by Mack Norman
They walked until the sun was sinking in the west and Rob said, “Max, we’re just below Green Hills, and there are several hot rod and car restoration shops a block from here. Let’s spend the night at one of them and see if we can find one of their projects and borrow it to get to Gallatin.”
Rob led them to the first shop, and there were several hot rods there, but they all had been converted to modern engines with computerized fuel injection and electronic ignition. They traveled across the street to Cal’s Custom Rods and found the owner dead in the back and signs of a struggle. The owner had been shot several times and spent shells were all over the floor. There were several hot rods, and an old Suburban in the shop and all had holes in the side, and a few had broken glass.
“I’ll check out the Suburban, and each of you check out one of the others,” Rob said.
Max walked over to an older Chevy truck and saw quickly that the engine had the heads off and wasn’t worth their effort. He joined Tony as he sat down in a 1963 Impala and turned the ignition key. The engine roared to life and shot flames out the side pipes.
Tony said, “The cutouts are open. I’ll close them and get this baby purring instead of roaring.”
Tony fetched some tools from the closest tool chest, lay down beside the car, and moved the covers over the open exhaust and bolted them shut. He started the car again, and this time it produced a deep rumble.
“This baby is purring like a kitten and will get us there. We need another vehicle, or we’ll be sitting in each other’s laps,” said a smiling Tony.
Rob was under the hood of the Suburban with Roger behind the wheel when, Rob said, “Try it.”
The old Suburban cranked then belched black smoke and fired up producing a deep throated roar as Roger pushed the pedal down. Roger let the engine fall back down to an idle, and the old truck idled a bit rough but was good to go to Gallatin.
Several of Tony’s men clustered around an old Chevy pickup when suddenly the engine roared to life, and the men cheered. They drove it over and parked by the Suburban.
Max slapped everyone on the back and said, “Let’s load our supplies and extra weapons in the vehicles now so we can hit the road early in the morning. Tomorrow will be a bit rougher than today. After a night without heat or electricity, most people will realize they are in deep shit and start to panic. I want to be on the road by 4:00am and get to the warehouse area before dawn if possible.”
Greg said, “Amy how about cooking us some grub?”
Amy picked up a sandwich from the bag and threw it at him as she replied, “Shut your pie hole, or I’ll shove cooking up your ass.”
Greg laughed and said, “I guess you haven’t been domesticated yet.”
Tony waved at Amy back as she jumped to her feet and then told Greg, “Greg, Amy has killed men for less than what you just said.”
Greg stuttered as he replied, “Amy I was just joking. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings.”
Tony said, “Greg shut the fuck up you are just digging a deeper hole. She’ll probably slit your throat while you sleep tonight.”
Max sternly said, “Hey, we all need to get along to survive this disaster. There will be time for fun and games later. Everyone has a case of the nerves right now, and we need to respect each other and just get along. Amy wait a month then if you have to go ahead and kill Greg.”
Tony added, “Let’s all get a good night’s rest and start fresh in the morning. I’ll take first watch for two hours, then Amy, Roger, and then Max if that’s okay with everyone.”
Greg moved away from the others and made a bed in the office after pushing the desk and filing cabinet against the door. He didn’t sleep all night thinking about that knife at his throat.
“Amy, you have been a loyal soldier for almost ten years, and your father and my father worked together for 42 years. We have been friends for most of our lives. I literally trust you with my life and will always be loyal to you and your family. I need a favor,” said Tony.
“Boss you just have to tell me what to do or who to kill,” replied Amy.
“I’ll catch you later when everyone goes to sleep.”
Later that night Amy came to give her boss a break, and they had a much needed conversation. Tony looked at the somewhat attractive brown haired woman who never wore makeup or dresses and chose his words carefully before he said, “Amy, I know you would do anything I order, but this won’t be an order. The world went to shit yesterday, and we need these people on our side. The favor is I want you to be nice to Greg and the others. You don’t have to like them just act like you do. The world we know is dead, and we are starting over. You, Roger, and Oscar will be my right hand men as we start a new empire down here around Nashville. Help me grow our family and take over this area.”
“Boss, I will do anything you ask. You know that. I just don’t like kissing anyone’s ass.”
“You don’t have to kiss their asses just play nice and don’t kill any of them. We need them to survive. When we don’t need them, you can kill them all.”
Amy stood guard for the next two hours fuming because Tony Mongolusia saw her as one of his men and not a potential lover or wife. She had been in love with him since they were kids playing while their fathers planned the next bank heist. She hung with the male kids of the crime bosses just to be around Tony and did whatever they did, which soon became petty theft and graduated to carjacking and then to murder when required.
Amy was now a 38 year old single woman with no family and a small apartment in New York City who felt more comfortable with a Glock in her hand than a man’s hand. She was a very serious person who didn’t have much of a life outside of her Mob family and didn’t socialize with them except for business functions. While she had a quick wit and a great sense of humor she kept many of her best qualities hidden so she would be taken seriously by the Mob men.
Time to leave came abruptly with everyone rubbing their eyes and none ready to face the first full day of the apocalypse. Max searched through the bags in the Suburban and pitched a muffin and a candy bar to each one.
