“Let’s hope it’s after Jason figures out how to limit himself,” Samantha replied, shifting her rifle. “Is that man to the right in that deer stand at the base of the slope holding… an Uzi?”
Moving her scope, “Holy shit, he is,” Wendy gasped.
“His field of fire across the valley is four hundred yards and he has a machine pistol. They have to be stupid,” Samantha scoffed.
The fact that the ‘women’ were talking about the other side’s weapons, and making fun of them, almost made Wendy laugh. “Maybe he’s a pussy,” Wendy snarked.
“Well, the other three guards have long guns, but shit, he’d be better off taking the bullets out and just throwing the damn things,” Samantha added with a grin and continued scanning. “You know, Jason almost cried when Arthur gave him that Damascus 1911 yesterday.”
Wendy had to bite her bottom lip for a second to keep from laughing, then said, “I nearly died when LL got his and said if either of them offered sex, he was using his new gun to shoot ‘em.” Jason was the baby of the bunch in his mid-thirties, with Arthur the middle buddy in his mid-forties, and LL was the elder buddy in his mid-fifties. It was clear to anyone, LL was homophobic. That fact led to daily tormenting from Jason and Arthur as they poked fun at LL. “I’m glad Jason liked it because Arthur was nervous about giving it to him. I swear, he was acting like he was giving Jason an engagement ring.”
“Well, Jason said ‘I do’. We can’t help but love our boys,” Samantha chuckled softly. “I’m so thankful we got here. Not only did we find heaven and a new family, Jason and I both found buddies.”
“Yep, I just wish you could’ve gotten LL to come sooner,” Wendy said as Arthur reached the bottom of the slope. She and Samantha became serious, pulling their stocks tighter in their shoulders.
When their earbuds went off, both jumped as Jason’s voice sounded. “The one near the wind turbines just spotted you, Arthur.”
Opening her left eye but not pulling back from her scope, Wendy saw Arthur was on the bridge and then heard his voice over her earbud. “Damn, they’re pretty good.”
Wendy was glad Arthur only had to talk and not move his hands to use the radio because she could see movement at the compound as two women came out, ushering the kids who’d been playing outside into the barn. Then bodies started coming out of the line of trailers and spreading out. “Shit, that’s quite a few,” Wendy mumbled. Keeping her right hand on the grip and not moving her eye from the scope, she dropped her left hand to make sure her spare magazines were laid out where she’d put them. Touching them, Wendy gripped the rifle and saw the four men from the greenhouses fan out while looking at Arthur.
Suddenly, one turned around waving one arm over his head, then used it to grab something and lift it toward his mask. “Okay, one on the far left with the greenhouse group just used a radio,” Jason called out and Wendy made a mental note. She wanted a scope that could see that kind of detail from four hundred yards. There had to be one in storage because Arthur had emptied hunting and shooting sections in a bunch of stores.
The four from the greenhouses clearly became non-threatening by slinging their rifles and started walking towards Arthur. Quickly dropping her aim for a second, Wendy saw Arthur’s weapon was pushed to his back and he was holding his hands wide. “Bitch, I don’t feel that comfortable around them,” Wendy spat out and was tempted to get on the radio and let Arthur hear that.
“You said Arthur doesn’t bite off more than he can chew,” Samantha reminded her.
“He doesn’t,” Wendy said and nearly added, ‘but I do’. “I don’t feel that comfortable with him not having his hands on his weapon, but for some reason he does.” Scanning the others around the compound in defensive positions, it suddenly clicked. “That motherfucker!” she spat.
“What?” Samantha asked.
“They’re in protective suits and masks. Unless you train hard and constantly for that, you can’t shoot for shit. I’ll bet that’s why Arthur’s so comfortable. Joseph told us that after he had to do it when he went through survival school.”
Understanding instantly, Samantha was about to reply when Jason came over the radio. “Arthur, you’re a hundred yards away from them. Tell them that fucker on the right end of the row of windmills needs to get his fucking finger off the trigger or I’m removing his fucking head!”
