eased up to the window to listen to what Bill was saying in the radio room.
“It’s about time you answered your radio.” Bill barked to someone. “I don’t have all the time in the world. Now listen, I have to talk fast while they’re out of earshot. They’ve bought the whole story, and I think I’ve talked them into staying here awhile. At least long enough for you to come and get them. How long’s it going to take you to come pick them up? End of next week will be fine. Hell yes, I’m sure they’re in with a group of Special Forces. The two guys look like Rangers. I’ll look for you next week. Out.”
Brandon saw Bill’s shadow on the yard from the light in the room. Bill was up walking around. That lying sack of shit, son-of-a-bitch was a fucking traitor.
Brandon scurried on silent feet, ducking under windows and staying in the shadows. The giggles of the girls filled the air. Brandon passed the three in the yard and put his fingers to his lips to be quiet. After running down a hundred feet, he called out, “Hey guys, I found that noisy frog. Come down here and take a look.”
“Aw, you’re joking,” David yelled, playing along. “It’s too dark to see anything down there.” All the time, the other three trotted straight toward Brandon.
When they reached him, he joked about the frog some. “Listen up,” Brandon whispered. “The bastard’s a traitor. He’s turned us in, and they’re coming to pick us up in a few days. The damned prick was up walking around, too.”
“Okay, you’re right. It was a damn frog making all that noise,” David said in a loud voice.
“Don’t pick him up. He’ll pee on you, and you’ll get warts,” Anita shrieked.
“Keep him away from me. I don’t want frog piss on me,” Beverly yelled out.
“What’re we going to do?” David whispered.
“I’m taking care of him tonight. We’re leaving at the first crack of light,” Brandon answered. “Let’s go in.”
“Oh, yuck, you slung the piss on me. Now I have to go wash it off to keep from getting warts,” Anita shrieked and stomped off toward the house.
“You’re a big baby,” Brandon yelled after her.
All four headed to the house, teasing ‘poor Anita’ about the frog.
“Hey Bill, anything happening on the radio?” Brandon asked when he got to the front door.
“Nope. Not a thing,” Bill answered from the back room.
“Bill, we talked it over and decided we want to stay with you this winter.” It was all Brandon could do to not break the man’s neck right then. Instead, he smiled and sat down on a chair near the wheelchair.
“I’m certainly glad to hear that. It’s lonely for me here, and I don’t get out much, being in this chair.”
“I understand that.” Brandon said. “How do you get out when you do go, or used to go? I guess not much out there you’d want to do now with the bands of thugs roaming the cities. You being in that chair and all makes you pretty defenseless. It scares the shit out of me after Rocky Top reported the cannibals in Denver.”
“Yes, I heard that, and it made me sick. What the hell is mankind coming to?” Bill played his part well.
“Well it isn’t mankind . . . it’s man. Somewhere in this world, someone came up with the idea to control the earth and didn’t care what he did to achieve that goal. What you see are the reactions to that man, or group of men’s actions. That’s what’s sick.” Brandon stared at Bill.
“You actually believe what you’re saying, Brandon?”
“Hell, yes, I do. Someone pushed the right buttons and said an asteroid was coming, causing all this panic and chaos. People killing one another for a bi
te of food. China even went so far as to drop bombs on their own population to stop riots. So simple for this power-hungry motherfucker to orchestrate it all, wasn’t it? Let the people kill themselves off and under-populate the planet. Oh, yes, the touch of using the weather and earthquake machines was good, too. Using the smallpox and anthrax to kill off more was a great touch.”
“Get real, Brandon. No one could do all of that.”
“The hell they couldn’t. Just think about it. Knowing what would happen in the streets gave the U.N. troops the excuse to start killing people. It also would make the government people think they were in control, because FEMA was in charge of everything. That meant communications, transportation, policing . . . everything.” Brandon smiled and shook his head. “And FEMA has all that power by an executive order some years ago. Totally unconstitutional, by God. And, there was no asteroid as promised, was there? Case proven.”
Bill let out a low whistle. “You actually think that’s what happened? I’m serious. You really believe all that?”
“Hell, yes, I do. And, anyone falling for the bullshit they throw out is going to end up on the short end of the stick. Do you actually think these folks care about anyone or anything? They lie, cheat, steal; manipulate leaders, and the working class, anything to attain their goals of power and more power. They control the money, oil, and goods. They stomp on folks like you and me if we let them. The trick is not to fall for any of it to begin with. I’m sure there are rewards posted on innocent people who believe in the United States of America, and not the United World Leadership or what the hell ever the bastards call it. People like me and you and the other three here in this house. People who never screw with others’ rights. People who want to plant flowers, tend a garden, and go to their kid’s ball games. I can’t believe a person could or would turn a fellow citizen in for a few measly fuckin’ dollars. And what good are dollars now, anyway? We have no government, so our currency isn’t even decent paper to wipe our asses on. But you know what, Bill? People don’t think beyond the end of their noses. They’re greedy to the core. What I find amusing is those same people who turn in another usually get shot on the spot.”
Patriots Awakening Page 27