The Last Layover

by Steven Bird

  Molly powered on the perimeter trail cams and the close-in infrared cameras to assess the situation, while Judy began to check Griff's wounds and administer first aid. “Looks like it went clean through your leg and missed your femur, thank goodness,” Judy said. What happened?”

  Griff applied pressure to the wound while they waited on Molly to take a look. “I was walking out to check the lock on the gate as usual, when I guess I surprised those guys as they came around the corner heading for the gate. One of them pulled a rifle up—an AK, I think—and popped off a couple shots and one got me as I turned to run,” he explained.

  She then ran and grabbed Molly's trauma kit and started getting him patched up for the moment, to at least get the bleeding to stop. “This will do for now. Let me know if you start feeling funny or anything,” she said as she applied the dressing.

  Molly scanned the cameras and looked at Griff and said, “Can you walk? Can you get around?”

  “Sure, what do you need?” he asked.

  She tossed him a hand-held radio and said, “There are several trucks at the gate. It looks like they are trying to cut the lock.

  Griff said, “I’m on it. Jake, go get me your Dad's .50 cal and a VZ58 and plenty of ammo. Greg, you go with him and grab a VZ for each of you. Help him carry it all.” In just a few moments, Greg and Jake came back into the basement with everything Griff and ordered. “Now, Jake, you stay here and guard the women and girls; you're the last line of defense. Greg, help me carry this stuff up to the top floor.”

  Greg and Griff took the fifty, their two VZ58 rifles, and several cans of ammo up to the top floor of the house where they would have the best vantage point. Griff took the fifty caliber rifle out of its case, loaded a single round into the chamber, and aimed the rifle through the shooting cross cut into the reinforced shutters. He aimed at the man cutting the lock and eased the trigger back until a thundering boom resulted in the man's left arm being torn clean off at the shoulder.

  “A little left, Dad,” Greg said.

  “Yes, I see that. I'm a little unstable trying to hold this thing up with a bum leg. Go into one of the other rooms and grab me a table and some stuff that I can stack up to make a rest even with these shooting ports.”

  As Greg ran off to get what his dad needed, Griff looked through the shooting port with the scope of the rifle to see that the other men had scattered and the man who lost his arm was lying on the ground, writhing in pain. Greg came back into the room with a child's desk and some books to put under the bi-pod legs to prop it up to the proper height. Griff and Greg got the fifty all set up, then he took aim again at the man on the ground. With another thunderous boom, he blew his heart clean out of his chest, ending the suffering. Griff picked up the radio and called down to Molly and said, “Do you see anything?”

  “No one else is at the front gate or near the house, but I can see a man out in the woods on one of the trail cams. We can't reach him from here because of the woods and terrain, but at least we can tell they haven't left.”

  Molly, being a nurse, then asked Judy to come over and keep an eye on the monitors while she went upstairs to check on Griff's wound. She took her trauma kit with her and cleaned up the wound the best she could under the circumstances and dressed it properly. “We'll do better later, but this will keep you from falling apart for now,” she said as she handed him some ibuprofen for the pain. “I would give you something stronger, but I need you to keep your head in the game.”

  “Oh, I'll be fine. Greg and I will sit up here and keep watch for a while if you want to go back and hunker down in the basement with the kids. If we need anything, we will let you know.” Molly then rejoined the others in the basement while they waited to see what the intruder’s next move would be.

  Chapter 19: Newport

  The Jones family followed the plan and drove down Eight Mile Road until they found a dirt side road that went about two hundred yards, before coming to a dead end. He turned the truck around and shut everything off and said to Sarah, “You and the kids climb in the back and get some sleep. I'll stay up and stand watch. In the morning when the sun comes up, we can figure out how to get into a better position to keep an eye out for Evan to return.”

  She kissed him and climbed in the back with the boys. She got them all bundled up under several layers of sleeping bags as it was getting quite cold without the heater on, and they went on to sleep. Jason was driving himself nuts thinking about what might be happening to Evan and the women. His strong sense of duty made him feel guilty for staying behind, but he knew Evan was right; his place was with Sarah and the boys.

  As the sun began to shine through the tree branches, a glimmer of light caught Jason's eye and startled him awake. He flinched and grabbed his rifle, only to realize that he had simply dozed off during the night. He turned and looked through the sliding glass window that led back into the camper shell to see that his wife and sons were still sound asleep.

  He quietly slipped out of the truck so as not to wake them, and checked out their surroundings in the daylight. It looked like they were on a power line access road due to the fact that there were some overhead lines leading to a tower, just before the lines went up and over the hill. He couldn't hear any buzzing from the lines, so he figured they were offline too. He carefully walked down the dirt road to find Eight Mile Road. He heard a vehicle approaching and ducked back into the bushes to observe from cover. As it rounded the corner and came into view, he noticed it was a desert tan Humvee. He remained in hiding as it approached. As it came up on his position, which was near the entrance of the dirt road, it began to slow down. His heart skipped a beat thinking of what might happen if it turns and drives up the road towards his family with him not there. As it rolled to a stop, the soldiers inside looked up the road, paused for a moment while having a discussion, and then kept going down Eight Mile Road. “Whew”, he said under his breath. He also noticed that it had Ohio National Guard markings so it wasn't as bad as if it was a federal vehicle. He did, however, have weapons and ammunition that were probably frowned upon, by even the state authorities given the situation, especially his undocumented sound suppressor on his Remington. That item was illegal without the documentation on a normal day.

