Behind The Curve-The Farm | Book 3 | The Farm

by Craven III, Boyd

  “Yeah?” Luis asked. “I thought we couldn’t figure out any point of references or scale.”

  “I don’t know. I just had a crazy idea though. What if we now do have a point of reference now? In fact, two?”

  “What do you mean?” Goldie asked.

  Leah explained. There was one cave identified on the map. The property had many, so that hadn’t been significant. But one of the points on the map was near a cave. They weren’t too far from the cave where Lyle’s wife’s bones had been found.

  “So, what if the cave and this spot, where we found the ammo can—”

  “I found it,” Harry interrupted.

  “Where Harry found the pirate treasure,” she said softly, seeing him smile, “what if these two points correlate with the map? Then we can find the other points that are marked off. What if the map had nothing to do with the caves and bodies, but for buried treasure?”

  “All that booty,” Harry said wistfully. “I bet you that’s a pirate treasure map. How many Xs are on it, Aunt Leah?”

  “I can see five. There’s a smudge that might be six.”

  “So, if this spot right here is that cave over there,” Luis said to himself, “then there’s another spot nearby. What’s the numbers to the left of that x?”

  “I don’t know,” Leah said with a sigh.

  “I bet you it’s footsteps,” Goldie said, “That’s how all the books and movies did it.”

  “So, what direction should we try from?” Harry asked.

  Leah took her phone and walked to the depression that had been left when they’d pulled the ammo can out of the ground, and turned to her left.

  “That way, towards a big tree. 47 is what’s next to it. Want to walk it off with me?”

  They did, and Leah walked off 47 steps. Luis fired up the metal detector and started looking. Then he widened the area and looked some more. Twenty minutes later, sweaty, and sore from holding the machine, he put it down and wiped his brow.

  “I have an idea,” Goldie said. “All of us have different sized strides. Let’s all go back and each of us count off 47 steps and we’ll try again.”

  “Well, you two might as well. We already know where mine landed up.”

  They did, and Leah picked up the metal detector. She’d watched Luis using it and had it down by the time Goldie, Luis and Harry stopped in place.

  Luis was still spry, but his gait wasn’t as long as it used to be. That still put him almost as far as Leah. She started checking around where he was. At first, she found nothing. Then she widened the area she was checking out and made a circle around him for twenty feet in every direction. It overlapped some of Goldie’s, so when she was done, she kept going there. She’d only gotten about ten feet away from her, into the picker bushes, when the metal detector buzzed.

  Dark was falling. Rob was in position to watch the camp. He had enough dried food and water to last him a couple of days. He could forage or trap if he had to, but it wasn’t like he was in the middle of the woods. If he just walked around in full kit, he’d be noticed. Instead, he’d taken his supplies and broken down his rifle so it’d mostly fit in his big backpack. He couldn’t help that he’d used his old rucksack, but the rest of him was dressed as casually as he could.

  He was wearing an old Razorbacks sweater over his t-shirt, a pair of khaki colored cargo pants, and some hiking boots. He had a knit hat to put on in one of his pockets. His backpack would cripple most men, but Rob wasn’t most men. He’d been about nine years old when the doctors had finally gotten curious enough to figure out why he was towering over his peers. A small tumor on his pituitary gland had been found and removed.

  Even without the extra growth hormone the acromegaly had given him, he would still have been a large man. That’s why the pack full of illegal goodies, tools, guns, and ammo didn’t break his spine in two. Rob had gotten in position in a small rise that looked down on the camp. It was both big and organized. You could tell that the buildings had been put up in haste, probably even this year. But they were all cookie cutter metal buildings that the government was known for. People milled around, some coming, others going. Right off he could tell the residents of the camp from the guards.

  The residents all seemed to be wearing what looked like blue hospital scrubs. The guards looked to be a mixed bag of government agencies and contractors. He could tell by the patches on their vests through his spotting scope. Twelve steel metal buildings with pitched roofs were probably the barracks. They were lined up and spaced out evenly like a road. Further to the north of that was what looked to be a large warehouse.

