Arthur stopped as Chad raised his hand. “You have photos of groups intermingling?” he asked.
“Only one,” Arthur answered and tapped his computer. The screen on the right changed and many were shocked to see a video play for a second and then pause. It was clear the video had been taken from really high in the air. “In September, we started putting out cameras on boom lifts. Most of the lifts extend up a hundred and fifty feet, but we have two that’re at two hundred feet. This one is west of Clarksville sitting on a hilltop. We can move, pan, tilt, and zoom in. These fucking cameras are awesome. We liberated the cameras from federal buildings. At one mile, you can zoom in enough to recognize a face.”
“Whoa!” Chad cried out. “That kind of transmission power would make it very easy to track back to you.”
“Please,” Arthur scoffed. “We use directional antennas to relay the image to the same cell tower we use for all transmissions. The transmissions are then carried to us by hardline. You can’t get within a mile of the cell tower without us knowing.”
“You leave a very clear message on those boom cameras,” Albert chimed in.
Nodding, “We saw your group on the scavenging run near Batson, but at that time, the cameras weren’t monitored around the clock. It was only on playback when we spotted you,” Arthur chuckled.
“What does the message say?” Jill asked.
Clearing his throat first, “This is my shit. Leave it alone and find your own shit. Fuck with my shit and I’ll kill everyone you know before killing you and leaving you in shit, The Caravan Man,” Albert quoted.
“How’re you powering them in the field?” Isaac asked.
“Solar panels and battery banks,” Arthur answered. “We have eight out now and are working on another ten.”
When Arthur clicked his computer the video played and in the distance, they could see a line of six UTVs driving along a dirt road, coming from the east. Then coming from the west, they saw another group of electric buggies. When the two caught sight of each other, both slowed and Arthur paused the video. “The road is half a mile away from the camera. No, the camera wasn’t pointed at the right spot, but the Tomb was operational. When the group on UTVs were spotted, the camera followed them, then caught sight of the other group. Watch how they interact at first. It’s clear the groups know each other, but they’re very wary. But in fifteen minutes, everyone’s standing around talking,” Arthur told everyone as he resumed the video.
Everyone was staring at the screen as the two groups slowed and stopped some twenty yards apart. As the camera zoomed in, it was very clear the two groups of kids seemed ready to kill each other. Then one from the buggies stood out and waved. One from the UTVs stood out returning the wave and both approached, meeting in the middle. The camera panned along both lines and it was evident both groups were still ready to kill.
As the two apparent leaders talked in the middle, the rest of each group just eyed each other. Ten minutes after the encounter began, like a switch had been flipped, both gangs relaxed but the two apparent leaders were still talking and never addressed their respective group. “What caused them to relax?” Chad asked because the change in mood of the groups was very obvious.
“Have no fucking idea,” Arthur admitted.
It was a few minutes later that the other members of the gangs got out of their rides like they were just stretching their legs. The two leaders of the patrols were still talking when a few from each gang moved up closer to the leaders and everyone could see they started talking to each other, but it wasn’t like the leaders. “They talked for half an hour then parted ways,” Arthur said tapping the computer, and the video skipped to show the leaders shaking hands and the gangs getting back in their rides. “The gang going west still goes west and the same for the one heading east. They don’t seem to care about others in their area but for all I know, they were both in another gang’s area.”
Isaac lifted his hand, “You catch any interactions with adults?”
Shaking his head, “Nope,” Arthur replied. “I have video of them hiding from groups of adults, even though the kids outnumbered them. I have photos of them passing groups of adults when the adults outnumbered them. I can’t make rhyme or reason from their actions.”
“You have any photos or videos of them hiding from you?” Isaac asked.
A sly grin crept up on Arthur’s face. “Oh, that I have both of,” Arthur answered. “They avoid me like the ghost of Christmas Past. They don’t avoid any of you yet, but we’ve seen some try to shadow you. Again, they impress me; they know each of you, so watch your backs so they don’t follow.”
“Shit,” Chad sighed out and Arthur nodded.
“What?” Jill asked.
“Jason, tell Jill why we think they avoid us,” Arthur said.
