He took off the pack, handed it to Isaac, then spun and trotted off. John and Isaac did as instructed with not a single thought that Adrian needed their help for what he was going to do.
Two hours after dark, Adrian came back to the camp. When he was within a hundred yards, he started whistling the theme from the old TV series Rawhide; something he was known for. The camp was dark, no fire. The women had already dressed in their new boots and BDUs, wrapped in their new ponchos and were sitting on self-inflating sleeping pads and sleeping bags. They had eaten twice since he had left but were still hungry—in a mental kind of way. They would suffer from food separation anxiety for the rest of their lives.
Adrian saw how tired the women were. “Let’s go ahead and have a fire for the girls; I think they could use the cheering up. We’ll double the guard tonight.” They quickly built a fire and the women were visibly cheered by it. Adrian passed out spearheads to the men. They needed to have a shaft put into the socket and they needed sharpening, but the steel was good.
Adrian took out a whetstone and began rhythmically sharpening a spearhead. “You guys know how Zulu warriors fought with spears? Very effective at close quarters. Put a three-foot shaft into this baby and thrust and slash, not throw. Almost impossible to defend against without a shield. These are deadly. Sharpen them and we’ll do some drilling to get used to them tomorrow.”
Each day they walked five miles, slowly. Adrian went ahead scouting the trail, leaving markers behind for the group to follow. Two of the men would spread out and take the flanks and one dropped back to cover the rear. In this way, they moved along at a pace the women could handle while building up strength. The women were eating four solid meals per day. On several occasions they spotted groups of starving walkers moving along the roads, and twice out in the fields. Adrian did not follow roads, only crossed them. Each crossing was made after careful scouting.
Avoiding the walkers was easy. The women had camouflaged clothing, which made it easy for them to hide by lying flat and being still. With the four men spread around the group as they moved, the walkers were always spotted first. The walkers were all starving, looking like death camp inmates, tight stretched skin over protruding bones.
Adrian camped early each day and spent the afternoons hunting, scouting, or practicing with the spears. They discovered that using an underhand thrusting motion they could put down an opponent rapidly and permanently. They practiced defense against the spears, to be better at offense. It was nearly impossible to block a thrust without being seriously cut by the blade. As Adrian had expected, shields were the only defense that would have a chance against one.
It took three weeks to reach Roman. The ladies were in much better condition when they got there, but they were pretty tired of camping. Several times they had stopped to hunt to supplement the MREs. The men had become adept at finding deer and wild boar. The wild boar was better eating than the deer. The hogs had more fat on them. They were also easier to find and kill because they would often attack, where deer ran away. The hog’s inclination to attack was a weakness that made them easier to kill. The spears were excellent hog killers. The best method was to slash the hog’s neck, cutting the jugular and waiting the couple of minutes it took to bleed out. Spears with longer shafts were better suited for hog hunting than were the stabbing spears.
On the twenty-third day after leaving the hospital, they came single-file out of the woods at Roman’s house. They came out of the bamboo like ghosts, completely silent, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Three weeks in the woods avoiding walkers had given the women woodcraft skills. The men had also been training them to fight; first with guns, then with spears, then with hands. Though not soldiers, these women would never again be totally helpless. They could now take pretty good care of themselves in dire situations. The men had also taught them the basics of hunting and gathering. This gave the women an overall confidence that they never before had.
Strong bonds had formed between the men and the women that would someday lead to marriages. However, all relationships had been kept away from the physical. Each knew, without having to discuss it, that the timing wasn’t right. There were stirrings of a bond forming between Adrian and Alice. Both instinctively tried to avoid it; one was a killer and one was a healer. “How could that work?” Adrian had wondered.
Adrian believed a doctor who had taken an oath to save lives would detest a professional killer. Over the three weeks, Alice came to see Adrian as a good man, and that he killed only to protect the people he cared for. She understood that better than he did; but she also believed he would want a woman more attractive than her, and it was obvious that he could take his pick of women.
Roman had come by the house to check it out for vandal damage. He and Sarah were still living in the brush, avoiding the walkers. So far they had been successful. When he saw Adrian and the rest coming out of the bamboo he lit up with delight. Sizing up the situation, he walked past Adrian and the men and addressed the women.
“Ladies, I’m so happy you are here. Please, let me welcome you to what I hope will be your new home.” The women, fearful of rejection upon arrival, were charmed and immediately at ease. Roman said, “I can’t wait until you meet Sarah—she is the love of my life, my reason for living, and my heart. Ladies, she is going to love you!” With those words, the women all fell in love with Roman. Exactly as he intended, he relieved them of any feelings of pressure that might have been lurking in their minds. Any thoughts that they might be welcome for less than sterling reasons were immediately dispelled. Roman had purposely set the proper tone right off. He hadn’t been married to Sarah for forty-three years and raised a daughter without learning something about how women thought.
He turned to the men with Adrian and said, “You men are as welcome as these ladies. I truly hope that you will honor Sarah and me by considering this your home just as if you were raised here. As far as I am concerned, you are all sons now.” The men, tough as they were, were moved. Moved to the point that no one dared say anything; they just nodded, looked at their feet and felt at home. Again, Roman knew what he was doing.