  Semi trucks and trailers were pulling into loading bays, others pulling out and leaving. To the east of that were two squared off ponds or small lakes. They had to be man-made. Rob wasn’t sure what they were, but thought maybe that was the reservoir they used for drinking water, or maybe a water treatment system. He wasn’t sure, because being this close to the Mississippi, having a man-made body of water purposely built didn’t make any other sense to him.

  “Now I have to just watch.”

  Rob had pulled a ghillie blanket over him. He had spent an hour slowly weaving local grasses and branches on it, so he looked like nothing more than a bit of tall grass somebody had mowed around to avoid a fallen tree limb or branch. Not that much mowing had gone on; the grass on the hill was almost three feet tall.

  He was hoping to get sight of his wife. He wanted to call and check on her, but the next time he heard from the man from the other end of the phone, it was supposed to be him turning over his friends. Also, if he turned his phone on, they could in theory track him. He didn’t think they would get that curious for a few more days, and by then he hoped to have a plan, have executed the rescue mission, and be out of the area.

  As darkness fell, Rob wished he had brought his dog. Ranger had kept him from going crazy more than once, and he would have welcomed the four-legged warrior’s company. He consoled himself that Ranger was keeping Harry and his mother safe in the big house, or that worry might have driven him crazy as well.

  Rob seethed in anger, then went back to watching. He noticed a pattern he hadn’t a moment before. Two guards always stood in front of each of what he thought were the barrack houses. He increased the magnification and could make out individual faces and names on the vests. It narrowed his vision, but he was able to start reading the lips of the guards. With nothing else better to do, he watched them until it was too dark to see, unless somebody was standing under the lights. Since there were plenty of lights in front of the barrack buildings, he practiced reading lips.

  Angelica was walked into the barracks under heavy guard. She thought about saying something smart, but these guys had learned. They were out of range of a quick kick or move, and could cut her down easily. They were also spaced out so she couldn’t easily put one or two between the third. If she tried that, she’d be cut down as well.

  “You’re in 4C,” the guard behind her said. “Your bedding, pillows and clothing are all on your bunk.”

  “4C?” Angelica asked, noting the numbers on the doors. “And what building am I in again? It was too dark to see. I assume I’m allowed out of my room at some point?”

  “As long as you don’t try to pull anything over on us, you won’t be confined. But if we have any other incidents, you’re likely to end up confined to your bunk, or in solitary.”

  “Yeah, unless we just deep six the cunt,” one of the guards snickered.

  Anna turned to the man who had called her the hated word and he still smiled. He raised his carbine up to point right at the center of her chest. “Go ahead Barbie, seriously.”

  “Homeland Agent Pritchard,” she said, then nodded and turned around and started walking.

  The big building seemed to be two floors. The common area they had left had a small living room with chairs instead of couches. There was one guy in there holding hands with a lady. They were watching MSNBC. The Rachel lady was on, talking about impeachment, Russ
ia and how the latest Supreme Court pick would never make it through the Senate.

  “Is this a co-ed barracks?” she asked, entering a hallway that seemed to have rooms marked off above the doorways.

  “No, it’s all ladies here. Men are allowed to visit with a special pass, but they can’t leave the common area. It's a safety precaution.”

  “What if it’s somebody's husband?” Anna asked.

  “Once a week, they have an opportunity to have some alone time,” Pritchard answered from behind her. “Unless you’re one of ours. We can pull rank any time a lady is willing…”

  His words trailed off and Angelica decided right there he was going to die. She figured any lady could have had the worst being done to her, but some might have been taking advantage of the ladies who may have gone to them willingly. She hated it.

  “Here you go,” the guard that hadn’t spoken to her yet said.

  “Thanks for the escort, guys. You won’t have any more trouble from me. By the way, what do we do about bathrooms, food, stuff like that?”

