War Zone: Homefront

by Thomas A. Watson

  “It has a spill-proof lid,” Jasmine said, turning to the table.

  “It has coffee,” Janice said, putting the mug back on the table. Stomping her foot, Emma unleashed on her disloyal subject in a loud chattering babble.

  Shrugging, Jasmine reached over, handing the mug to Emma. Taking the mug with a squeal, Emma turned it up. “Nathan puts ice in his coffee mug after working out, so Emma won’t get burned,” Jasmine moaned. She turned to Penny, motioning with her head toward Emma. “That one, he treats like a girl, and only a girl,” Jasmine clarified.

  Shaking her head, still trying to comprehend this was ‘Nathan’ they were talking about, “I’m not going to argue that,” Penny agreed.

  Watching Emma turn the mug, that was half her size, up and taking a drink, Aiden shook his head. “I remember when Nathan wouldn’t even drink after anyone. Like when Gina was six, and took a drink from Nathan’s soda. I never waited for the bitching. I just left and got him another soda.” Seeing Jasmine jerk her face over to look at him, “Oh, Nathan never whined like a bitch to the kids, he saved that just for us. As far as the kids are concerned, Nathan walks on water.”

  Lowering the mug, Emma dropped it on the floor and gave the table her exposed teeth grin. “Glad our kids didn’t do that,” Libby mumbled with a shudder. Giving a loud yell, Emma took off running, nowhere in particular, just running around the hall, so her subjects could bask in her glory.

  Picking the mug up and setting it back on the table, Jasmine saw Nathan walking back. “What’s up, hun?” she asked.

  “The patrol will be back in an hour. The outpost just called in, saying they picked them up on the Mew,” Nathan told her, grabbing his mug and turning it up.

  “I love that thing,” Aiden grinned. “It would take more manpower than we have, to secure and constantly monitor two and a half miles around us.”

  “I thought it only reached out four kilometers,” Penny whispered.

  “That’s two and a half miles, or about that,” Aiden whispered back, making Penny bite her bottom lip. “In area, that thing monitors over eleven thousand acres and almost a fifteen-mile circumference around us.” Hearing the numbers, Penny gave a startle, giving Aiden a hard glare.

  “And just how did you figure that out - Mr. I Hate Math?” Penny snapped. “I’ve had guard duty with the Mew and those numbers aren’t on the screen.”

  “I told him,” Amanda chimed in, walking over. Never taking his eyes from Penny, Aiden gave a big smile while throwing his arm out to Amanda extravagantly.

  “And she did it without a calculator or using paper,” Aiden grunted in awe.

  Looking over at Aiden as she sat down, “Um, that’s what Pi is for,” Amanda stated, clearly confused. “You know, the Mew goes out to three thousand eight hundred meters, that’s your radius. With Pi, you can figure out everything else with basic math. Why do you need a calculator and paper? Area of a circle is and circumference is C=2πr. What’s so hard about that?”

  Leaning over, “I want Amanda to tutor Gina, instead of those computer programs we have,” Penny whispered to Aiden.

  With no shame, Aiden nodded. “I already asked Nathan.”

  Liking that, Penny smiled and turned to see the rest of the kids sitting down. When Gina sat down with Natalie, Penny almost told her to move down some and sit closer to Amanda and Casey, but didn’t. “So, who’s going out with Nathan today?” she asked.

  Jumping up and glaring around the table, “I know for a fuckin’ fact, I am!” Amanda barked out, daring anyone to say otherwise. Penny just nodded in shock at the transformation, then noticed the kids in Nathan’s group paid Amanda no mind. But all the other kids wouldn’t even glance down the table, clearly frightened of the skinny teen.

  “Firecracker,” Nathan laughed, “put it back in your pants. I told you, you were going, so drop it.”

  Sitting beside her buddy Amanda, of course, Casey turned to Nathan and seeing her taking a breath to speak, he held up his hand. “I said you were coming too, so relax,” Nathan told her. “Nobody outranks me in my group, and all of you need to remember that.” Already knowing it but still not liking it, Aiden just gave a sigh as he rolled his eyes up and closed them.

  “Aren’t either of you scared to get shot again?” Janice asked in a soft voice, leaning forward across the table.