“I want a fucking scope like Jason has,” Wendy moaned in awe since the other ridge was over eight hundred yards away.
“Oh girlfriend, he’s on his spotting scope,” Samantha informed her. “He still hasn’t told me what he paid for it. When we got out of Birmingham and Jason told me the quad tube night vision goggles we have cost twenty-two thousand each,” Samantha paused, taking a breath and letting it out slowly, “I nearly hit him, but he was wearing his goggles and I damn sure didn’t want to break ’em. Don’t get me wrong, I love those things, but holy fuck! One is worth a car!”
Watching and hearing over her earbud Arthur yell out to relay Jason’s request, damn near word for word, “Um, how did he buy shit that expensive and you didn’t know? Not to mention all the ones I’ve seen were for military and law enforcement sale only?” Wendy asked.
Through gritted teeth, “Fucker got credit cards I didn’t know about and had the bills sent to another e-mail account,” Samantha growled, watching the same man with the greenhouse group use a radio. “Some men get credit cards to hide purchases because they’re having an affair. No, my husband gets them to hide purchases of guns and gear. How he got around the military and law enforcement requirement, well, one of Jason’s high school buddies was a Texas State Trooper. They bought some and Jason asked his buddy to get two more. Jason very quickly pointed out he got ours at a discount because Texas bought over a hundred to use along the border and for their SWAT teams.”
Wendy really wished she and Arthur had met Samantha and Jason earlier so some of Jason’s, ‘buy well-made shit’, could’ve rubbed off on Arthur. Wendy would’ve gladly given Arthur the credit cards to do it. Arthur would try to build it himself or buy it cheap and fix it up to resemble and function like something well-made. Wendy just wanted to buy the well-made stuff, be it guns or cars, without having to work on them. “Samantha, don’t be mad at me, but I’m glad Jason did it. With the good shit, you had an edge and were able to get to us,” Wendy told her.
Pulling back from her scope for a second, “Damn, very valid point,” she mumbled. “Okay, we do wild freak nasty at the end of Date Night and I’ll tell him I’m proud he did,” Samantha relented, getting comfortable again as on the hill across from them, the man at the end of the windmills jumped to his feet holding his hands in the air above his head.
In the valley, Arthur stopped when the four approaching him were thirty yards away to let them pick the distance they were comfortable with. When they stopped ten yards away Arthur was glad because he was about to move back. Not because he was worried about them, but because they had on chemical suits. He didn’t know what they had been playing with and really didn’t want to get closer.
“We aren’t a gang, Caravan Man,” the one with the radio called out with his voice muffled by the mask. “But please don’t come any closer.”
Knowing the man had to nearly shout for him to hear, Arthur just nodded. “Oh, I know you’re not a gang, otherwise you’d be dead. I don’t talk to gangs,” he informed them. “No, I’ve been scoping you out and finally had to ask, why the suits? You never go further than ten miles, but has someone let loose some new evil?”
The four men looked at each other, then radioman turned back to Arthur. “Um, no, there’s the flu,” he stated.
“A new strain going around for the fall?!” Arthur cried out and was tempted to head back to beat the shit out of Sutton and Skannish.
Shaking his head, “No, not that we know. The same virus that hit in March,” radioman replied.
Letting out a sigh of relief, “Guys, once you get it you’re immune,” Arthur told them.
“We’ve never had it,” radioman responded.
“Well, you don’t ha-,” Arthur froze mid-word as the realization set in. “You’ve been in chemical suits and clean environments since March?!” he shouted.
“That’s why we don’t want you coming closer,” radioman stated, and Arthur took a step back. If they’d been under lockdown that long, he damn sure didn’t want to be responsible for giving them anything. He knew he wasn’t a carrier because he still thought he’d never had the flu. If the group before him had known Arthur was one of the very few lucky lottery winners who’d gotten the mild strain, they would’ve stripped naked and asked him to spit on them.
Admiring the effort and preparation the group had, “Um, we actually have two of the scientists who developed a vaccine for the flu,” Arthur said and all four jumped in shock. “I just set them up a lab last month. I’m not going to lie, the only reason I did was so Skannish would quit fucking whining like a bitch,” Arthur moaned and the three people on the ridge behind him nodded in agreement.
