by Tim Yingling
It took us another three minutes from going into the woods to get back to camp. Kate and Linny were already up and waiting for us.
“What’s going on out there?” Kate asked as I got off my horse.
I looked at Ernie. I couldn’t blame him for this. “We just got into a scuffle as we tried to get the horses.” I helped Linny onto her horse, then handed her bag to her. “I need you to take the kids and get the fuck out of here. Head to seventy-nine and go south to Morgantown.”
“Sarge, I’m not leaving you to deal with these people alone. You don’t know them like I do.”
I put my hand on her leg. Not in an affectionate manner, but in a friendly manner. “It will be okay, Kate. You don’t know half of what I can do. No one does. Now, go.”
Ernie spoke up from behind Kate. “It’s okay, Aunt Kate. He’ll catch up.”
She turned back to me. She looked like she thought she would never see me again. She can think that all she wants. It won’t make it true. These men and women had no idea what they were getting involved in.
Before they took off, Linny asked, “How will you know where to find us in Morgantown? It’s a big city.”
Kate answered for me. “He’ll know how to when he gets there.” She hitched her horse. Ernie and Linny followed suit and off they went.
I turned to my horse. He was moving off back into the woods. That would be okay. Once all is said and done, if I can’t find him back there then I would just have to go back to one of the barns and get another one. No harm.
A noise broke my concentration about the horse. I knew the noise from hearing it a lot in the military. The military likes to say that they don’t like fat bodied people, but there surely is a lot. The huffing and puffing adding in with the clumping feet were a dead sign that someone of the bigger nature was running toward me.
I still left my rifle where it was, but I did take my FLC from the ground. It housed my field knife. That would be much more effective than my pocket knife. After dawning my FLC, I pulled the field knife (a titanium diving knife, I just find them better than other knives) and pushed back against a tree that would offer me considerable concealment.
I listened closely to the approaching feet. This man was a beast. He outran everyone else. Even the three smaller, more athletic bikers. I wish I still had some of his stamina. Well, I probably do now because of all the walking and running I have done in the last two weeks or so, but still.
He stopped before coming a bit closer to my rifle’s position. It was right across from him. And this was precisely the reason I left it where it was. I couldn’t use anything else as bait to draw someone in closer. The rifle was just as deadly sitting there than in my hands.
The biker moved in closer. I inched to my left a bit so he wouldn’t be able to see me. Every step he took I maneuvered a little more so I stayed hidden. Eventually, I came to the point of having my right shoulder on the tree. I switched my knife to my left hand and waited. This guy knew what he was doing. He was being cautious of his surroundings. He also could have been waiting for the others to show up, but that was unlikely. He still had a good hundred pounds on me, so he probably thought he could handle me himself. Which was the other reason I left the rifle out there.
The bikers knew what my pistol was. They knew how many rounds it housed. And he most likely knew how many rounds I have fired from it. What he didn’t take into account was that I was back at my camp and had more ammo. That could have been a lapse in judgement. But it didn’t matter. I finally saw what I needed to see.
The barrel of his rifle came into view. It was an AK-47 as well. That would be perfect for me. If all of them had AK-47s then I would only need to take two, then go gather all their ammo from wherever it is. I did notice that some of the men had military rank on their kuttes. Obviously, they didn’t pay that much attention to use tactics, they were breaking so many rules.
I reached up with my right hand to take hold of the rifle. I managed to aim it in a safe direction from myself before he fired. The heat coming off the rounds hurt, but I didn’t let go of the barrel. I couldn’t. I had to move fast though.
I thrust up with my left hand for the biker’s throat. The uppercut move proved not to work. He saw it coming. What he didn’t see was what came next. With my hand still in the air, and out of his field of view, I flipped the knife in the swing. Instead of aiming for his throat, I aimed for the soft part of his shoulder. In between his clavicle and shoulder blade. The knife went in like butter. He let out a squeal of pain, but the squeal turned into a roar as I pulled the knife out.
He let go of the rifle with his left hand. That offered me the chance to yank the rifle out of his right hand. His left hand went to the new wound he had. The wound that would kill him in less than five minutes with as much blood as was coming out.
I left him to die. I wouldn’t waste any more effort on him. Plus, the other six were approaching. It was time to do what I do best.
This time I took both rifles before ducking into the woods. I moved back about a hundred feet and put the AK-47 down. I turned left and moved down another hundred feet. I stopped at a spot where I could see where the bikers were. It was still hard with no moonlight. All I could do was make out their shadows. That was enough for me. I didn’t think they would be able to see me moving around further back in.
I placed the .762 against the tree. I didn’t think I would make it to the rifles, but it did give me a chance to move back if need be. Before I moved forward, I took the half-empty clip out of the .45 and put a fresh one in. Didn’t need to worry about putting a round in the chamber. There was already one in there.
The others finally reached their dying friend. They looked in all directions for me. I was actually in the process of inching myself closer to them. As I moved, I stayed silent by walking on the outside of my feet.
When I was close enough to where they could hear me, I finally spoke. Truthfully, I was close enough to touch all of them if I wanted to, but I liked playing with people with these types of minds.