  Turning to Janice as she sat back down, Amanda took a breath, and Nathan spoke up first. “Amanda, you will speak to her with respect, or I’ll blister your ass right here and now,” Nathan warned with a growl.

  Whipping her head around really fast to look at Nathan, Amanda almost wrapped her tassel of braided hair around her neck. “I would never disrespect Ms. Janice,” Amanda gasped in actual shock.

  Seeing Amanda look at him with big doe eyes, Nathan gave a slight nod. “I didn’t think you would, but your dick was on your shoulder, and you tend not to think when that happens. I just wanted to remind you,” Nathan told her in a soft voice. Hearing a loud yell from a small source, Nathan turned to the front of the dining hall.

  “Damn it, Ruth!” Nathan shouted, and stormed over to Emma, who was holding a large chunk of chocolate cake in her hands. Most of Emma’s face was covered in chocolate, along with her shirt. Seeing Nathan start for her, Emma let out a squeal and took off running while she lifted the cake, taking another bite.

  “That’s who needs a spanking!” Amanda shouted out, then turned to Janice. For some reason, Janice liked the fact Amanda wasn’t armed at the table. “Yes, I’m worried about getting shot, I’m not stupid,” Amanda huffed.

  There was attitude in Amanda’s voice, but it was only the universal constant attitude of all teens, so Jasmine let it slide. “Amanda, the day Nathan spanks Emma, he’s going to cry more than Emma,” Jasmine informed her.

  Rolling her eyes, “Like he would ever spank her,” Amanda huffed, flipping her braid off her shoulder. Turning back to Janice, “Casey and I could stay here, hiding like little-”

  “Amanda!” Jasmine barked, cutting her off. “Mouth,” Jasmine warned.

  Letting out a long sigh, “Okay … cowards,” Amanda snapped, glaring at Jasmine. “Nathan says never depend on others to protect your family. Casey and I can fight and are going to do it,” Amanda said, turning back to Janice.

  Taken back, Janice studied Amanda’s face, seeing the confidence. “So, you look down on others who don’t go?” Janice asked.

  Cocking her head to the side, Amanda stared at Janice. Janice couldn’t help but smile because when Amanda was confused, it was blatantly apparent by her expression. “Everyone who wants to and can fight has gone out, except me and Casey,” Amanda said slowly, hoping she’d understood the question.

  “I haven’t gone on patrol,” Janice stated.

  Brushing her hand out like she was deflecting the statement, “Oh,” Amanda shrugged. “You can fight, but wait till you see motha’ fuckers rapin’ women and kids and then kill them, and you’ll ‘want’ to fight. When you see the shit out there with your own eyes, up close and personal, or to your own family,” Amanda paused for a second, “You’ll grab a gat and crank that bitch up on some asses,” she finished with certainty.

  “Amanda, quit trying to be gangsta,” Jasmine sighed. “You just can’t pull it off.” Aiden and the others thought she had done fairly well, but it was the meaning Amanda had stressed that made everyone at the table give pause. Amanda had seen that happen to her real family, and wasn’t going to let it happen again without a fight.

  Glancing to Bill and then the other adults in the group, Janice saw them staring at Amanda. “So, you think all of us, including my boys Randal and Shane need to go out on patrol?” Janice asked. Panic gripped Jasmine as she anticipated Amanda’s response.

  Sitting up in her chair, “That’s for each person to decide, not me or anyone else,” Amanda answered, making Jasmine rather proud.

  Glancing down the table, Libby saw all the kids were now staring at Amanda. “Do you think everyone here is good enough
to go out on patrols?” Libby asked, and Rusty almost hit the floor. He couldn’t believe, Libby, his wife, was asking a thirteen-year-old girl’s opinion on something like this.

  Turning to Libby and never faltering, “No,” Amanda answered. “I’m only going out with who Nathan takes.”

  Even though Amanda was a teen, Janice was somewhat shocked at her response. “You don’t think I’m good enough to go out?” Janice asked.

  “Yes, you are. I didn’t say you weren’t,” Amanda said quickly.

  “So, who isn’t?” Janice asked, putting Amanda on the spot.

  Thinking that was wrong, Jasmine spoke up. “Janice, you really have to ask? Look at all those women and kids we brought in. Half of them have never even held a gun till we took them to the range. There are several families here that members brought in who only knew which end of the gun was the dangerous end.”

  “Oh, forgot about them, sorry,” Janice admitted. “I was talking about our group.”

