“Wendy’s good enough on stealth but doesn’t know how to avoid or look for traps, and she gets sidetracked very easily. When I say ‘sidetracked’, I mean if something pisses her off, Wendy’s first instinct is to kill it, and I love her with all my heart but once my wife opens up a can of ‘whoop ass’, she doesn’t know how to stop killing. And trust me; some of these groups of kids are so large all she could do would be to die fighting.”
None of them had any trouble believing a word Arthur told them, and they all knew Pops was toning down Momma’s reaction when she got pissed.
Out of curiosity, “What was the bullshit answer?” Shawn asked.
“It’s not really bullshit,” Arthur corrected. “Wendy’s never seen scouting and learning a target as being ‘bad’, but that’s the most important part. She likes getting hands-on, so that’s why on Date Nights I just take out gangs I’ve, well, now Jason and I’ve scouted. She doesn’t have to scout, she just has to kick ass. Can she scout? Yes. If she got control of that wild hair that crawls up her ass when she gets pissed off.”
“Momma has scouted with you and taken others before,” Shelia objected.
Shaking his head, “Wendy has patrolled with me and led patrols around, scouting the area. Wendy has observed targets with me, but not scouted them,” Arthur explained and saw Shelia was confused. “Shelia, ‘scouting a target’ means getting close and going inside buildings. Learning where traps are, how many are there, where guards are, and things like that, but from the inside. ‘Observing a target’ is doing all that from the outside.”
Understanding, “Jason can move around like you already?” Shelia squealed out in shock.
“Not yet,” Arthur replied. “Jason covers me while I move close and get inside. He’ll know when he’s ready.”
Holding his chin high, “I won’t be good enough to do that for a few years, Pops. Sorry,” Shawn stated with no hint of shame.
Squeezing Shawn’s shoulder before letting go, “I figure in a year or two, you’ll be good enough to try,” Arthur stated. “Head on in, I’ll be there in a bit.” They headed inside as Arthur walked off to the shop.
When they walked in the dining hall they saw Jason had stripped off his gear and was holding Duke. “Damn, that kid’s big,” Shawn chuckled as Jason held Duke up in the air making him laugh.
After putting his AR in a gun rack and hanging up his vest, Shawn turned around and saw Wendy and Samantha sitting at the table reading books. On each side of them were stacks of books. Moving closer, Shawn saw the text was handwritten and realized the ‘books’ were bound notebooks. Getting excited, “Are those some of Pops’ notebooks?” he asked. Arthur had bound notebooks like that. Some he had put together for Wendy and Joseph on how to do cool things like steal cars or break into safes. Others were more like manuals that explained how to operate things he’d built.
Never lifting her eyes from the book, “No,” Wendy growled.
Never taking her eyes from the notebook she was reading, Samantha reached over and patted Wendy’s arm. “Relax,” Samantha told her.
It was very clear Wendy was mad. Having doubts if he wanted to sit at the same table, Shawn was about to move off when Jo Ann came over and pulled his arm getting Shawn to lean down. When Shawn was lower, Jo Ann whispered in his ear. “Those are diaries from Sutton’s sister, Alicia,” Jo Ann told him. “I don’t know what’s in them, but Momma doesn’t like it. After Momma broke into the safe and read the last few pages of one, she went around the house breaking stuff. Then went outside and shot up Alicia’s car.”
Like everyone at the ranch Shawn knew damn well who Alicia was, how close Wendy had been to her, and that Alicia was now a ruling member of the Heavenly Disciples. “Oh, shit,” Shawn gasped, really hoping Pops would hurry the hell up.
When Jo Ann let his arm go Shawn stood back up as Jo Ann headed back to Sally who was sitting at the next table behind Wendy. The fact Wendy’s mini-mes weren’t at the same table like they usually were made Shawn look around for a place to sit as Joseph and Sarah walked in the dining hall.
Stopping at the door, “Joseph, she doesn’t need to read them,” Sarah whispered.
“Be fucking damned if I ask her to stop,” Joseph scoffed.
“Joseph, she wanted you to get in a plane and bomb Alicia’s house,” Sarah whispered harshly.