“But,” he continued, “We traveled the state and got most of what they asked for, but after meeting you, I’ll tell them it’s a priority they get back to work.”
Radioman leaned over putting his hands on his knees, with just the hope they could walk in the world again without the NBC suits filling him with a sense of relief. “Thank you, Caravan Man,” he panted out and Arthur barely heard him. “Why are they with you?”
Shrugging, “The government wants to kill them so the rest of the country doesn’t find out the president left them to die after he got his shot,” Arthur responded, and by body language alone he saw all four become tense. “I don’t know how long it’ll take, but I’ll find out.”
Moving his hands slowly to his back, Arthur pulled out a handheld radio. “Can you disinfect this?” he asked.
“Oh, we can fumigate it without hurting it,” radioman replied.
“It’s encrypted and only two other sites have one. Anyone looks like they’re going to mess with you, call me, I’ll handle them,” Arthur told them and it seemed to shock them. “Guys, you’ve been in rubber, charcoal-lined suits, breathing through biological gas masks for seven months. That’s tough. That you even had that shit to put on is awesome and hell, the least I can do is lend a hand and make sure you get out of the rubber one day.”
Behind him Jason busted out laughing at, ‘get out of the rubber’, but the four couldn’t hear him. “Caravan Man, it’s not like we have much choice when death is the reward for not wearing rubber,” radioman replied. “All of our families are in rubber when we go outside. There aren’t many birds, but we still see some around and just don’t want to risk it. Our chickens have stayed isolated in the coop and none have died, so we’re hopeful.”
Knowing what radioman was implying, Arthur nodded. Birds weren’t exactly rare, but you noticed them now because they weren’t everywhere. “I promise you, it will become a priority for those lab rats to make some of the vaccine. I’m sorry, I can’t even guess how long it’ll take them,” Arthur told them as Jason came over his earbud.
“Dude, we just got that shit! They haven’t even set the lab up and I’m sorry to tell you, the shit we got isn’t what they had. Sutton and Skannish come from labs that would compare to Formula One race cars and we got them 1970 Pintos! It’ll be a year at the soonest.”
Holding his hand up to the four Arthur told them, “Talking to my group.” Then he addressed Jason, “If that’s what Skannish and Sutton tell me, then that’s what I’ll tell them. You’re a doctor, I’m a nurse. Neither of those equal virologist. Shit, Sutton has so many degrees I doubt he can name all of them off the top of his head.”
Only hearing Arthur’s side of the conversation, the four nodded as Arthur dropped his hand and noticed Donald and Daisy easing up to his sides. They didn’t feel any threats he could tell, they just wanted to be petted because they did a good job and felt Arthur was relaxed. Reaching down and patting both, “Go to momma,” he told them.
Both dogs took off as Arthur looked up at the four. “Sorry, they might have wanted you to pet them and I’m not going to be responsible for passing you anything,” Arthur stated flatly and the four liked that. “If you need anything or if we can do anything for you, let me know.”
Shaking his head, “We just need the vaccine. We still have another two years of food in storage, and the greenhouses, chickens and rabbits are producing,” radioman told him.
“I understand, but can you give me a number for the vaccines? I don’t know what or how they have to do it, but I don’t want them to waste time going too high or low and I don’t know what they have to do for kids.”
The four turned to each other talking low for a few seconds, then radioman faced Arthur. “Caravan Man, you’re the only thing we’ve heard about that’s any good in this new world. My name is Chad. I’m over the group and we agree, you can be trusted. There are seventy-four of us. Thirty-eight adults over eighteen, five kids between four and six, and thirty-one kids between seven and fifteen,” Chad reported.
“Families that survived together intact,” Arthur gasped in shock, then got down on one knee. “I swear to you, I will do what I have to, to get you those vaccines.” The four didn’t know how to respond to such a vow and just remained quiet as Arthur stood back up.