“Sorry it’s not bacon, eggs, and toast but it will have to do for now,” said Max.
“Yummy,” replied Amy as she tore into the muffin and then said, “Thanks Max for having us gather the food and weapons. Your experience is a blessing to the group.”
Greg’s jaw dropped, but he didn’t dare to say a word as he ran his fingers across his neck for the thousandth time since last night. He kept a wary eye on the woman as he prepared to leave that morning.
Max said, “You can use the bathrooms just use these jugs of water to flush the toilet. Oh, only flush solid waste until everyone is done to conserve water. I want to be on the road by 4:00.”
One of Oscar’s men asked, “Why do we care about the toilets?”
“You don’t, but the next guy will,” was all Max replied.
Max walked outside and immediately smelled smoke and heard random gunshots in the distance. Max could see a dozen fires burning back toward Nashville.
Max was startled from his thoughts by Amy who walked up behind him and said, “Max is it really the end of the world?”
“Amy it’s the end of the world as we know it. The new world that starts today will be what we make of it. Of course, we won’t have TV, the internet or electricity, but our distant relatives survived and even thrived without modern conveniences.”
“They also died from abscessed teeth, infected cuts, and appendicitis attacks but whose worried,” replied Amy with a strange laugh.
Max looked and Amy and saw a scared little girl under all the tough talk and wondered what she would look like in a dress, heels, and makeup. She was attractive even dressed like a man, her hair in a bun, and no makeup. He thought she worked very hard being tough enough to exist in a gang of cutthroats.
Max patted Amy on the back and asked, “Amy are your folks safe? I’m sorry but what I meant is are they living in a safe area?”
“My fam
ily can take care of themselves. My dad always worked for Tony’s dad, and he and mom retired over in Jersey out in the country. He raises chickens and a large garden as his hobbies. He will keep mom safe.”
“That’s good, mine are at my ranch and should be very safe dining on all of my food and water I stocked away for the apocalypse.”
There was a burst of gunfire, and Amy said, “That was an AK47 on full auto. The animals are restless this morning.”
Max caught Rob and asked, “Rob, will you stay with your ex?”
“Do what?”
“You said you were heading north to check on your ex.”
Rob smiled and said, “That was only an excuse to leave my friends. I hate my ex and the kids were hers, not mine.”
Twenty minutes later they pulled out of the shop with Bob insisting that Tony rides with Sam, Rob, and him in the 1963 Impala. Greg, Ralph, Amy, and Roger joined Max in the Suburban and followed Rob who was driving the Impala. The rest of the men road in the pickup with their guns ready, and they took the lead. Oscar’s wounded man was made comfortable in the back of the truck.
They drove slowly by the light of a full moon with their headlights off to not attract unwanted attention. The streets were littered with stalled and wrecked cars, small delivery trucks, and large semi trucks and trailers. They had to take side roads several times and worried about some gang trying to steal their vehicles. Everyone kept their windows down and guns ready if needed.
They had traveled about three miles when they saw several men shooting at the front windows of a building on the corner of Highway 70 and North Mt. Juliet Road.
Rob said, “That’s RBK Gun Armory. One of my friend’s dad owns that store. Let’s help them, and maybe we can get more ammo.”
Tony and Bob were in agreement, so they stopped to let Max pull up beside them and told the passengers in Max’s truck their plan. They parked the cars behind a gas station, checked their ARs and pistols and then worked their way toward the men who were shooting at the gun shop.
As they approached the shop, an older large farm truck drove up, and it was clear that the gang of thieves intended to ram the front door to gain access to the gun store. Amy, Roger and Tony’s other men took the lead and closed the distance to the farm truck quickly. Their shots couldn’t be heard over the gunfire from the gang and the return gunfire from the store.
The two men in the truck and one behind it were killed with single shots to the head and then Amy and Roger again worked their way up behind the remaining three gunmen and dispatched them with three well placed shots and the attack was over. The silence was soon broken by gunshots in the distance, but the immediate danger was past.
Rob tied a white t-shirt to the barrel of his rifle and walked up to the front door to hear a man say, “Get your ass out of here before we kill you, you sorry asshole.”
“Hey Joe, it’s me, Rob. We killed the ones attacking you. The fight is over.”
“Rob, what the hell are you doing out in this mess at night?”
“We’re trying to get to Gallatin where my friends live. Are y’all okay,” asked Rob.
“Yes, Dad has a flesh wound, and I got a scratch, but we'll survive. Do you know what the hell happened to the power and where are the police? Hell, the phones don’t work, and I can’t even get my shortwave radio to work.”
“If you let my friends come in we’ll explain what happened,” replied Rob.
Max had talked for ten minutes explaining what happened to the world when he ended with, “Mr. King, your shop will eventually be overrun by criminals and others seeking guns. You won’t be able to hold them back forever. You need to take that old farm truck and load as many guns and ammo as possible and head out to a safe place. This shop will be under constant attack until it is a smoking crater.”
“Son, I know that you believe what you are saying, but I don’t believe that foolishness. Law and order will be back in a few days, and we just need to hold out. I think you just want to rob the place after we leave.”