“And if Samantha hadn’t changed Mom’s mind, I would’ve loaded up, taken off, and blown that damn house up,” Joseph clarified just where his loyalty and fear rested. Grabbing Sarah’s hand, he pulled her toward the table, and it was very clear he was pulling Sarah not guiding her. Not really wanting to sit at the same table with Wendy, Sarah finally stopped trying to pull away when they stopped directly across from Wendy and Samantha. Sarah’s reasoning was Wendy was in predator mode, and predators always gave chase out of reflex to anything that looked like it was attempting to flee.
When Joseph dropped in his chair and shoved Sarah in hers, Jason finally sat down holding Duke. Leaning over, Jason read a page from the book Samantha had in front of her. It only took him a few lines to understand what Samantha was reading. Finishing a page Jason shook his head. “That bitch is cold,” he stated.
“I’m going to take that whore apart with fingernail clippers,” Wendy snarled, never taking her eyes from the book as she flipped the page.
Making plans to bring popcorn and a video camera to watch that, Jason turned to look at the side of Samantha’s face and could tell she was angry. “May I ask why you’re reading them?” he asked, then quickly added, “No, scratch that. I know, and it was dumb of me to ask.” As long as Samantha wasn’t angry with him, Jason didn’t care.
Flipping to a new page, Samantha patted his arm. “I’m so proud of you,” she told him.
Sitting at the other end of the table playing with the toddler in his lap, LL laughed. “Don’t know what’s in those books, but it’s got both riled up and ready to stomp ass.”
About to reply but catching movement at the door, Jason turned to see Arthur walk in carrying two duffle bags. Only when Arthur had shown up did Shawn and the other mini-mes move down the table and sit at their normal spots. Stopping at the head of the table, Arthur put the duffle bags down and unzipped them. Reaching in, he pulled out two Mossberg 500 Compact Cruiser shotguns and laid them on the table. End to end, each was only seventeen inches long, and Arthur pulled two more out before laying them on the table.
He continued pulling out other brands of shotguns and putting them on the table as LL, Jason, and others around the room got up and came over to look. All the guns he put on the table were shotguns. Some were pumps, others lever action, double-barrels, and the rest were automatics. The only thing in common was they were all short. What many people called, ‘sawed-off’ shotguns.
Now excited, Shawn got up and moved down to watch as the stack grew. Then Arthur pulled out weird-looking shotguns that Shawn had never seen before. “What are those?” he asked as Arthur laid them on the table and grabbed two more just like them from the duffle bags. Shawn glanced down at the bags and saw they were now both empty.
“Shotguns I made,” Arthur replied. Since being at the ranch, Shawn had been around and shot many different guns. The four guns resembled an HK MP7 in appearance. But the barrel was much bigger, the grip was further back, and a magazine was in front of the grip. The collapsible stock seemed much more heavy-duty than the one on the MP7, as was the fold-down front grip. It was very clear from the size of the magazine that it held big bullets. Shawn shook his head and pointed at the four black compact shotguns.
“I know you made these, but what are those? I’ve never seen shotguns like those, even on video games.”
Nodding, “Shotguns I made. I named them Taz,” Arthur repeated. “Most of these we collected, but some were mine that I altered.”
With a huge grin because he loved guns, Jason was about to reach for one of the Tazs but stopped. There were over twenty shotguns on the table, but Jason instantly knew five had belonged to Ar
thur. Why? Because Jason found where Arthur had put the other cheap-ass holographic sights he’d bought, like the one that used to be mounted on Wendy’s pistol. Oh, he’d looked for them, but Arthur had shit stored everywhere and Jason had never come out and asked Arthur where they were.
“Arthur,” Jason whined, picking up a lever-action shotgun like the one Arthur carried in his Blazer. He pointed at the sight, “Stop with the shit!” Jason cried out.
Shrugging, “Sorry, but I mounted those the day I got them. The one I put on Wendy’s XD was put up after you did your work on it, she asked me to put the red dot on,” Arthur replied.
Dropping the lever-action, Jason snatched up a Taz. “Arthur, this is a work of art on the same level as Michelangelo. I’m comparing this to Michelangelo’s masterpiece statue of David,” Jason moaned, then pointed at the cheap-ass sight. “And you put on a turd! A lump of cold shit on a fine work of art! Do you know how embarrassed I would be if Chad or any of his group were here to see this?! I mean, look at the craftsmanship and the lines! I thought your Damascus 1911s were your masterpieces, but I was wrong. I’d be willing to have your baby to create something like this!”
