War Zone: Homefront

by Thomas A. Watson

  Able to see the bonfire now through the trees, John almost ran into Nathan, he stopped so fast. Swearing he’d heard a baby scream, John turned to keep watch behind them and heard a gag come from Nathan. Turning to check on Nathan, John saw him spin around fast. Nathan grabbed John’s face and turned it away from the bonfire. “Don’t you fucking turn toward the fire, John. I mean it,” Nathan panted in his ear as the crowd at the party let out a loud cheer. Since the cheer drowned out the blaring music, John knew there were a lot of people at the party now.

  “You lead us out and I swear, I’ll beat you if you turn to look,” Nathan warned with a heavy voice, like he was trying not to cry and puke at the same time. Knowing it’d scared Nathan, John wanted to assure Nathan, he wouldn’t look even if someone shot at them from the bonfire.

  Taking the same path out they had taken in, John soon had them back across the road. Nathan moved past him. “John, stay behind me and not to the side,” Nathan said, knowing that went against all patrol rules. But he didn’t want John to see anything he didn’t see first.

  Moving past the house where the leader was still sitting on the porch with others, John thought Nathan was going to shoot him by the way Nathan glared. When they passed the house, Nathan moved deeper into the woods and John could barely make out the houses through the trees.

  “Cover me,” Nathan said in a strangled voice, flipping up his goggles. Bending over at the waist, Nathan violently puked and John spun away, aiming his rifle. Hearing another retch erupt from Nathan, John wanted to leave this malevolent place as he gripped his rifle tight, aiming toward the subdivision. Anything that could upset Nathan like this, John was sure it would drive him insane.

  Apollo came over and licked Nathan’s cheek while he waited for more to come up. “The ninth circle of hell has descended on Earth,” Nathan mumbled and spit. Standing up, he flipped his goggles down.

  “Follow,” Nathan said, and moved back closer to the subdivision. John thought they were leaving until Nathan led him across the outer subdivision road between the houses. They crossed the road that ran in front of the houses along the river.

  Moving across the road, John covered Nathan as they moved from house to house and Nathan peeked inside. At one house, a man stepped outside smoking a glass pipe and Nathan lifted his pistol, squeezing the trigger.

  John only heard the rack of the slide when the forty-five bullet hit the man in the face, blowing out the back of his head. Moving to the porch, Nathan frisked the man and pulled a plastic bag from his jacket and took the glass pipe.

  “Nathan, this house is full of boxes of medicine and jugs of cleaner,” John said when Nathan stepped off the porch, leaving the body.

  “So were the last three houses. That’s what they cook down to make meth,” Nathan answered in a flat voice.

  John wanted to point out that Nathan didn’t have to shoot the man who’d walked out on the front porch because they were moving toward the back of the house, but thought better of it. Seeing they were headed toward the bridge they’d crossed beside, John felt a wave of relief wash over him. He could feel the waves of anger emanating from Nathan.

  “What was in the other houses?” John asked, hoping to get Nathan’s mind off what he’d seen that’d messed his mind up.

  “Food,” Nathan growled through clenched teeth, and John was instantly sorry he’d asked.

  When Nathan just strolled out into the river, John moved up and grabbed his shoulder. “Nathan, I don’t want to know what you saw, but you have to remember to keep your mind here, just like you taught me,” John told him.

  Jerking his head around like he was in shock, Nathan crouched down. “Good boy,” Nathan said, and moved stealthily across the river. When Nathan led them to the spot they’d first come down, he unfastened the one-point sling and clipped the other end to the front of his rifle. Pushing the rifle to his back, Nathan led John up the slope on hands, toes, and knees.

  Halfway up, Nathan heard engines coming from the valley and turned around, sitting on the slope while he pulled his rifle around to his front. Sitting below Nathan and panting hard, John pulled his rifle around and decided for the umpteenth time, he definitely liked going downhill more than climbing uphill. Aiming his rifle downhill, John thought it was darker and looked up to see clouds rolling in from the west, rather ominously blocking out the stars.

  Below them, arrayed along the road, they saw a convoy with six quad cab pickups pulling trailers packed with people in the back hooting and hollering, along with four box trucks drive past. “Let’s go,” Nathan said, and John pushed his rifle to his back and spun around to start climbing before Nathan left him. Looking up, he saw Nathan was waiting on him. When John nodded at Nathan, he continued up the slope.