  Feeling rather upset that Janice was keeping Amanda on the spot, Jasmine tried to remain calm. There wasn’t a doubt in Jasmine’s mind, Amanda would answer the question, and do it bluntly. Amanda was smart, of that there was no doubt, but she severely lacked tact. “Amanda has her opinion and is entitled to them, as we all are,” Jasmine said with an edge to her voice.

  Seeing Jasmine was forcing her smile, Bill reached over patting Janice’s leg. But he felt like Jasmine did, Janice was asking Amanda a question that a teenager shouldn’t have to answer. “Sweetie, drop it,” Bill said softly.

  “No,” Janice said, turning to Bill. “Besides Nathan, Amanda is the only one who’ll tell the truth about this,” she snapped. “Everyone else, including you, brushes the question off or says we’ll train more.”

  Hearing that, Jasmine bobbed her head slightly in agreement. When it came to speaking the truth, Nathan had no more tact than Amanda. Watching Janice turn from Bill, Jasmine saw her cut her eyes down the table to Tyler and Robin, and then it clicked. Janice wanted an honest opinion about her own kids, not herself. “Janice,” Jasmine said softly. “I’m asking you to drop it for now. Ask her later when she gets back.”

  Jasmine didn’t want Amanda to become ostracized from the other kids. Traveling with Amanda, Jasmine could see why Amanda hadn’t had many friends in school. When asked, Amanda answered just how she thought, never sugarcoating anything. In time, Jasmine was certain she could teach Amanda some tact, but she wasn’t even going to attempt that with Nathan.

  “Amanda,” Tyler called out, and she turned down the table to look at him. “I’m good enough, right?”

  “You want the truth?” Amanda asked, and Jasmine’s head hit the table with a ‘thump’. Not expecting the question, Tyler gave a slight nod. “On the trigger, you’re pretty good, but you don’t keep your eyes scanning. Pulling the trigger is easy, but it’s only a small part of the battle, and even here in this valley were in a battle. You act like you’re on a range all the time, and the enemy is only going to come from one direction, where you’re looking. You keep your rifle slung more than in your hands, and you wear your pistol too far back. When you draw your pistol, you look down at your holster first. That also applies when you’re changing magazines; you look down at your vest to grab another. Never, ever, take your eyes off the target area.”

  Hearing Amanda take a breath to continue, Jasmine jerked her head off the table. “He gets the idea, Amanda,” Jasmine snapped.

  “Shut it, Ruth!” Nathan shouted, storming over to the table and everyone looked up to see Emma wrapped in a towel.

  Glancing over her shoulder and seeing Emma was wet with a very grumpy face, “Where did you give Emma a bath?” Jasmine asked.

  “In the kitchen sink,” Nathan popped off as he sat down, then turned looking over his shoulder. “Because someone gave her half a chocolate cake!” he shouted over his shoulder toward the kitchen.

  “You let that baby have some cake, Nathan!” Ruth yelled back.

  Turning back around, Nathan saw a plethora of expressions on the groups’ faces, ranging from shock to pissed-off. Wondering what he’d missed, “What?” he asked.

  “Nathan, you think I’m good enough to go on patrol?” Tyler asked in a gruff tone.

  “No,” Nathan sang out in a deep voice. “I told your ass that the last time on the range. You don’t keep your weapon in your hands, and don’t keep situational awareness around you.”

  Tyler’s mouth fell open as he stared at Nathan. With Emma shivering under the towel, Nathan pulled her to his chest. Seeing the shock on Tyler’s face, Nathan could still remember him in diapers. “Now, do I think you’re good enough?” Nathan asked out loud. “No, I fucking know you’re good enough,” Nathan replied bluntly, then continued.

  “Tyler, when we play paintball, you’re using your mind and watching around you. You kick ass,” Nathan told him, then looked at Robin, Randal, Shane, and Gina. “Every one of my little posse is good enough, but all of you are not doing what you know,” Nathan said, and each one perked up at hearing Nathan refer to them again as his posse. “Until each of you pulls your head out of your ass and treats this as a threat, none of you are going out,” Nathan told them in a flat tone, and turned to the parents.

  “I don’t give a fuck what any of you say. You send them out before they’re ready, I’ll shank you with a butter knife and laugh,” Nathan threatened. Jasmine let out a long sigh, coming to the realization that Amanda actually had more tact than Nathan.