“They know the Caravan Man and the Caravan kills gangs, and they view themselves as gangs,” Jason stated.
“We’re going to have to kill all those kids?!” Jill cried out in horror.
“They keep acting like punk ass bitches, you’re damn right we are!” Arthur snapped. “But I want to run something by all of you. I think they’re just kids. Granted, kids who’ve killed unnecessarily, but still kids. With no one to show them they’re going down the wrong path because that path leads to the Caravan Man in their future.”
So not in the mood for this, “What do you propose?” Chad asked and Jason just groaned.
“Jason and I are going to track them down, and I want to schedule a meeting with them,” Arthur replied, and saw many jaws in the dining hall drop.
“Um,” Chad started. “Why not let one of us? I’m not saying you or Jason can’t, but they see you as a threat already.”
“Because they see the Caravan Man as a threat is why,” Arthur answered. “They know shooting at me brings a world of shit on them. We know they kill and choose targets wisely. I want to tell them to stop that shit. They must learn to kill to defend or remove a threat, not to take. They need to work with everyone in this area. I’ll give them that choice, leave, or go toes up.”
“Dude!” Isaac cried out. “You tell teenagers that shit and they’ll start killing just to prove a point!”
“No, I’ll let them know we’ll ally with them to a lesser degree. If they play nice, we’ll even teach them things they need to know,” Arthur said. “But right off the bat, I’m going to tell them because of how they acted, we don’t trust them, so they aren’t joining any of our groups.”
Rolling it around in his mind, “That’s a big risk on your part,” Chad pointed out.
“That was my wife’s idea and trust me, it needs to be me talking to them and not her,” Arthur responded. Many from the ranch turned to Wendy in utter shock because she always seemed ready to drop lead, but her wanting to approach the kid gangs and tell them to be nice seemed to go against her character.
Feeling the stares, Wendy just shrugged. “Killing kids isn’t fun,” she admitted. “But they keep on and I’ll make it fun.”
Cutting his eyes to Isaac, “That bitch is cold,” Chad mumbled, and Isaac nodded.
“She’s moved to the top of my ‘Do not fuck with’ list,” Isaac confessed.
Clearing his throat and getting Arthur’s attention, “Um, why are you even asking us?” Chad wondered. “Dude, you’re the Caravan Man. Yes, my group can fight, but we’re riding your coattails with the reputation you’ve built.”
With a grin spreading on his face, Arthur was glad Chad had said that. “True, but now you’ll have to carry on the Caravan. You see bad shit in our area, you ventilate it. The reason I put this forth, like Isaac pointed out, I give a message to some teens like that, they’ll fight regardless. Many teens have no fear and will fight just to prove a point. Stupid, very, but that’s the definition of a teenager. Even I would’ve fought us at that age if someone would’ve thrown that in my face. I’ve proven the shits can hide so if we do this, all of us will have to be extra vigilant and if need be, go to war.”
&nb
sp; Jill leaned back in her chair. “Arthur, I don’t give a shit if a toddler is shooting at one of my group. I’ll cap that bitch,” she threw out. “If you think it’s worth the risk, I say do it. I’m sorry, but I can’t even judge if it’s worth the risk. All I can think of is getting my group set up and secured. Sorry, but I don’t even want to devote the brain power to weigh the risk and benefits right now.”
Very impressed with that statement, “I understand, Jill, but if this goes bad, we’ll be fighting huge numbers of psycho kids,” Arthur replied.
Shrugging, “The way I see it,” Albert started. “If we don’t give them a chance to act nice, we’ll be fighting them in the future regardless.” It was on the tip of Arthur’s tongue to tell Albert that was rather ‘macho’, but Arthur held it in and just smiled at Albert and gave a nod.
“When you say, ‘teach them’, what would we be teaching them?” Chad asked.
“How to survive, grow food, tend livestock, offer suggestions on how to improve their defenses,” Arthur answered, then tapped the computer and a map came up on the second screen showing all four group locations. “If they prove themselves, I want to offer them a chance to join the coalition. I feel we should reward good behavior.”
Nodding, “I can agree with that,” Chad stated.
