by Hayden James
William responded, “Yes, let’s go now. We’ll travel on foot so we are more covert than on bicycles. Vince, Gary, you two have your guns?’
Both of the men nodded. William felt the back of his waistband where he kept his, laying a hand on the cold steel and said, “I have mine. Let’s get a move on.”
“On second,” said Rachel. She went over to Natasha who was dead asleep and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She then patted Regis on the head, “Take good care of her big boy.” She turned to the three men, “All right, now I’m ready.”
The four briskly walk over to the bar, cloaked in the darkness of the early morning hours. The walk was not far, but Rachel found it hard to breathe, the muscles around her diaphragm tightened so she could not take a deep breath.
“There it is,” whispered Vince, pointing toward Bert’s Beer Hall as they turned the corner to the street where they’d found the yellow VW camper van. William nodded in response.
Rachel whispered, “If they are where they left them, then they are tied up sitting on two chairs at the table in the front of the bar. The table closest to the windows that face the street.”
“Let’s go get them,” replied William, ready to seek vengeance for his two girls that were stolen from him.
The four move silently down the street to the location of the bar midway down the street. They stopped at the entrance that opened up on the side of the building.
William turned the knob to the main entrance of the bar, and to his surprise, the door gave way. The drunkards forgot to lock the door.
The four cautiously entered the bar, making their way to where Rachel instructed Maddy and Addy were tied up. Thankfully, they were still the same spot from where Rachel saw them. As they made their way over to untie the girls, the men had passed out in various spots all around the bar.
Maneuvering by sleeping drunks proved to be more difficult than originally thought. Maddy and Addy were still awake and jumped when they saw four adults unexpectedly entering the bar and making their way toward them.
Maddy began to panic, but the red bandana used to gag her mouth muffled her screams, preventing her from producing any sound. She squirmed from panic; she appeared to have thought that more men were coming to steal her. It was not until William had gotten closer to her that she could make out his face.
When she recognized her dad’s face all the fear went away and hope replaced the vacancy left by fear. Their girls were tied up, but otherwise unharmed. William crouched down by their feet to untying their legs from the bar stools that they each sat on. Gary and Vince shielded William as he untied them.
The twins could barely control themselves when they saw their mother in the doorway. The excitement and unimaginable joy filled their hearts as they became overcome with emotion, but had to keep quiet. William finished untying the twins. Now they had to weave their way through the scattered bodies of sleeping drunks and make their escape.
They found it difficult not to creak the floor as they put their body weight on the wooden deck of the bar. Gary and Vince led Maddy and Addy. William trailed behind them, ensuring their safe escape. Rachel held the door open for everyone to make a stealthy escape.
As they made their way through the bar, Maddy accidentally bumped one of the tables, and it made a loud thud that vibrated the floor, which stirred the drunks. Slowly, some drunks who were passed out on the floor start to wake up.
“Oh, no!” William whispered to himself, realizing the situation that presented himself. “Quick, girls! Head toward your mother!”
The two girls frantically scream as the run, not being careful of where they stepped, but running like a stampede over to where their mother held the bar door open. “Girls, move quickly!” Rachel encouraged as she stood outside of the bar, holding the outward swinging door open for her girls.
“Mom!” both of them shouted as they exited the bar. William could hear them as he tried to escape.
“Well, William, we meet again,” a husky voice from behind the bar seethed. “I should have done this a long time ago,” Ron said as he pointed his rifle at William.
William’s reflexes were quick from him working as a security guard since he left his tour in Iraq. William grabbed for his gun in his back waistband. He pulled it out and quickly got a shot off. Ron ducked the second he saw that William reach for something, assuming it would be a firearm.
The bullet penetrated a glass bottle full of whiskey that was not the shelf behind Ron. The bullet hit the steel wall behind the bar shelf, where the steel bullet caused a spark, igniting the vapor in the cask-strength whiskey. The bar was already warm from the lack of air conditioning due to the power outage, creating more vapor. The vapor of the cask-strength whiskey caught fire and burned exegetically. The heat from the fire started by the whiskey caused the surrounding bottles to combust and the alcohol vapors to catch on fire, only fueling the fire more and more.