  After the Humvee was out of sight, he jogged back up the dirt road to his truck in order to keep a better eye on his family. Somehow, Sarah and the boys managed to sleep rather well and didn't wake up until 9am. Once everyone was up and about, Jason pulled out his Sterno stove and warmed them up some instant oatmeal and mixed them some instant orange flavored drink for breakfast. They ate it sitting on the tailgate of his truck and enjoyed the relative peace and quiet of their little oasis.

  After breakfast, the boys played with some sticks, pretending to sword fight. Jason turned to Sarah and said, “So, how are they doing, especially Michael, after what happened back home.”

  “Oh, they are tough like their daddy,” she said with a smile. “He seems to be blocking it out. I don't think he has thought a whole lot about it just yet. That's probably the best for now.” Jason nodded and began to make them some coffee.

  “I'll make the coffee,” she said. “You lie down and get some sleep. You look horrible. I'll be right here with your .45 on my side watching out, and if anything at all happens, I will wake you. We've got a long way to go, so you need to get your rest while you can.” He took her up on her offer, gave her a hug and climbed up into the camper shell of the truck and went to sleep.

  He woke up about 4 pm and flinched at first from what was now a built-in feeling that something bad is just around the corner. He listened intently for a moment and could hear the boys and Sarah talking outside, so he knew everything was still okay. He stretched and yawed, climbed out of the truck and said, “Dang, I can't believe I slept that long.”

  “You needed it so bad,” she said.

  “Any word from Evan on the radio?”

  “No, nothing yet,” she replied.

  “Well, I need to
get into a position to be able to spot him if he comes down the road but can't use the radio for some reason. I'll take one of the walkie-talkies and head down to the end of the road and hide out in the bushes. If anything goes on back here, or if you hear from him on the CB, give me a shout.” He changed into camouflage, insulated hunting pants and jacket. He figured that in the environment he was in, wearing civilian camouflage would look much less threatening should he encounter some sort of authorities than his tactical gear would.

  Just as he started walking down the road, Sarah called him on the CB and said, “He’s on I-275 about to make the turn onto Eight Mile Road.”

  “Outstanding!” Jason replied. “Is he okay?”

  “Yes, but he said Peggy and Judith are with him, but they did get Zack. He said he would explain more when they got here.”

  “Roger that,” he replied as he jogged on down to the end of the road. As he saw Sarah's car coming around the corner, he stood up and waved his arms to get Evan's attention. Evan flinched at first not recognizing him at a glance with the change of clothes, and from being fatigued from their all night and day event. He quickly realized who it was, though, and he felt a sense of relief to be joined back up with the group. He pulled up alongside Jason and Jason hopped on the trunk of the car and pounded on it to signal him to go. Evan drove up the dirt road and rounded the corner to see the Jones family and their truck safe and sound.

  Sarah ran up to the car to greet Peggy and Judith and immediately noticed that Peggy was grief-stricken. She had little Zack with her and it looked like he had been crying all night with his mother. She helped them out of the car and took them to the back of the truck to get them cleaned up and to get them some coffee, orange drink, and oatmeal.

  Jason and Evan walked off for a moment, and Jason looked at Evan and said, “Well... how did it go?”

  Evan pulled a handful of empty magazines out of his cargo pocket and said, “I have four rounds left in the mag in the gun, and that's it, if that says anything.”

  “Damn,” Jason replied.

  “Peggy even fired off a few rounds with your .45 she was carrying. I don't think she hit anything though. It was more of a panic reaction. We need to give her some more intensive training and practice time when we get to the Homefront,” he said as he put the magazines back into his pocket. “We got into the state okay. There was a National Guard checkpoint at the river crossing just like Ed said. I used the badge story like we talked and it worked like a charm. We got into a few altercations after that with some city rats before we got to her parents’ house, which is where we spent the ammo.”

  He paused for a second, looked Jason in the eye and said, “Two days ago, a gang of street thugs broke into her parents’ house. They raped and killed her mother, then killed her father. They cleaned out the kitchen of their food and then just left. They had no idea poor little Zack was hiding in the utility closet behind the water heater. He heard the entire horrible thing. He had been hiding there in the closet for the past two days without food or water. He was afraid to come out because he didn't know they left or even how much time had passed.”

  Evan wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and took a moment to regain his composure and then continued. “One of the neighbors down the street told us when they saw the home invasion take place. I can't believe they didn't do anything to help. They just cowered in their own home, allowing it to happen. Then again, not everyone is armed and who would they call? The authorities don't care about crime right now. They are all too busy protecting their turf. Anyway, I couldn't leave Peggy and Judith there. They are with us for the long haul now, I guess. I know it's a tragedy, but it sort of feels like they were supposed to be with us all along, anyway,” Evan said as he looked to the ground, kicking a stick around.