“I’ll be back at my group tomorrow morning. I’m with some others and my wife. It’s Date Night and we’re hitting a gang near Dover and then checking on a farm that got hit yesterday north of Hunt. I should have something to tell you around ten tomorrow morning. If I don’t understand what Sutton and Skannish are saying, I’ll still call you and let you know what’s going on,” Arthur told them and the four seemed very confused that Arthur was hitting a gang on ‘Date Night’.
“When I have a timeline, I’ll tell you my name. I would like for you to join the little band of communities we’re setting up, but only after we get this vaccine. I really don’t want any of you doing shit until then,” Arthur told them, and that seemed to perk them up even more.
“We would be honored, Caravan Man,” Chad stated as Arthur waved bye and headed back to the others. When he got back, he saw they were all packed up waiting.
Knowing how Arthur felt about ‘family’, “Babe, we’ll do everything we can,” Wendy told him, holding her hand up. “But we aren’t going back to the East Coast to that underground bunker unless Sutton and Skannish can convince me, that’s the only place we can get what they need. If it is, we’ll go,” she offered. “We could go back to the ranch now, if you want?”
Looking at Wendy like she was crazy, “And ruin Date Night on our first double date?” Arthur scoffed. “A few hours won’t make a difference and we need to hit that gang. They move around too much. I would radio back but that would be a long transmission so, let’s get Date Night rolling.”
Glancing up at the morning sun, “Shouldn’t we say Date Day?” Samantha asked.
“No,” Arthur huffed. “The real fun part of Date Night doesn’t start until after the work is done.”
With a nod, Samantha spun on her heel heading for the Blazer. “Let’s kill some fuckers!” she barked, and Jason broke into a jog and passed her.
“Oh, no kids around to worry about waking up and we’re clean? It’s on like a chicken bone!” he called over his shoulder.
Breaking into a jog to catch up, “Yeah, those quickies suck ass,” Samantha stated and found Wendy jogging beside her. “Thank you so much for telling me about the spot in the loft of the barn.”
“That’s where Joseph sends us,” Wendy chuckled as all four dogs flew past. “Donald, Daisy, it’s not like you two try to hide freak nasty!”
Chapter Two
Evil abounds
With the sun high overhead, Jason and Samantha were prone on a small hilltop as each scanned the area. They were currently north of Dover, but yesterday the gang had been set up in a house east of Dover. That was why Arthur wanted to hit them now; the gang move
d and did it a lot. Like most gangs, it was just a collection of people, mostly males with some females, numbering about thirty in all. This gang had some prisoners but less than a dozen. It didn’t take long to find them again, since the gang had generators running. Even if the generators hadn’t been running, they would have been easy to find as the gang always had fires going even though it was only in the fifties at night.
Smirking, Jason cut his eyes over to his wife and grinned to see her using a laser range finder getting ranges to the cinder block building where the group was at. Eleven of the gang were outside around a steel drum that had a fire burning. Three women and one older teen boy were also there, and it was very easy to see they weren’t there by choice. They had leg shackles on.
Lowering the range finder, “Are you seeing this shit?” she snarled, and Jason cringed. They were set up over two hundred yards away, but her voice was still kind of loud. “That shackled bitch on the right is sitting right beside an AK-47. Two of them at the barrel raped her ass not half an hour ago. She’s not handcuffed, she could take down those eleven and still have half a magazine! I’m tempted to cap the stupid bitch,” Samantha declared. It had been hard watching the young woman getting raped, but she had seen that and much worse when they’d scouted the Heavenly Disciples.
This wasn’t the first time out with Arthur for Jason and he didn’t want to inform his wife that docile captives were pretty common now. Three days ago, Jason and Arthur had hit a house with nine hostiles and sixteen prisoners, and not one had been tied up. They’d hit the building killing eight in mere seconds then moved to the back room. The last man of the gang had grabbed a young woman, who looked barely twenty, held a gun to her head and hid behind her, yelling for them to back off. Jason had actually hesitated for half a heartbeat before pulling the trigger on his AR.
Viral Misery | Book 3 | Revelations Page 2