Before William realized exactly what had happened, the entire back wall where the bar was located was engulfed in flames. Gary and Vince darted toward the door. Rachel held it open for them. William followed and was the last of the team to get out of the bar.
Upon exiting the door, he quickly slammed the door closed and held the weight of his entire body to seal the door shut. Realizing what William was doing, Rachel fell to her knees, crying sobs as she shouted, “No! William! Don’t do that!” The horrifying image of what her husband did by holding the door shut would be forever seared in her mind. She cried hysterically as she became incensed at the sight. She was angry that her husband had become a killer. That he had put them in this position with the girls being taken away from him. From this moment on, she knew her life as she once knew it would never be the same again.
Gary and Vince went over to comfort Rachel. Gary crouched to where Rachel knelt and put his arm around her neck and coddled her why she wept. “Rachel, he has to do it. Otherwise, they’d follow us and we’d soon be captured. We’d never escape them.”
As the trapped drunk’s bodies caught fire, they let out heart-wrenching screams of unimaginable pain and agony as they felt their skin burning off of their bodies. Rachel looked up to see the horrifying image, she could make out bodies burning as they fell to the ground.
When William was certain that no one could emerge from the inferno that engulfed the bar, he let go of the door before it was too late for him. He already could feel the heat penetrating through the door, and he had burns on his hands from holding it. As he released the door, the door gave way to Ron’s charred remains that gripped the handle from the inside. Ron was right on William’s heels before he made that narrow escape.
As the bar burned in an enormous blaze, William said to everyone who waited in the street for him, “Let’s see if we can hot-wire Ron’s van.”
Gary and Vince went to help William try to hot-wire the van while Rachel and her two girls wait on the other side the street watching the deathly inferno. After a few minutes, Rachel heard the engine of the VW camper van turn over and a smile came across her face. That would mean that they could go to Nashville next and search for Liam.
The van drove through the open gate of chain-linked fence enclosed it and pulled up to Rachel and the twins. “Gary rolled down the window while William shouted, “You ladies need a ride?”
“Yes!” Rachel answered emphatically, with tears streaming down her face. This time tears of joy and relief that her babies were rescued, and she was back with her family. William drove the VW van over to the abandoned office building where Natasha and Regis were sleeping.
Rachel frantically went through the doors of the office building to make sure Natasha and Regis we’re all right. Her heart raced, but she was soon comforted by her sleeping baby, looking peaceful as she laid on the office lobby couch, Regis right below her, exactly where she had left them.
Rachel was soon followed by William, Gary, Vince, Maddy, and Addy. Once Maddy and Addy saw Regis they rushed toward him shouting “Regis!” He woke up and
ran to them and the two girls smothered Regis with hugs and kisses as they missed their faithful companion.
William ran to Natasha and kneeled down to kiss her cheek, relieved that she was safe and sound as they had planned. As William sat on the floor, stroking Natasha’s hair while she slept and the twins were on the floor playing with Regis he asked, “Girls, did Ron or the other men hurt you?”
Both Maddy and Addy shook their heads, and this was a relief for everyone in the room. Addy explained, “No. They didn’t get a chance to. Ron had mentioned something about selling us to some other men. Then some of the men at the bar wanted to keep us. They got into a big argument about that. Then one man suggested that they keep one of us and sell the other and have the best of both worlds. Then another man wanted to have a fling with twins, it was his lifelong dream. And another man chimed in that we were worth more together than apart because they could market the twin experience, whatever that means.”
“You don’t need to know what it means,” replied Rachel.
Maddy added, “I assumed it meant something dirty, but I was just glad that the fighting about what to do with us went on and on through the night that they got so tired from arguing, fighting, and drinking that they all passed out.”