Motioning to the map on the screen, “I’m not giving any more notebooks out, but this is a site I want everyone in the coalition to help build,” Arthur said, and a box sprang up on the map at Hagarville. It looked bigger than any of the other current fences but after everyone stared, they realized it wasn’t bigger, it was just a perfect rectangle. “I want this to be a trade town,” Arthur told them. “Each group will have a detachment there to oversee it. If the kids act nice, they get the option of living there for their permanent site.”
Arthur could see all three groups were very uneasy with that, and it was understandable. “Now, why would I want to put such a huge area up for a trade center?” Arthur asked.
Slapping the table hard, Chad scared the shit out of everyone as he shouted, “It’s a target!”
“Yep,” Arthur said. “With that there, people won’t be searching so hard for other locations.”
“Arthur, yes, it’s a good idea but,” Chad paused to word his statement. “Isn’t it a big risk to offer to let the kids move there? That would be a hardened location they could use to search us out if they became hostile. Or a really large gang could come in and take it over and do the same.”
Nodding, “That’s why I want to build it,” Arthur stated. “I want attackers to go after it. We can build escape areas, so anyone there can get out before it falls and let the attackers have it,” he grinned. “I promise you; I’ll be able to kill everyone inside those walls in two hours after it falls.” The shock was evident on everyone’s face at that statement.
“Um,” Isaac coughed. “What if the Heavenly Disciples take it with eight thousand? You said they have tens of thousands.”
Shrugging, “Then I’ll kill eight thousand,” Arthur sang out. “The cool thing is, I won’t even destroy the site and we’ll be able to move right back inside in a few weeks.”
“How?” Chad asked.
Shaking his head, “I’ll only tell the commander over each site and they’ll never tell anyone except the one who’s replacing them,” Arthur replied. “Yes, Jason knows, as will Wendy, Samantha, and LL. Sorry, but the ranch is the most sought-after target because that’s where the Caravan’s main base is.”
“Chemical weapon?” Chad asked.
“Hell no!” Arthur snapped. “Yes, my son did bring back nuclear-armed cruise missiles, but I flat out told him there wouldn’t be any chemical weapons here.”
“How many?” Chad panted out.
“Sorry,” Arthur smiled. “You don’t need to know. I will say, not many others will be getting nuclear weapons.”
Hearing that, everyone was confused. “As Joseph was gathering up planes, they flew down to Shreveport. Oh yes, I was pissed when I found out later,” Arthur informed everyone. “But Joseph found out something about all the ammo storage bunkers that house nuclear weapons,” Arthur paused as he shivered. “It seems the military opened several warheads, exposing the radioactive material. The area’s so hot with radiation, you can’t get near them. Even with protective gear, anything in the area is soaking up rads so even if someone got it, they can’t do anything with it.”
“How in the hell did Joseph get some then?” Isaac asked.
“He knew where some ‘ready weapons’ were stored. Ready weapons were kept near the line so they could be loaded up rapidly and only one base had those,” Arthur answered. “There’re places at the Air Force base in Bossier Parish where humans won’t set foot for thousands of years.”
Liking that fact but still drawing a blank on how Arthur could wipe out a base, “You’re that certain you could wipe out the base if it falls?” Chad asked.
Jason busted out laughing, “OH, fuck yeah!” he howled. “I’ll never shoot another Wilson if Arthur’s plan doesn’t work.”
Taking that statement to heart and motioning to the map, “Just how big is that site going to be?” Chad asked.
“Six square miles inside the fence,” Arthur answered. “It’ll take us five months to build if we get five hundred kids to join up.”
“Why not smaller?” Jill asked as she cringed.
“I want it to be a target worth taking,” Arthur smiled. “We have to set up a trade area. One, it would be much easier to get others to gather what we need and barter food to them. Next, it’ll let us know who’s around us and finally, it makes those around us much friendlier. They’ll tell us of strangers asking questions and be ready to defend the area.”
Staring at the outlined box on the screen, “I say make contact with the little shits in the area then,” Chad stated.
Watching everyone nod in agreement, “Okay then,” Arthur grinned. “Let’s show you around the ranch.”