  John did feel better seeing even Apollo was struggling going uphill.

  When they reached the ridge and could stand up, John felt exhausted pulling his rifle around changing his sling from a two point back to a single point like Nathan was doing. Easing to a stop, Nathan gave a trilling whistle that sounded like a bird John had heard before, but couldn’t place.

  A soft whistle sounded ahead of them and Nathan continued on. Stepping to the side of Nathan as they walked, John felt his pulse quicken only seeing Tim on the Barrett. “Where’s Tom?” Nathan asked, stopping beside Tim.

  John heard Tim sniffle and smelled the unmistakable smell of vomit. “I sent him back to the horses after…” Tim stopped, giving a small gag.

  “Did he see?” Nathan asked in a panic.

  “He saw them tie the baby to the spit. When the group moved to the fire, I told him to run to the horses,” Tim answered in a breaking voice. “I checked on him ten minutes ago and he was doing okay.”

  Turning to John, Nathan saw tears rolling from under the NVGs in rivers. “Go to Tom and pack up, we are going home. Right fucking now,” Nathan told him. Feeling numb as he gave a nod, John turned slowly walking away.

  “I’m sorry I let Tom see that much,” Tim whimpered.

  Bending down and packing up the MU, “How in the hell could we have known?” Nathan replied.

  Letting out a gasp, “Oh God, did John…” Tim couldn’t finish.

  Shaking his head, “No, but it was just dumb luck,” Nathan said, hearing more engines, but they were coming from the east. He looked over Prichard and saw a line of lights pull off the road before the roadblock. Counting thirteen vehicles but not knowing what kind, Nathan just started packing.

  “How bad are we fucked?” Tim asked.

  “We are so fucked, we aren’t even on the scale anymore,” Nathan replied. “And I’m not talking about numbers.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Under a steady rain, it was noon when they reached the valley. Two hours after they started back the clouds opened up, but nobody cared. Nathan rode with the Mew on and the tablet in his hands. The only time they stopped was to use the bathroom, or for Nathan or Tim to get off and dry heave, but most of the time, they just leaned off their horse. Neither had anything to bring up, so it was just a reflex in case something did.

  Reaching the dining hall, Nathan saw the ATVs parked around it and could tell most were there eating lunch. Pulling his horse to a stop, Nathan turned to confirm the Mew was off and shoved the tablet back into his saddle bag.

  Passing the reins to John, Nathan looked in his face. “Unsaddle the horses, clean your gear, and then shower. After that, I want you and Tom to get on the Xbox. When I get home and take care of my stuff, you two better be able to beat me hands down on Call of Duty,” Nathan told him.

  John glanced over at Tom, who just gave a numb nod. “Okay, Nathan,” John said, kicking his horse.

  Watching the boys ride away, “You suck ass on Call of Duty,” Tim said.

  “They don’t know that,” Nathan replied, and spun around.

  Throwing the door open, it banged hard against the wall. Nathan turned to their table and saw everyone smiling. “Amanda, get Emma. Casey, get Chip, and Natalie, you get
Nolan. All of you go home. Right now!” Nathan barked.

  Seeing a strange look in Nathan’s eyes, they jumped into action, grabbing the little ones and moving toward the door fast. “All kids out!” Nathan shouted as everyone stared at him in shock. Not seeing anyone move, “Move your fucking ass before I put my foot so far up it, you’ll taste the dirt under my toenails!” Nathan bellowed, and kids bolted for the door whether their parents wanted them to or not.

  Turning back to his table, Nathan saw Randal and Tyler were still there. “What part didn’t you understand?” Nathan growled.

  “We’re old enough,” Tyler snapped, as Tim gave a gag and ran for a garbage can. Shoving his head in the can, Tim gave several loud dry heaves.

  “Get your fucking ass out of here before I yank it off and shove it up your ass!” Nathan shouted. “You’ll be able to tell everyone you really got to fuck yourself!”

  Tyler and Randal took off for the door. “If your parents tell you, that’s on them!” Nathan bellowed at them as they ran out the door.