William interjected, “That is amazing that you two weren’t hurt. I was so worried about you two.”
“We were worried about you too, dad. We saw them pistol whip you. We thought they killed you,” added Addy.
Rachel asked the twins, “Have I had the chance to introduce you guys yet?” Rachel pointed to Vince and Gary who sat on the floor by the twins who were still playing with Regis.
“No,” replied Maddy. “Who are they?”
“This is Gary and Vince. They saved my life two days ago when I was attacked by three men making my way up to Indianapolis,” explained Rachel.
“Oh, dear!” Maddy exclaimed about hearing of her mother’s attack. “Wow! They saved you and they saved us. These guys are our heroes.”
“Why, yes they are,” affirmed William. “We invited them, and they agreed to come down to your grandpa’s with us.”
Vince and Gary nodded with what William said. Vince replied, “We are so grateful you invited us. We are of course looking forward to meeting Grandpa Dwight.”
Addy asked, “Have we heard from Liam.”
William answered, “We haven’t. On our way to Grandpa Dwight’s, we are going to stop in Nashville to look for him. He might be headed their already. We don’t know. But if he’s stranded in Nashville, we want to make sure we get him since we have a nice camper van now.”
“Right, what should we do with our bikes?” Rachel asked.
“I think we should leave them here. We won’t need them anymore now that we have the van,” suggested William.
“Makes sense to me,” added Gary. “I think we should head out tonight and search for Liam. We should make a better time when it’s dark and not many travelers are on the roads. Plus, we don’t have to worry about safety as much since we’ll be in a vehicle. Not like we had to while we were on bicycles.”
“Well, let’s get going,” suggested Rachel. “I’ll carry Natasha to the van. Girls, grab Regis’ leash from the bike trailer. Let’s make sure we get out supplies and get on the road.”
William goes to the bike trailer, where he stored his backpack, getting it and putting it on his back. All the others do the same. Maddy and Addy realize that they don’t have theirs since their bikes were left in Franklin. “Girls, it’s fine. We have more than enough supplies for all of us,” said Rachel, noticing that her twins were sad when they realized they had lost something from being kidnapped.
Rachel carried Natasha to the van, placing her on one of the bench seats. Everyone else piled in. Gary road up front with William and they left before the sun made its way over the horizon. Next stop, Nashville to search for Liam. Then over to Townsend, to be with Dwight.
Chapter Eighteen
Dwight Conner
Residence of Dwight Conner
Townsend, TN
5:02 AM
“They’re coming. I know they’re on their way. They must be,” Dwight muttered to himself as he rose from his bed before the sunrise, his son and grandchildren on his mind. As a morning ritual, Dwight walked the grounds of his compound. Over the years, Dwight had built a complex system that he was convinced he would survive any natural or man-made disaster.
Every morning, Dwight woke up a 5:00 AM and left his main house to survey his fifty-acre compound. He first let his dairy cows out of the barn to feed in the pasture that backed up to a stream. His cows were Dexter cattle and were among the smallest of the cattle breeds, only the third of the size of a Holstein. He had two pastures adjacent to each other, that the barn let out to, and that they were right next to the stream. One pasture was used for rotation. He allowed the livestock to free-range around the fenced area of the pasture, which eliminated the need for hay cultivation.
Also in the barn, Dwight had pygmy goats, dwarf goats, and sheep to use for protein or milk. These were also let out into the pasture to graze. Next to the barn were stables, housing four horses. Other livestock that was kept in separate coops included rabbits, chickens, and ducks. They could be used for protein and eggs.
Dwight’s compound had several advantages for defense against attackers. There were two natural chock points that could filter out a raid. The first was the stream. Dwight had installed fencing on each side of the stream in addition to the perimeter around the entire property. The second choke point was the Appellations. Dwights property backed up to the Smoky Mountains. There was an entrance to the bunker that led into the mountain range where Dwight had meticulously excavated the Earth to make an elaborate cave system in case he needed to shelter underground and the main house was no longer a viable option.