  Leaning back in his chair, Tyler took a deep breath. “What else?” he mumbled.

  Turning back to Tyler, “You don’t know your vest layout and fumble around too much. I don’t know why you moved your pistol further back over your ass, but that only works in Hollywood. Not one time at the range when you pulled your pistol or changed magazines, did you keep your eyes on the target,” Nathan told him.

  Watching Tyler give a depressed sigh, “Tyler, you’re the only one in the posse I haven’t been around since conception,” Nathan said, and Libby let out a gasp. “What?” Nathan asked, glancing at Libby. “Randal was conceived in Grand Teton National Park, and Shane was conceived in Portland at the Pink Floyd tribute concert.”

  Libby’s face turned three different shades of red while Rusty snickered, “I told you, you were loud.”

  “Yeah, like you weren’t,” Nathan huffed, then turned back to Tyler. “Tyler, my kids learned these lessons under fire with people trying to kill them. My little posse will not learn the lessons that way if I can help it.”

  “So, you really think all our kids are good enough to go out?” Penny asked.

  “Shit,” Nathan grunted. “I get Gina to act like she does in paintball, watching around herself and knowing where everyone is at, keeping her weapon in her hands? I’m throwing a ghillie suit on her and ‘NOOOOOBODY’ will find her ass. She was king of hide-and-seek at my house.” The little posse group all perked up to hear Nathan praise them.

  “Sorry I got mad at you, Amanda,” Tyler said, and Amanda furrowed her brow, wondering why and when Tyler had gotten mad at her.

  “Why the hell were you mad at Firecracker?” Nathan blurted out.

  “Janice asked if the kids were good enough to go out,” Jasmine offered, and the blood drained from Janice’s face.

  Very slowly, Nathan rotated his head until his eyes fell on Janice. “Janice, I love you with all my heart and you know that. You’re a fierce mamma bear, and I know at times, you’ve looked at me like one of your kids because in the past, I won’t lie, I acted like my little posse sometimes,” Nathan said. Bill, Rusty, and Aiden nearly fell out of their chairs, hearing Nathan admit the fact he could act like a child. Granted, he was a big-ass, two hundred pounds of lean muscle, six-foot-tall child who could beat the shit out of a group of men, but a child nonetheless. Just hearing him admit it, at long last, was a shock to their systems.

  Looking at Janice with very sad eyes and shaking his head, “But Janice, don’t ever ask Amanda some
thing about others in our group that could hurt their feelings with them in earshot,” Nathan told her. “Amanda will tell you the truth and what she really thinks. Always, no matter who’s close. That’s one of the things I love about her, but it’s also the main one that drives me insane. I’m warning you now, you do it again, and I’m shaving your head and giving you a bikini wax with duct tape.”

  Leaning over to his wife, “Ask Amanda something else, I want to watch the bikini wax,” Bill whispered.

  Slapping Bill’s arm, Janice turned to Nathan. “I’m sorry, Nathan, you’re right, and it was wrong. I wasn’t thinking, I just wanted an honest opinion besides yours because sometimes for your little posse, you bend the truth,” she said, then turned to Amanda. “Amanda, I’m sorry and if anyone gets mad at you, let me know.”

  “Never on that,” Nathan assured her. “Those kids have been my little posse since birth.”

  Looking around the table in shock, “Did I make someone mad?” Amanda asked, replaying what she’d said and then turned to Tyler. “I asked if you wanted the truth, like Nathan told me to, and you nodded,” she wailed.

  “You did? You really asked if he wanted the truth?!” Nathan cried out with a smile.

  “She did,” Jasmine confirmed.

  “Oh, I’m so proud of you,” Nathan said, reaching over and wrapping an arm around her.

  “Here, Emma,” Ruth said, setting a plate down in front of Nathan. Emma stuck her head out of the towel cocoon and gave Ruth the toothy grin. “You can get your own, Nathan,” Ruth said, patting Emma’s cheek.

  Letting Amanda go, Nathan turned to Ruth with a scowl. “You know how long it’s going to take me to feed her, after she’s already filled up with cake?” Nathan snapped as Ruth walked off.

  Standing up regally, “I’ll bring you a plate, Nathan,” Amanda announced, holding her chin high.