  “End of the hallway is the bathrooms. Laundry is done every third day. You’ll have four sets of clothing and a pair of shoes in there. Food? I could tell you, but it’s dark and you’d get lost. Just ask somebody in the morning or follow them to breakfast. It’s generally around 8am, 1pm and 6pm when they ring the bell.”

  “Thank you,” Angel said softly.

  The agents walked backwards, guns trained on her, then turned and walked out of the barracks quickly.

  Pritchard lit up a cigarette when he’d gone outside and turned to his buddies. “Think she’ll like the surprise?”

  “I think she’ll love it,” the first guard told him.

  The third grunted. He hadn’t liked the idea, and had had nothing to do with it. He’d been pulled to make up the trio to escort a dangerous guest to her room. He’d heard rumors of what she’d done and there were a few grainy cell phone videos he’d seen. He’d been curious how someone so small and savagely beautiful had done what she’d done. But what the men planned for her now? He was not a fan, and hoped nobody died.

  Nineteen

  “Well good evening Miss Sunshine.”

  The words came from one of the three ladies who were in the room. Two were in their thirties or early forties. One had brownish mousy hair, the other had blonde with natural red highlights. Both looked terrified of the third. She was big. Not just in size, but girth. Before the pandemic, Angelica figured she would have been easily over two hundred and fifty pounds. Now, she was probably twenty pounds lighter, judging by the loose skin on her neck. She might be on the apocalyptic diet right now, but she had no problem having her hair cut and dyed.

  It was shaved to the skin on the sides, and the top of her hair was about five inches long, and spiked. It was dyed both purple and green, depending on which spike was sticking up. A ring in her nose, along with numerous tattoos, finished off her look. A want to be biker or punk rocker. Judging by the woman’s age though, she thought it’d be the former than the later. It didn’t smell like she’d showered either.

  “Hi. I’m Angelica,” she said quietly. “I was told I was bunking in here. Which one is mine?”

  She wasn’t sure, because the two ladies who looked terrified were sitting on the bottom bunk on the right side of the fifteen-by-fifteen room. The bottom bunk on the left side where the biker lady was had a stripped mattress with nothing on it. The top mattress was made up and had what looked like the woman’s personal effects.

  “Bottom,” biker told her.

  “Thanks. What’s your name again?”

  The big lady sighed loudly, then walked to Angelica. She saw it coming but wanted to know what the lady’s motivations were. She was pushed back into the door frame. The wind didn’t leave her, but it was a close thing and she’d have a bruise. This woman was strong. Very. She didn’t have rippling muscles, but Angel had no doubt there was a lot of muscle under the fat.

  “My name is Your Highness. You’re just some punk bitch who gets to sleep on the bottom.”

  “Ok, Your Highness Twat Waffle, where the fuck is my stuff?” Angel’s redneck was starting to show but she kept her anger in check.

  “What did you just call me?” The lady looked at the other two in disbelief. There had to be over a hundred- and fifty-pound advantage against Angelica, but the little one didn’t seem afraid of her.

  “I called you a twat waffle. Now quick fucking with me, or I’m going to monkey stomp your fat ass so badly that you’ll be in traction.”

  “Nobody…” she let her words trail off.

  Angel ducked. The metal doorframe sang as the woman’s wild swing impacted where Angelica’s head had been half a second before. The little woman was already moving. Her knee caught the woman in the thigh. The muscle locked up a moment from the pain overload. She started to scream as the pain from her hand hit, but Angel was moving under her arm and behind her. She popped the woman in the base of the back with her elbow and pulled on a handful of spikes, bringing her head and neck back painfully.

  Angelica used her hand, chopping once, then twice at the side of her neck. Her Highness Twat Waffle made a gasping sound and fell. Angel then very slowly used the side of her foot and heel to kick the woman every time she started to yell, sob loudly or cry out. She chose soft painful areas, getting both kidneys, the collar bone, the hands. She was almost ready to stop when one of the women who had been sitting on the bed got up suddenly.