The stream was an integral part of being sustainable and surviving long term. Dwight had built a gravity pull piping system that siphoned water from the running stream, moving the water through a mechanical reverse osmosis system that ran on water pressure to filter the water through a semipermeable membrane, removing dissolved salts, lead, mercury, calcium, iron, and cysts. Next, the water moved into holding tanks where the water was heated to 160 degrees for thirty minutes, killing off bacteria, yet set low enough not to vaporize the precious drinking water. From there, the water was either guided to a cooling tank and then stored in cisterns below ground or to the outdoor shower reservoir. The outdoor shower reservoir also had a solar panel heating system to heat the water backup if needed. Dwight also had a well dug years ago to tap into the groundwater that laid below his property. Wind power was the backup power source for this compound. The morning routine included checking on the water system and making sure it was working properly.
Vegetation was a big part of Dwight’s off-the-grid lifestyle. He had a greenhouse and several raised beds growing all sorts of vegetables. He had significant southern exposure for his gardening and growing areas that were optimal for plants. After Dwight tended to the livestock, he went and harvested the ripe vegetables, canning what he did not use that day to preserve them for a later date.
Dwight expected his family to be arriving at any moment. However, he had been worried that it had taken them so long to arrive at his compound; he became concerned that something happened to him. Then he thought about the times he was raising William and how much he had taught him about prepping for when the SHTF moment. Why did he not listen more carefully? He should have had a decent stockpile, a safety plan, and an older-model vehicle to get him and his family over to his compound safely.
He chuckled to himself as a way to diffuse the tension and the concern that he had for his only son and his family. He could not help but think he had been warning William that this day would one day come. He should have been prepared. In any case, Dwight’s family should be arriving soon, if they have any sense. However, considering they are William’s family, they may not. Dwight could not help but feel
a little smug to be proven right, that this day did come. The day that he’d been preparing for most of his life. However, why have they not been able to make contact with him yet? Dwight’s concern grew to dread, and he feared the worst for William and his family.
“Goodness gracious!” Dwight muttered to himself as he finished making his rounds on his compound and was finished for the morning. “What in the world is he doing here?” Dwight continued muttering under his breath. He grew angrier and angrier the closer the sheriff came on his horseback. Thankfully, everything on the compound was in perfect working order. However, as he went back to his main house to have a cup of coffee, he was interrupted. An interruption that Dwight did not welcome. He saw the sheriff from the nearby town of Tucker Hollow riding his horse down Dwight’s gravel driveway. “Good morning sheriff. How can I help you this lovely morning?” Dwight asked, wanting to get this man off of his property as soon as possible.
“Just making sure you are all right. How are you holding up?” the sheriff asked.
“Well, you know. Doing the best I can. It’s Sherriff Murphy, correct?” Dwight clarified.
“Right, Sheriff James Murphy. A pleasure to be at your service.” Sheriff Murphy steadied his horse.
Dwight asked, “And how is the town handling all of this?”
“Well, at the moment, we do not have any vehicles that are able to run. I have a mechanic working on a few older cars to see if he can get any of them working.”
“I see,” replied Dwight. “I’m sure you’ll get a couple of them up and running in no time.”
“Well, how is your set up out here? I understand you have one of the biggest plots of land in the county. You must be set for the rest of your life.”
That statement put Dwight on edge. Not wanting to let on the extent of his compound he replied, “I good for a few more days. I have about a day or two of food on hand.” Dwight who had a paranoid nature about him grew suspicious of Sheriff Murphy’s intentions for stopping by. He did not buy that he was just checking in on him. Sheriff Murphy was young, especially for a sheriff. Dwight suspected that he was a socialist. Dwight did not want to be giving all of his stuff away to the people who did not prepare for this. He wanted the fruits of his hard work and money to be put toward his family and his grandchildren.