  Standing up, “Nathan,” Bill started, but Nathan held up his hand stopping him. Bill didn’t stop just because of the hand, but saw Nathan’s tongue thrusting out like he was silently gagging. Opening his mouth wide, Nathan turned away, bending over and putting his hands on his knees, fighting the nausea.

  “Here,” Tim said, handing him a wastebasket. Nathan set the basket on the floor, but kept his face over it. “It’s the smell of food,” Tim managed to whisper over the nausea, and Nathan nodded before turning his attention to the milling crowd.

  “We are fucked!” Nathan informed the stunned group. Not liking how the two were acting, Bill slowly sat back down. “There’s a group in Prichard, and Tim and I tried to work on numbers on the way back, but couldn’t…” Nathan stopped when he gave a small heave.

  Walking over with a bottle of water, Tim handed it to Nathan while he got a mouthful from another bottle, swishing it around his mouth. Leaning over, he spat into the wastebasket. After Nathan rinsed his mouth out, he stood up and turned to his table. “We know the leader. It’s Doyle Bailey,” Nathan panted.

  “Big D?!” Bill shouted, jumping up, and Nathan waved Bill to sit back down.

  Blinking slowly, Nathan slowly nodded, like his head hurt from the motion.

  “And he is Satan,” Nathan pronounced darkly. “Bill, they’re making meth in hundred-pound batches. I saw one room lined with metal shelves that had gallon bags packed with the shit,” Nathan paused, pulling the two bags from his thigh pocket.

  Aiden looked at the bluish tint on the crystal powder and let out a low whistle. “That’s primo shit,” he mumbled.

  “Bill, there was over a thousand pounds in that one room,” Nathan said as Tim threw his head back, gargling more water to clear his mouth. “They’re big and getting bigger. Way over five hundred, easy,” Nathan panted, looking at the water bottle in his hand with longing.

  Leaning over the table, “Getting bigger?” Bill asked slowly.

  Getting worried, Jasmine tried to get up, but Sherry held her arm as Nathan nodded. “Yeah, some of the ones they capture, they hold down and inject them with meth, getting them hooked.”

  “Holy mother,” Bill mumbled, flopping back in his chair.

  Shaking his head, “Haven’t got to the bad yet,” Nathan gagged out, and Tim threw his head down as he heaved, the water he just drank hitting the wastebasket. “They have military weapons, ammo, and stockpiles of food. They’re dug in, but are so big, they don’t feel threatened,” Nathan said, finally just setting his bottle down on the table.

  “You tell ‘em. I’m going home,” Tim said, moving for the door.

  “You did good, Tim,” Nathan said, then turned to their table and saw Jasmine had watery eyes focused on her man. “Jasmine, Tom’s seen something no human should ever see. Thankfully, he didn’t get to see all of it, but he saw enough.”

  Nathan paused, suppressing another bout of sickness, before he continued. “I’m begging you, will you go and see if he’ll talk to you? But you tell him, he is never to mention it to any of the other kids. Not ever. He can talk to you or me.”

  Feeling her blood turn cold, Jasmine stood up nodding. “I’ll talk to him,” she said, and took off running for the door.

  Taking his rifle off, Nathan tossed it on a nearby table while everyone in the hall sat in horrid shock, just waiting. Apollo came over and sat beside Nathan, then Ares came over whining. When Ares sat down next to Nathan’s legs, he leaned over to rest his head against Nathan. “I saw some of the ‘Iron Lords’ the sheriff told us about. The meth heads stopped them at a roadblock and killed them,” Nathan said, stalling the worst.

  “That’s good,” Rusty said. “We can let the gangs fight it out.”

  “No!” Nathan cried out in alarm, turning to Rusty. “They might get pushed north into us!”

  “Okay,” Rusty nodded. “So, do we hit the meth heads?”

  “We can’t, they’d look for us. Rusty, there’re so many,” Nathan finished in a low voice. “We…” Nathan stopped when his tongue rolled up and he bent over, gagging hard. Staring at Nathan, Bill felt his skin go cold and clammy, knowing Nathan was fighting to tell them something.

  When the dry heaves stopped, Nathan spat again into the wastebasket. “We need a group to leave today. They need to get to the sharp curve where Lost Creek meets the river. The road’s already partially blocked by a rock slide, but we need to make the road completely impassable, and I mean, a group needs to be leaving in the next few hours.”