Then, finally, he turned to Adrian and choked up, no words were able to come out. Roman hugged Adrian long and hard. Finally, he was able to say in a rough voice, “Damn, boy, what took you so long? Sarah’s been worrying about you.”
Chapter 19
Karen saw the massive head of the hog push through the under-skirting. It had large, curled yellowed tusks. Its jaws were clacking together like steel traps. Its eyes were red with rage. This pig smelled food—and it would have it.
Carrying a 12-gauge pump shotgun loaded with double-ought buckshot, Karen in a panic pointed the muzzle at the hog and pulled the trigger. The hog’s reaction was instantaneous: it had never been shot at before, and the explosion and blinding flash at close range followed by the pain it felt as the buckshot tore into its shield terrified the hog. It shrieked, an eerie, nerve shattering, bone-chilling sound, before it turned and ran off.
Immediately the underside of the house turned into chaos as the adults grabbed their guns and ran to their assigned stations. In the darkness, it took a couple of minutes to get straight what had just happened. Karen was near hysterics after being only feet from the giant hog’s snapping teeth. As soon as all was calm again, Jerry and Dave stepped outside to search for the beast.
Dave stood by the fence, looking deeply into the brush. “He’ll be back if he isn’t badly wounded. And even then he still might come back. Hogs are known for seeking revenge. He found what he thought was easy pickings, and he probably hasn’t associated the gunshot with the food yet. If he comes back and we have to kill him in the yard, it will be hell getting rid of that porker. It will draw so much attention we might as well turn a spotlight on. We need to track it down and kill it away from the house.”
Jerry replied, “You’re right. One way or another we have to finish that hog off, and the further away the better. That’s why I brought the SK
S with full metal jacket bullets. These won’t expand, but they will penetrate. With the 12-gauge slugs you have, you’ll be able to hit him hard while I hit him deep. I am hoping it will provide a quick one-two punch out. If we can knock him down then we can do a quick coup de grace and get out of there.”
“Yeah, and no meat off this thing; I’m sure it’ll have been eating human flesh.”
They moved into the edge of the field and waited for first light. As soon as they could, they began looking for blood signs. They found some, but it quickly faded out. The wounds in the shield had sealed, shutting off blood flow. Now they were hunting a six hundred pound wounded monster. This was as dangerous as hunting a wounded rhino. More so, the hog was meaner than a rhino.
But though the blood trail ceased, the weight of the hog made its tracks show even in hard dirt. Jerry and Dave tracked it down to the creek. As they entered the thick brush, the monster charged them. It came at them at thirty miles an hour, knocking brush and saplings aside. It hurtled at them with rage, shrieking loudly.
Dave and Jerry stood shoulder to shoulder and began firing as fast as they could. It was impossible to aim for its head, so instead they poured lead into the center of its mass. But though they were hitting it, the hog would not slow.
At the last possible second Jerry and Dave jumped away from each other, letting the hog run between them. It skidded to a halt and turned to come back. As it turned broadside, they were firing at it again, this time hitting it in the shoulder and gut. One of the 12-gauge slugs hit the shoulder joint, breaking it. This slowed the hog down to a three-legged trot, but it kept coming, bloody and angry.
Dave had to stop to reload. Jerry had rounds left. He carefully aimed between the hog’s eyes and put two fast shots in. The hog was dead on its running feet and still came on until the legs lost coordination. It skidded to a stop and fell, inches away. One last rancid breath came from its mouth. Standing, it had been four feet tall and eight feet long. Laying on its side it was still three feet high. It was truly a monster from hell.
Jerry and Dave quickly left the area, moved up the creek in thick brush and waited to see if anyone would come to the shots. No one showed, so they went back to the house as inconspicuously as possible. Jerry looked back over the fence and saw two emaciated men walking up to the hog. He soon heard a whoop as they discovered the huge pile of meat. Jerry knew it would be only a matter of hours before the hog was completely butchered and hauled away. Some family would eat well for a few days, probably not knowing what the hog had been feeding on. Or not caring if they did. If not for their food stores, the families would be butchering the hog themselves.
Dave and Jerry watched the butchering from one of the dormer windows. They wanted to see how many people showed up and where they came from. They thought that the word might spread and a lot of people would come out. They were surprised that only four or five did, all from the same place. They had just managed to haul off the rear legs and come back for more when a group of six armed men showed up.
Jerry said, “Must be a local gang.”
“Makes sense to me. They hear gunfire and that can only mean one thing: someone has food and someone is trying to take it away from them. If you’re starving, it’s worth checking if you can take the food for yourself. I wouldn’t be surprised if another gang doesn’t show up and they either decide to share the meat or fight for it.”
Jerry spotted another group. “No sooner said…look, there’s another gang; five of them.”
As the first gang had shown up, the emaciated men armed only with kitchen knives fled. As the second gang came into view of the first gang, gunfire erupted. The firefight was quick, with group one taking two casualties and group two taking three. The uninjured men in group one chased after the fleeing group two. For a few minutes came brief bursts of gunfire. Then the first gang came back.