“Why don’t you all count your losses and beat feet out of here?” I asked. I kept my voice soft and somewhat distant. After I was done, their reaction was comical.
They all raised their weapons in the directions they were facing with my first word. As I talked they danced around like kids who needed to take a leak. When I was finished, they didn’t know what to do. One of the guys looked a little scared by the game.
Another of the men, one who stood close to Terry every time I saw him, said, “We can’t do that. You killed our president, and now you must pay.”
I inched around the circle of them as I spoke. “I also killed Clyde and that one lying on the ground there.”
The man who spoke I placed as either the V.P. or SGT at Arms for the club. He moved to where he thought my voice was coming from.
“Yeah, we’ll have to kill you three times over for that shit.” He managed to get to the spot where I started out. “Now, why don’t you just come out and we’ll make this quick?”
A dry laugh is what I gave him. “You thought I was still there? And you wonder why I haven’t turned myself into you all yet.”
The dark features of his face didn’t offer me that much. But I could tell how pissed he was. He moved to the spot where he thought I was. He got nowhere near because he went in the complete opposite direction.
“You’re getting colder, Arms.”
Every head turned to him. I moved back into the woods after this. It was time to divide and conquer.
“Why ‘Arms?’” he asked. He seemed quizzical about it.
“I figured you are one of the top three along with Terry and Clyde. Clyde wanted the president’s daughter, so I figured he was the V.P. That would place you as the SGT at Arms.”
He moved in the direction I was moving. The two men were as well.
“You’re wrong. I’m the vice and Clyde wasn’t one of the three.”
“Okay, so I’m wrong. Doesn’t change t
he fact that if you six don’t leave now, you will all die in the next two minutes.”
The older woman of the three finally stepped forward. This had to be Mrs. Terry.
“Enough of this shit. I want my daughter and grandchildren now you motherfucker.”
I put a round in her head. She fell to the ground as the men raised their rifles and fired in all directions. A couple of the rounds came close, but not close enough. I hit the ground and high crawled closer to them.
The V.P. put his hand up to stop them from firing. The others did as they were told. They moved further into the woods. The women stayed where they were. The men were moving my direction. I stopped and rolled to my right twice. Little to no noise came from me. The three of them passed right by me with no knowledge of me being there.
I waited for them to pass. It didn’t take too long. Once the last guy passed, I got up and crouched walked to him. I put my left hand over his mouth and then drove my knife into his chest three times. He stopped fighting on the second stab, but I added the third for good measure. He still wasn’t dead though. As I brought him to the ground, I put the knife into his throat. Blood poured onto me in a second.
I shoved him off and moved to the .762. As I went, I said, “Looks as if you are down to four now. Just saying.”
Mr. V.P. stopped and looked behind him. The man behind him turned in the direction my voice came from. He didn’t have time to raise his rifle. I already had the .762 in my hand and put one round into his chest. He didn’t move that much, but he did fall to the ground in a grunt.
“WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!!” Mr. V.P. yelled. He turned in every direction he could think.
As he spun around, I put the rifle back down and moved closer to him. He was only twenty feet from me.
“You couldn’t find me even if I was right in front of you,” I said. And I was right in front of him, but he still didn’t see me. Granted I was on the ground, but still. There was no excuse.
Mr. V.P. fired as he spun. He showed no regard for the two women still at the beginning of the camp. They dropped to the ground, but not before the non-naked one took a grazing round to the shoulder. She would live.
I popped up when the dry fire started. He wouldn’t be able to stop me even if he wanted to. Placing my hand on the barrel this time would be a major mistake. I would have to cut my skin off if I did. Instead, I put my hand on the upper receiver of the AK-47. Mr. V.P. stopped with a stutter. He looked into my eyes, and I right back into his.
“You all should have left well enough alone. I didn’t want this.” With that, I put a round from my pistol into his stomach. Not a deadly shot to begin with, but one that would leave him incapacitated for the foreseeable future. And in a lot of pain.
Mr. V.P. dropped to the ground. I took the rifle and any magazines he had on him. The first place I went was to get the .762. After that, I moved back to the other AK-47. I slung both the AK-47s on my left shoulder. I knew the other two females were still alive, one more so than the other.
The naked female must have gotten a bad gash when I threw her out the window. She was bleeding profusely when I saw her up close. I gave her another thirty minutes to live when I saw her before. She was down to about twenty-seven.
As I got closer, I said, “I don’t know if you two want to live or not, but I strongly suggest you drop your weapons and get out of here. Especially to get saggy titty there some first aid. That cut on her inner leg is going to kill her in the next half-hour.”
They couldn’t see me, but I could see them. I positioned myself behind a big spruce. They knew where I was anyway.
The clothed woman said, “Do you promise not to shoot us in the back if we decide to leave you be?”
“Woman, when it comes to women and children I don’t want to kill them unless they give me a reason. Mrs. Terry gave me a reason, so I put her down before she could fulfill whatever it was she meant to do. I suggest you put any weapon you have down, to include your ammo, and hightail it back to the house to get your friend fixed up.”