Caught off guard and with his mouth hanging open, “Um, I’m sorry?” Arthur got out, and fought the urge to tell Jason, a board-certified emergency physician, about the birds and the bees.
Pulling the Taz shotgun to his chest and studying it, “Arthur, you’re a master craftsman to create a work of art like this. Only to degrade it is beneath you,” Jason said in a breaking voice and Arthur was just speechless.
“Babe,” Samantha called out, but didn’t look up from her book. “Chill out, it’s a gun. A neat and very cool gun, but still a gun. You don’t compare a gun to the statue of David, I don’t care how cool it is.”
Prying his eyes off the shotgun and turning them to Samantha, “You want to sleep the fuck outside?!” Jason barked. “This is a work of art!”
Slowly, Samantha lifted her gaze from the book up to Jason’s eyes. “And who the fuck will make me sleep outside?” Samantha asked, getting to her feet.
Putting the shotgun on the table very gently to show his respect for the weapon, “I fucking will,” Jason told her. “How many fucking museums have you dragged my ass to? Any motherfucker who spends millions on a painting is a stupid asshole! At least with a statue, I can hang shit on it! But I went and agreed with you that some of the paintings were nice but very few, like, two were what I’d call true works of art.”
Looking into Jason’s eyes, Samantha knew this wasn’t going to be a fight. It was going to be a war, and a big one. Jason wasn’t going to give in, and she wasn’t in the mood, nor did she think the topic was truly worthy of a fight between them. Throwing up her hands, “Fine,” she sighed out, and dropped back in her chair and continued reading.
Shifting the toddler he was holding to his left hip, LL reached down and picked up another Taz. “It does look cool, but I think shooting it would suck,” LL stated. Seeing the mood Jason was in, LL didn’t even address or react to the ‘baby making’ comment.
“It’s much better than the others. The recoil buffer takes a lot away,” Arthur offered, but was looking at Jason. “I’m sorry I left those red dots on,” he said hoping Jason would forgive him. “You can put any sight on them and get the first choice.”
Liking that, Jason gave a nod. “Deal. But I want you to show me where all your guns are. I mean, even the ones you still have buried,” Jason said. “I don’t want anyone to see something like this again.”
“Okay, but we were going to scout tomorrow.”
Shaking his head, “Nope,” Jason challenged. “This is more important. Fuck those little Lords of the Flies. I’ll skull drag all those fuckers.”
“We’ll start digging them up right after breakfast,” Arthur offered, and that seemed to cheer Jason up.
“Pops?” Shawn asked and Arthur turned to see Shawn picking up a double-barrel shotgun that was only a foot long. “Why did you bring these out?”
Picking up a Taz, “I want those who go out, who can shoot one of these, to carry one. Just in case a puddy tat, bear, or something big gets too close,” Arthur replied.
Putting the Taz down, LL grabbed one of the small pump shotguns. “I’ll take this one,” he said with a grin and headed back to his chair.
Since it seemed Jason had already decided on the Taz he’d first picked up, Arthur didn’t object. “Which one are you getting, Pops?” Shawn asked looking at the other three Tazs.
“I already have a Taz. It’s the first one I built.”
Quickly, Shawn picked up one of the other Tazs. Joseph grabbed another but pushed the last one over in front of Wendy, who was still reading. Looking at the guns and then at Samantha, Jason finally pushed a small pump shotgun over to her spot. Then Arthur called out names of bigger kids and some adults to choose a gun. Everyone in the hall fought not to snicker because not once did Arthur hesitate or have to look at a name tag, he’d just spouted off the names.
“I’ll have to work with Samantha on shooting it,” Jason said picking up his Taz and moving back to his seat as Little Momma led the daycare group in.
Hearing boots Arthur looked up and fought not to cry out in joy, seeing Robin wearing a t-shirt but nothing else with her pink boots. Picking her up, Arthur sat Robin on his hip as Chloe carried Nicole over. “Hey, blue eyes,” Arthur cooed, taking Nicole in his other arm.
Only then did Arthur finally turn to look at Wendy who was still reading. He hadn’t been told, but had a very good idea of where Wendy had gone and what she was reading. “Babe, you know now, so just close them for the time being,” Arthur advised, and Wendy flipped him off but never took her eyes from the pages.