They built a fire and began butchering and cooking the hog on the spot. They eventually tended to the wounds of their comrades, in crude fashion, but not until they had meat cooking. Within an hour, they had gorged themselves on partially cooked hog.
Dave, watching them, shook his head. “They’re going to be sick puppies in a few days. That hog probably has several kinds of internal parasites and they can carry several diseases transmittable to humans. I can’t believe they don’t know not to eat partially cooked pig.”
“Yeah,” replied Jerry, “and it looks like they’ve settled in for as long as the meat lasts. I bet they stay right there until they eat all that hog or it turns rotten. That means we have ugly neighbors for a few days. I wonder how long before they start checking houses. My bet would be they start in a couple of hours, after they get full.”
“Our house will be on the list, maybe one of the first. We need to decide what we’re going to do, Jerry. Wait and see what happens or take preemptive action.”
Jerry paced back and forth. “Tough decision. If we attack them we may be able to kill them all. If we wait until they are in the house it could get bad, with the kids and wives too close. If they come in and look around and leave then we should be OK. If they come in and look around and stay or find us, then it would get ugly.”
Dave continued watching from the window. “Four healthy men and two wounded. Our best bet would be to ambush them without warning. Question is, just us two or do we include the women?”
Jerry stopped pacing and looked out the window. “My inclination is not to include the women in the ambush, but we could use the extra firepower. Two more guns would make a big difference. Maybe we should ask them what they think, include them in the decision. I’ll go bring them up.”
Jerry returned with Karen and Shirley. The women looked out the dormer window at the situation. Jerry and David explained what they thought the options were and asked their opinions.
Shirley turned sharply to face the two men. She looked outraged. “We have children to protect. Those thugs would probably rape and kill them if they got a chance. We don’t give them a chance. We attack them tonight while they sleep. I bet they keep that fire going all night and the guard, if they post one, falls asleep. We can be out there a couple of hours before daylight and open up on them. With four of us shooting and total surprise, I think we can eliminate them without them getting off a shot.”
Dave smiled grimly. “I’m glad I’m on your side, woman.”
Karen said, “I agree. We can watch them from here until it’s time to go. I’ll put the kids on notice so they know what’s going on.”
Jerry said, “OK, we agree on the plan. Now, let’s look beyond the shooting. Do we leave the bodies there or do we get rid of them? Clean up, so to speak. It would be a lot of work. I am not sure if we want to get rid of them to reduce our profile around here, or leave them there as a warning to other gangs. What do you guys think?”
Dave returned to the window. “Good point. I vote to leave them there, and in fact, I vote to pose the bodies in a way that makes the message clear.”
Karen said, “I like that. You know, Roman said the next phase would be armed gangs roaming around. Looks like he’s right. I bet there will be more gangs coming through here. Maybe a message will help.”
That night the four of them worked into positions around the sleeping gang. At the first blast the sleeping men struggled to rise, but were brutally mown down. The two women went on watch while Jerry and Dave posed the bodies in a circle, setting them back to back with a loop of rope to hold them up. The next morning the men with knives returned and removed most of the pig’s carcass—they did not touch the dead men.
That night a herd of hogs came out of the creek bed and ate the remains of the pig’s carcass and most of the men’s bodies, leaving a gory sight for Jerry to find the next morning.
Chapter 20
Matt hiked to the high fence and began a long slow inspection. He was looking for signs of where this new poacher may have breached it. By the time it was dark he had not found it. Perhaps the poacher had climbed over? That would
have been smarter as it would not leave a signal as to his presence.
After dark, Matt walked back to the windmill where they found the arrow. He climbed the inspection platform and looked in all directions. He thought he saw a faint glow in the distance, but surprisingly it was on the property, not off it as he had assumed.
There was another windmill closer to where he thought he saw the glow, so Matt went to it, climbed it, and looked. This time he was positive he saw the glow—and he knew where it was. Three dry washes came together there, in a deep hole that would provide a good camp in dry weather. It would be out of sight and a careful person could build a small fire. As Matt thought this the glow went out. The poacher must have finished cooking his dinner. “Careful, this one,” Matt thought. “He’s savvy.”
Matt knew that he should get Alfred before confronting this poacher, but he wanted to get more information first. He wanted to see how many there were and how they were armed. Matt could find the camp without the fire to guide him; he knew the terrain here intimately.
Walking slow and careful, Matt made his way to the camp, sticking to the darkest shadows. This was slow and tedious going. It was all too easy to step on a dry twig, making a noise like a firecracker in a church. But he had the whole night—and the next day—so he took his time.
The moon would rise around midnight, giving him some light, so at the campsite Matt stopped and waited before moving closer. As the moon came up, Matt’s eyes could make out shapes easily. He crawled the rest of the way to the wash, slipping up to the lip. He chose a low brush to come up beside so that when his head cleared the wash’s lip it would hopefully appear to be just part of the bush, if anyone was watching. When he could see down into the wash, he saw the poacher staring in his direction. Possibly staring right at him. He was wide-awake and looked alert. Matt had moved so slowly that he believed he was undetected even though the poacher was looking in his direction.
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