  Angel saw the movement out of the side of her eye and turned quickly, getting into a fighting stance, and moving out of grab or kick range of the other woman.

  “You want some of this too?” she asked, hating how cliched that sounded.

  “I just want to get out of here, you two scare the fuck out of me.”

  “I…” Angelica turned back to the destroyed woman and took a deep breath, then blew it out before finishing. “I just want my stuff and to go to bed. As long as you don’t attack me, I’m like way no fucking danger to you guys. I just hate bullies.”

  The woman who hadn’t gotten up spoke. “We do too. Um. Thank you, I guess?”

  “She was fucking with you two also?” Angelica asked them.

  “Yeah, they just moved her in today. She had us go to the other side of the room and she put your stuff up on her bunk against the wall.”

  “Well, do you want your side of the room back?” Angel asked them. The woman who had been standing sat back down and looked at her friend. Then they turned back to her and nodded.

  “Ok, I’ll help you get moved over. Just tell me where you want me to put my stuff.”

  “Ok, um… sure. I’m Jill and this is April,” the one who had sat the whole time.

  “Like I said earlier, I’m Angelica, but my friends call me Angel. I have a potty mouth, so it’s kind of an ironic name.”

  “I can see that,” April said. “What about Scorpia?”

  “Who’s… oh, her name is Scorpia?” Angel said, turning to the downed woman who was whimpering quietly now.

  “That’s what she said.”

  “Hm… Well, Scorpia, you can call me Angelica. Someday, maybe you can call me Angel, but if you try that shit again, I’m going to curb stomp your ass and make you my bitch. You got me?”

  “Yes,” Scorpia cried.

  “Now are we going to have any more problems? Are you going to try something in my sleep?”

  “I think you broke my hand,” she sobbed.

  “You’re lucky. I had a really bad day, and you’re the picture of everything I hate in life.”

  “How do you know that?” Scorpia asked.

  “I bet you have a degree in in a worthless field. You are disgusted with religion and you avoid showers and deodorant. Oh, and you’re probably a rabid liberal to boot, right?”

  Scorpia nodded, sobbing as she tried to roll to her knees.

  “Good. Then I’m making you my bitch. I sleep on top, and you do what I fucking tell you to do, or I’m going to s
how you what a true monkey stomping is. You got that, sugar?”

  “Yes,” Scorpia said after a few moments.

  “Ok, I’m going to help you up,” Angelica told her.

  It took the both of them to get Scorpia to her feet. Angelica made her lean against one of the dressers at the far end of the room while she looked at the hand. The knuckles were swollen, but she had full range of motion in all of her fingers. Angelica had been in enough fights to know that she’d probably jacked her hand up, but nothing was broken that she could feel. Then she made the woman hold her arms up as much as she could so she could check her ribs.

  She’d tried to avoid hitting any bones in her attack, but she’d started losing control a little bit, and wanted to be sure. She’d tried to hold her ugly side in, but she’d slipped up.

  “Nothing’s broken. Get your stuff and go get a shower. An ice pack for the hand wouldn’t hurt either. Then come on back here and fill me in on this place. And remember, if you fuck with me, ever again… This is just like a sweet nighttime jail kiss in comparison.”

  Scorpia shuddered at the threat and nodded. She moved to her old bunk and started pulling her stuff down and putting it on the top of the dresser. Then she handed Angelica her bundle of bedding, pillows, and clothing.

  “You won’t have any more problems from me Miss Angelica,” she said, then started crying.

  Her face was splotchy, and her neck was turning purple from the knife hands. Makeup streaks were everywhere from the tears. Scorpia left the room and headed to the bathrooms.

  “And wash that shit out of your hair.”

  Scorpia nodded as she walked away. Angelica saw the two ladies had already stripped their beds and had armloads of their stuff ready to switch over.

  “Thank you ladies,” Angelica told them, not quite sure what she was thanking them for.

  “I think… I’m going to like having you around after all,” Jill said with a smile.