  “Yeah, I felt the same way,” said Jason. “About them belonging with us that is.”

  Jason patted Evan on the shoulder and said, “You all get some rest, take a nap, and get something to eat. You need it. Sarah and I will keep an eye on things, then when you are ready to be up and about we will hit the road for the Homefront.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” Evan said as they walked back towards the truck. Evan reclined the driver's seat of the car and took a nap, while Peggy, Judith, and Zack slept in the back of Jason's truck.

  At about 10pm that night, Evan woke up adequately rested and ready to go. He got out of the car and walked over to Jason where he, Sarah, and the boys were sitting around in some lawn chairs toasting marshmallows over Jason's camp stove. “Marshmallow?” asked Jason as he handed Evan a sharpened stick.

  “Absolutely,” he said, taking the stick and plopping a marshmallow on it. “I like them burnt to a crisp,” he said as he stuck it in the fire and watched it burst into flames and sizzle.

  “Well,” Jason said. “If you are ready to go we can let Peggy and Zack sleep in the back of the truck while we drive. They've had quite the day and I don't think they are gonna be in their right mind anytime soon. Judith can ride shotgun for you in the car.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Evan said, biting into his marshmallow and burning his tongue. “This trip from hell needs to end soon,” he added.

  Sarah explained to Peggy, Judith, and Zack what was going on. They were all anxious to get to Tennessee at this point. They needed some of the uncertainty to end. They had each been through a non-stop life altering series of events and were quickly reaching mental fatigue. Sarah and Zack climbed up into the back of the truck, Judith joined Evan in the car, and they hit the road. They traveled all night and began getting close to the Homefront just around sunrise. It had been, compared to their previous experiences, a relatively relaxing night. There were a few tense moments, but they had become quite accustomed to dealing with them and were blessed to be able to keep pressing forward without many real delays.

  They were within a few miles of the Homefront now, and Evan was getting that same excited, yet worried rapid heartbeat and twisted stomach that Jason had felt when he was nearing home. As they started to turn off of the country road and onto the gravel road that led to the front gate, Jason abandoned his left turn and continued straight. Evan followed to see what the problem was, and as he passed the gravel road, he saw an unfamiliar truck parked sideways, blocking the way. He instantly felt a sinking feeling in his chest. Jason drove on down the road about a half mile and pulled over. Off in the distance they could hear gunshots, it sounded like they were coming from the direction of the house.

  Chapter 20: War on the Homefront

  It had been a sleepless night for the families at the Homefront. The invaders took shots at them all night long. One shot at a time, every few minutes, at a different part of the house. Sometimes hitting the steel shutters, other times the doors, other times the brick itself. Griff believed they were using tactics trying to accomplish two things. One was to wear them down; if they could keep them from resting, they would be able to attack come morning with them exhausted and mentally off their game. The other was that he felt like they were probing the house. The attackers had focused so many shots at access points, it was like they were trying to find the soft spot. Luckily for them, the Homefront was a hell of a house and had been reinforced in all the right places. The shots also never came from the same direction twice. This told them that they kept moving to avoid the fifty cal, and it also gave the impression that they were surrounded and trapped inside with no clear route for a retreat.

  “With all of Evan's preps, did he think of an escape tunnel per chance?” joked Griff over the walkie-talkie to Molly downstairs.

  Before Molly could answer, a rough-sounding man’s voice came over the walkie-talkie and said, “If he had, we would be in there too.”

  Crap! Griff and Molly thought simultaneously. They've compromised our channel. They had just lost their communications if they wanted to keep any OPSEC quiet. “What do you want?” demanded Molly on the radio.

  “Everything,” the man said.

  �
��We don't have anything of value here,” she said.

  “Oh, you do,” he said. “We know what you've got, and we aren't leaving without it.”

  Griff looked at Greg and said, “Run downstairs and tell Molly to stay off of the walkie-talkies unless it's an emergency. Tell her just to click the mic four times if she needs you to run downstairs to relay a message back up to me. And while you’re down there, find out if she sees anything out there, because I think those guys are about to make a move.” Greg jumped up and ran downstairs to do as his father asked.

  He came back up the stairs just a few minutes later, yelling, “Truck at the gate!”

  Griff turned around and shoved the fifty barrel out the shooting port, and as soon as he did, bullets started to ring off of the reinforced shutters. They were trying to suppress his fire while a truck charged the gate. Griff didn't flinch at all while the bullets were bouncing off, just feet from him on the other side of the shutters. He held steady, focused the big fifty's scope, zoomed in on where the engine would be on the truck, and let loose a six hundred and sixty grain, full-metal jacket projectile that smashed into the engine block of the truck, disabling it instantly. He quickly re-chambered another round, readjusted his aim, and sprayed the driver’s blood and brain matter all over the inside windows of the truck. “That'll take a while to clean up,” he said under his breath.