“Pops,” Shawn called out from down the table. “Did you have trouble killing Rudy?” he asked since everyone knew that’d been the first person killed by Arthur defending the ranch.
“No. Why?” Arthur chuckled out.
“I’ve heard the first time you kill is the hardest,” Shawn answered, and the hall grew quiet since someone was asking Pops questions.
Grinning, “Shawn, Rudy wasn’t my first and I didn’t feel any kind of remorse on my first. In fact, I felt relief and joy. I made the decision to kill on each and was fine with it, otherwise they wouldn’t have died,” Arthur said. “If you get technical, Rudy wasn’t even the first I’ve killed in self-defense.”
Shawn’s mouth fell open as did many others hearing the statement. “How many have you killed?” he blurted out then amended, “Well, before Rudy?”
Finally, Wendy lifted her eyes from the book and turned to Arthur. “I wanted to talk to you about that,” she said, then stretched out with a groan. “I don’t think we have to worry anymore about getting caught, so does the vow of silence still have to be maintained?”
“I would advise the ones we did, don’t give out the names,” Arthur answered, and Wendy cocked her head to the side as she finished her stretch. “I doubt they have relatives or friends in the ranch, but we don’t know about the other locations in our coalition.”
Shrugging, “Fuck ‘em if they do,” Wendy huffed, then dropped her eyes back to the book as she flipped the page.
Sitting behind Wendy, Jo Ann and Sally were turned around looking at the back of Wendy’s head in shock. “You killed someone before Anthony?” they asked.
Nodding as she read but didn’t turn around, “Yes, but I will admit, killing Anthony gave me the best rush I’ve ever felt,” Wendy confessed.
Many in the hall were in shock finding out Arthur and Wendy had killed before the outbreak but a few weren’t. One of those who wasn’t was Todd, and he wasn’t even remotely shocked. “Arthur, may I ask, who was your first?”
Turning to look at Todd, “I told you the day we picked up Joseph. Ms. Penderton,” Arthur answered.
“You told me she was the first person you actually considered killing,” Todd replied.
Nodding, “‘Actually considered’ means I
thought out, planned, and carried out the action,” Arthur stated. “If I hadn’t killed her, I would’ve said I ‘wanted’ to kill the old bitch.”
“How? You were twelve,” Todd asked.
Rolling his eyes, “I didn’t sneak in and stab the old bitch with a stake through her heart,” Arthur scoffed. “I did sneak in one night that winter, but I worked on her heating unit damaging the vent. I laid out some of her tools like the old bat had lit her heater and done the damage. Then I took the batteries out of her carbon monoxide detector and replaced them with dead ones, and I mean ones that had no charge to even give little chirps. Then I snuck back out to the foster house and climbed in bed. Old bitch fell asleep and never woke up.”
Todd was certain no one, especially little Arthur, had ever been questioned about the death of the old bitch, and Todd was glad the hag had died before her time. “Pops, if I ever piss you off, let me know so I can apologize.”
“Son, you’re family,” Arthur laughed out, then turned to see Wendy flip a page as she read. “Babe, please stop,” Arthur asked very tenderly.
Throwing her hands up, “Go ahead! Say that you saw that bitch for what she was!” Wendy yelled, making everyone but Samantha, Jo Ann, and Sally jump. They had been around the outbursts all afternoon, so they were accustomed to them now.
Feeling Robin trying to get down, Arthur helped her and Robin took off running to Little Momma. “Wendy, even I’ve been fooled by people,” Arthur told her.
Slapping the table with both hands, “You were ten fucking years old!” Wendy screamed. “When normal kids should be playing, you were learning about the duality of mankind! I’ve never even heard of a ten-year-old who could spot a liar but after that fucker got you in trouble, you damn sure could! It took me how long to figure out two-faced cocksuckers and you did it when you were ten!”
Knowing the hurt Wendy felt, Arthur just tucked Nicole into his side as he got up and walked over to her. She pushed his arm away when he tried to pull her close, but gave up and let Arthur hug her tight. “I felt sorry for her and that’s what Alicia wanted everyone to do,” Wendy said in a breaking voice.
Viral Misery | Book 3 | Revelations Page 24