Chapter Twelve
Happy Thanksgiving
It was late afternoon as Wendy stood outside staring over the valley below the house. ‘Burrrrrrr’, Wendy heard to the west and gave a sigh. For the last month Arthur had been testing his idea of using different caliber Gatling guns to use as indirect fire, like artillery. The 7.62 they found out, could take out targets three miles away. Granted, you had to saturate the area to make sure you hit the targets, but it did work. The fifty caliber could reach out seven miles, and the twenty millimeter they were testing today could reach out eleven miles.
Wendy was a little upset because as soon as Thanksgiving dinner was over at two o'clock, Arthur and many others had taken off to continue to fine-tune the weapons, even though this was supposed to be a day of rest. She had just stepped outside to clear her head and enjoy the sunshine. A ‘warm spell’ of fifty-degree temps had rolled in and most of the snow was gone now. There were reports on the radio of a cold front heading toward them, so Wendy wanted to enjoy the weather.
Sensing someone to her right, she turned and saw Sutton walking around outside the house. She could tell from his expression, he was also just enjoying a stroll. With a deep breath Wendy headed to the gate, crossed over the small drawbridge, and caught up to Sutton.
“Scott,” she called out and he gave a startle, spinning around.
“Yes?” he replied with a smile.
“Enjoying the day?” she asked, and he gave a nod and cast his eyes around.
“I never have been a fan of the cold,” he told her, and they both walked side by side following the moat.
Coming to a stop as she took a deep breath, “Scott,” Wendy blurted out. “Do you really think Alicia could be in the Heavenly Disciples willingly?”
Somewhat startled at the out-of-the-blue question, “Um, yes, I do,” Sutton answered. Wendy gave a startle with his answer, and Sutton turned to face her. “Wendy, yes, Alicia was a quiet kid until she was a teenager, but she has always been spiteful. I’m afraid I place a lot of that blame
on our parents. They babied her to no end. I’ll give you an example. Alicia wanted to be a cheerleader in junior high school. She tried out and didn’t make the team, so my parents sued the school board, the teacher over the tryouts, and the state. We weren’t a rich family, but we did have money. My father owned a furniture-making business and employed several hundred people. Oh, they all backed down and Alicia was put on the cheerleading team. I wish that was the only time I could use for an example, but it isn’t.”
Letting that roll around in her mind for a few minutes, “I think she’s changed,” Wendy offered.
Nodding in agreement, “Oh, she has,” Sutton replied. “She is much worse now. That’s why I don’t like being near her.”
“You haven’t been around her in years,” Wendy huffed.
“Damn right I haven’t,” Sutton sighed out, seeing Wendy was getting testy. “I follow her pages on social media and check the messages she leaves when she calls. She is much worse,” he stated with conviction.
Just hearing the certainty in Sutton’s voice, Wendy took a step back. “Wendy,” he continued. “That land where Alicia lives, it was left to me by our Uncle Earl. I was in my last year of medical school during finals and just couldn’t up and leave. That did hurt me because I had loved Uncle Earl. He left that land to me. Want to know why?”
Numbly, Wendy gave a nod.
“He, along with everyone else in the family, hated how much my parents spoiled Alicia,” Sutton told her. “By family, I mean both sides; grandparents, aunts and uncles. Hate is a strong word, but what the family had toward my parents over Alicia was much worse.”
Trying to work her mind around the fact the entire family hated Alicia and her parents, “So, that land’s yours?” was all Wendy could come up with.
Shaking his head, “No. When the will was read, both of my parents and Alicia didn’t get anything from Uncle Earl. When Alicia heard I got his hunting land, she informed my father she wanted it,” Sutton told her, then held up his hands. “Let me rephrase, she demanded my father have that land put in her name. I was twenty-four and Alicia was sixteen then and my parents lived in Kentucky. To this day I don’t know how, but my father got Alicia on that deed as half owner to land that was left solely to me. One of my aunts told me my father had tried to put the land in Alicia’s name only, but the state of Arkansas wouldn’t allow that.”
Viral Misery | Book 3 | Revelations Page 21