They exchanged another look. Then they raised their rifles and fired in my direction. I dropped to one knee, going to the opposite side of the tree. I fired back at them, aiming a little better than they were. I didn’t want to do it, but I had no choice. They would continue to fight no matter what.
They didn’t last that long. I put well-placed rounds into their chests. But they did finally drop their weapons.
I moved forward. Naked woman was still alive. I reached down, shifting the rifles on my shoulder a little so they wouldn’t fall, and took her ammo. I did the same for the clothed woman. She was dead.
When I straightened up I heard another noise. One that I have become accustomed to in the last month. One that I don’t like to hear. The shuffling feet is what kills it for me. But one was approaching. Big Boy must have finally reanimated as the undead. He was coming for me. I could tell that even without turning around. But I did turn around.
My thoughts proved to be correct. He was coming for me. He was locked on. He wouldn’t reach me, though.
I backed up. As I did, Naked Woman grabbed my ankle and pleaded, “Please help me. Don’t let me become one of them.”
I didn’t look at her as I talked. “You should have done what I said. Then maybe you wouldn’t be in the situation you now find yourself.”
I put a round in each of its knees. I planned it perfectly. Big Boy fell on top of Naked Woman. I turned around at the sound of the chomps. I didn’t want to watch or hear it.
Some of you may find what I did a bit cold-hearted. My argument to you is that she got what she deserved. She was going to become one of them anyway. If she and her friend decided to take the deal I offered them, then maybe she could have survived. I don’t feel any remorse for what I did. I gave her the chance to leave and live. She didn’t take it. It was her own fault.
I decided I wasn’t going to look for the horse I rode out on. He was probably long gone by now anyway.
I put the rifles through the fence before I climbed it. It was easier that way. On the other side of the fence, I didn’t bother running or trotting across the field. It was time for me to take my sweet time on something. The few horses I did see the first time I went through the field were now awake. They moved in the same direction I did. The automatic well provided them with water for the last two weeks, there was no reason to doubt that it wasn’t doing it right now.
I moved with the horses. They didn’t seem to mind I was there. As a matter of fact, they guarded me from some approaching zombies. The zombies must have heard the gunfire and decided to check it out. At least three of the five were newbies to the area, two of them were Terry and Clyde. Just on general principle I wanted to kill those two again, but decided against it. If I set fire to them out in the field then the field would go up and take the horses with them. No need to kill the innocent horses for something they can’t control.
The zombies tried to attack the horses, but didn’t get too far. Once a zombie got close to a horse that horse would move away. It would turn its hind legs to the zombie and kick out until the zombie either walked away or got kicked. I didn’t have to worry about getting attacked by a horse zombie at least.
It took me much longer to get to the barns than it did the first time. But it did take me a shorter amount of time to get a horse set up. I placed all the same things on the new horse as I did the others. This time I was able to find some rifle holsters and four sets of saddle bags. I know the saddlebags wouldn’t come in handy just yet, but the rifle holsters would. I placed two on the left side (the AK-47s) and one on the right. Everything was ready for me to head out.
I looked at my watch before I did so. From the time I woke up until I was ready to head to West Virginia, it took an hour and ten minutes. Shit, I only sent Kate and the kids away thirty-five minutes before I headed out. They probably got a good four or five miles out before bringing the horses down to a slow trot. They had to be about ten miles from me now. I woul
dn’t be able to catch them until I got to Morgantown.
And Kate was right. I would be able to find them in Morgantown. If she was smart, which she is, she would leave a sign for me to follow. I know she was going to, so I didn’t need to worry about that.
Before I set out, I stopped to look at the bikes one last time. It wouldn’t be anything for me to go find the keys to one of the bikes and ride that. But I still didn’t want to take anything that would make too much noise. That definitely left Harley’s out. No need in attracting undue attention. Maybe once I got to Pilgrim that would be another story. But Pilgrim was still at least two weeks away. I would get there before my nineteenth of July deadline.
I guided the horse to the left and set out. I didn’t open him up or anything, there was no need. The horse was going faster than I was when I walked.
* * * *
Saturday, 2 July 2016 (Night)
Morgantown, WV
514 Miles to Pilgrim, Indiana (209 Miles to Commerce, WV)
The going was slow at first. It was still dark out and stayed that way for three hours. I tried my best to stay going in a south-southwest cardinal direction. That would definitely get me to where I needed to go. Either I would find a sign guiding me to Morgantown or I would hit I-79 which would take me right into Morgantown. I was going to make it there before days end.
The back roads I stayed on were somewhat deserted. There were a few places that were clogged down with cars, but not many. I figured this was because most people liked to stay close to the freeway. That was okay. It made it easier for me to move.
As the sun came up, I stopped at a gas station. I had no clue where I was. There were two things I was looking for. One was a map of the area. It had none. The map rack laid on the floor behind the counter, empty. The other thing was food. I found some, but not much. The pickings were getting slim. I took what I could and left.
I rode for another two hours. Eventually, I came to a major road. It wasn’t I-79, but it was a highway. Route 43 is what it was. I followed the road, even though it took me to the south-east instead of west. Hopefully, it would get me to where I needed to go.