Tony had gone to the car and came back with a black bag, he said, “Sir we do want some of your guns, but we came ready to pay for them. Look here.”
Tony pulled out several bundles of cash and said, “There are fifty thousand dollars. Sell us the guns and ammunition we need, and you won’t have to worry about those being stolen.”
Oscar took over selecting the weapons that they wanted to purchase. He chose four .338 Lapua hunting rifles, six .308 hunting rifles, a dozen Glock and Beretta 9mm pistols and an assortment of shotguns and small caliber pistols and rifles. All of the rifles had scopes installed, and he added a dozen Red Dot sights to be mounted on the ARs. He then had the owner stack boxes of ammo for each weapon on the counter until the owner told them by his tracking they had spent their fifty thousand dollars. They loaded everything into the vehicles and drove on.
They only saw a few people out on the streets, but none challenged them as they wound their way around the crashed and stalled cars. Their luck changed for the worst when they approached the bridge over the Cumberland River to Gallatin. The bridge had a hundred cars stalled from one end to the other.
“Shit, Max what do we do now. We can’t leave our supplies and guns here,” said an angry Oscar.
“Dang it. My heroes always go around blocked bridges, but I guess that all of them look like this one.
They parked at the entrance to the bridge and walked across to the other side to see what would have to be done to clear the bridge. The bridge had four lanes with a middle lane marked off in yellow that was blocked by a concrete barricade in the middle of the bridge. Max estimated there were about a hundred cars abandoned on the bridge and that only nine vehicles had to be moved for them to drive across to the other side.
Rob said, “Let me take the pick up, and I can push the first two cars out of the way, and then we’ll have to tow a couple off the bridge to get to the middle. We need a tow strap, chain, or heavy rope and someone to steer the abandoned cars.”
Max replied, “I just hope the owners left the dang keys in the cars.”
“Oscar take a couple of men over to that auto parts store we passed about a block back and fetch a tow strap, crowbar, and some mechanic’s tools,” said Tony.
Rob walked back to the bridge with Ralph and Greg and found that the first car blocking their path had the keys in the ignition. Rob and Ralph pushed the first car off the bridge while Greg steered. The task took little effort since the bridge sloped down from the middle to the bank. They repeated the effort on a pickup, and this opened the first forth of the bridge.
Oscar returned, and half of Tony’s men joined Rob, Ralph, and Greg removing vehicles from the bridge while the others watched their vehicles.
“This one doesn’t have any keys,” said Greg.
Tony walked over to the new Chevy and beat on the steering column, and then used the crowbar to destroy the steering wheel lock. The wheel turned freely, they put the car in neutral and pushed it off the bridge by hand. The vehicles would roll by themselves down the grade to the bank, and the driver would continue until the vehicle was out of the way.
They cleared all of the cars in the first half of the bridge and sent a team to work on the cars on the other end. They used the tow strap to pull several cars up the grade to the middle so they could be pushed down the grade.
Max looked at their progress with his binoculars and saw Tony wave for them to drive across the bridge. The entire operation took two hours and received a lot of attention from people on the street and in some of the businesses. Oscar’s men had to scare a few off when they demanded some of the group's weapons. The punks ran when Oscar fired a warning shot above their heads.
They were in the middle of the bridge when several bullets struck the Suburban breaking the back glass. Amy and Oscar fired back at the shooters, and then they drove on across the bridge and on north on Highway 109 dodging stalled vehicles. They were about to turn west on Highway 174 when they saw a half do
zen men wearing police uniforms at the junction.
They slowly drove up to the men, and Bob got out of the car, walked up to the men, showed his badge and said, “We need to pass through. We have a prisoner that has to be delivered to the authorities at the prison in Eddyville.”
“My my a Federal Marshal. I’m sorry, but we have to seize your vehicles for police use for the City of Gallatin. Please have your people get out and leave the keys in the cars,” the leader said as he drew his weapon.
There was an explosion of gunfire from behind the Marshal, and all of the police fell to the ground as the bullets riddled their bodies.
“What the fuck? You just killed six cops. I could have talked them out of this,” said a shocked and angry Bob.
Tony walked over to Bob and said, “They were going to kill us and take everything we have. Look at their shoes. Why would the Gallatin Police wear tennis shoes and orange plastic slippers.”
“Shit, you are right. These thugs killed the police and took their uniforms. When the power went out, they escaped from the local jail. Thanks for saving us,” said Bob as his face turned bright red from the embarrassment of being fooled by the criminals.
They drove a short way and were on Veteran’s Memorial Highway and finally saw dozens of big box warehouses on both sides. They also saw several department stores, pawnshops, and grocery stores being looted or on fire.
∞
Chapter 4: The Warehouse
Greg pointed north to several buildings off to themselves and said, “Winthrop Logistics Company owns all of those buildings and operates the logistics for their clients. There are distribution centers that handle grocery dry goods, Home Hardware, Better Buy, auto parts, and an energy drink company. There is a fence around the complex with razor ribbon on top, and we could take over all of the warehouses.”