  Jumping up, Lanny held up his hands. “Hold on, Nathan. We vote on major actions like that.”

  Moving in a blur, Nathan grabbed the butt of his pistol, but didn’t pull it out as he stared hard at Lanny’s face. “Fight it, and I swear to God, I’ll kill you where you stand,” Nathan said while tears welled up in his eyes. Bill saw Nathan’s fingers tighten on the grip, and he slowly stood up to move toward Nathan.

  Lanny’s eyes grew wide, knowing he would be staring down the barrel of the pistol if he flinched, then shifted his eyes to Nathan’s face and saw tears were pouring from his eyes. The dam of self-control finally burst and the words poured out.

  “I saw…” Nathan paused, blinking through the tears. “I saw them tie a crying baby to a roasting spit,” Nathan said with his voice breaking, and Bill dropped in his chair hard. “There was a large group of them around a bonfire and…,” Nathan swallowed, starting to release the pistol grip. “When they held the spit in the fire, they all cheered.”

  Sucking in a breath as he wept, Nathan’s arm fell from his pistol. “Then they passed it around, everyone taking a bite!” he wailed out, throwing his head back. “That’s their ‘Rite of Passage’!”

  Rusty felt his vision wavering and his head wobbled on his shoulders as his brain processed the proclamation. “God help us,” Rusty panted as Lanny’s legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor.

  “And one of my boys saw some of that,” Nathan wept and then bent over, heaving hard. Even though nothing was coming up, Nathan stumbled over to the wastebasket. “I shouldn’t have taken them,” Nathan panted as strings of saliva dripped from his mouth.

  Pushing off the floor, Lanny made the sign of the cross over his chest as he got to his feet. He turned to his wife, “Regina, go get our guns and put them in the buggy. I’ll get some rope, shovels, and pickaxes,” Lanny told her. Standing up slowly, Regina gave a numb nod before she turned and left out the back door.

  Moving over to Nathan, Lanny put his hand on Nathan’s back. “You had no way of knowing, Nathan. But now, your boy knows evil is close. You go sit with him. When I get back, I’ll come over and pray with both of your boys, and you,” Lanny said, then turned to the room. Any action this large should’ve been voted on, but Lanny wasn’t doubting what Nathan had seen. In truth, he was thankful it was Nathan who had gone. Anyone else would’ve tried to help, and that would’ve been the end of the compound.

  The shock on everyon
e’s face was absolute. Even Anita was sitting with her mouth gaping open. “I’m leaving in half an hour, with or without you,” Lanny told them, and gave Nathan another pat, squeezing his shoulder before heading for the door.

  “Lanny, have lookouts. If they spot someone coming from Prichard, just hide. They can’t know anyone’s to the north,” Nathan said, straightening up. “We can’t let them reach the valley, there’s too many. They aren’t locusts, they’re evil incarnate.”

  Nodding, “I understand. You go be with your boys,” Lanny told him, pausing at the door and then walking out into the rain.

  Rusty stood up, trying to recover his equilibrium.

  “I need seven two-man teams to help block off the road!” he called out, and looked down at Libby. “Tell Tyler and Randal to get their guns and head to Nathan’s. We’re taking his side by sides, and bring yours. But you don’t tell them why. You and I will talk about what to tell the kids later.”

  Nodding as she stood up, “Okay,” Libby panted, her own eyes misty with tears.

  “Those not going, I want armed and in defensive positions until we’re back, just in case we’re spotted!” Rusty called out.

  “We need to block the upper logging road,” Bill said, standing up. “We can use the winches on the ATVs to pull down some trees, so any coming along will think the wind did it. That beetle kill area would be a good place.”

  “Take who you need,” Rusty nodded.

  Anita stood up trembling. “We don’t know how to drive it, but someone can take our side by side. It has one of those winches,” she offered. “Where should we get into defensive positions?”

  Rather shocked, Rusty turned to Anita. “Um, if you and Floyd could get in the bunker and help those on guard, That’d be a great help, since that’s the only road to us.”

  “The keys are under the seat,” Anita said, grabbing Floyd’s arm and pulling him to the door. “I’m sorry they saw that, Nathan,” Anita said, walking past him.