Without Law 2

by Eric Vall

  “This might be almost as much fun as sex,” Tara said.

  “Holy shit, are you serious?” Anna asked.

  “I think I agree with that,” Bailey said. “I would do this every day if I could.”

  “If we can find more ammo, I think that is a good plan,” I said. “The more you shoot the better you will get. And guns are the great equalizer. It doesn’t matter how big and strong the man attacking you is, a well-trained woman with a gun can protect herself.”

  “Well we should do that then,” Paige said.

  “Don’t worry, we are working on it,” I assured her.

  “Man, they even just look cool,” Bailey said before she smiled and looked at the boxy black pistol in her hands. “Guns are so awesome.”

  “Yeah, can we keep shooting?” Tara asked

  “Well, I should call it for today, but I would say this was a successful first session,” I said as I stood there, hands on my hips, with a grin on my face.

  “Damn fine work,” Rolly said with a nod. “They took to it well.”

  “Agreed,” I said. “I think it’s time to give each of you your own pistol.”

  “Wait, we get our own guns?” Bailey asked with a large grin. “Today is awesome.”

  “What did you expect?” Anna asked. “He wants us to be prepared.”

  “Sorry, it’s just very exciting,” Bailey said.

  “It’s almost like Christmas,” Paige agreed

  “Maybe later Santa will fill my stockings then,” Tara said as she eyed me and bit her bottom lip.

  “Does everyone get a visit from santa?” Bailey asked as she looked away and went bright red.

  I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

  “I’m sure if you’re real nice he’ll visit you too,” Tara said. “It’s a good time.”

  “Not sure if it can be better than shooting,” Anna said as she looked at the Colt 1911 in her hands and smiled.

  “Wow, you clearly need to get laid,” the bookish brunette said with a laugh.

  “Maybe, but for today I am content,” the athletic redhead replied.

  It seemed that my second in command had found the pistol she favored. Though for the others I handed out the remaining 9mm pistols. I have the Beretta to Paige, and both Tara and Bailey got a Glock. Rolly got the .44 magnum. I would have rather given him a more reasonably sized pistol, but it was what we had for now, and he assured me that he didn’t mind playing Dirty Harry.

  “Alright, I expect you to be armed at all times from this point on,” I said as they inspected their firearms.

  “Do we get holsters or anything?” Anna asked.

  “No, not yet anyway,” I said as I shook my head. “Though that is something we should keep an eye out for in the future. Until then maybe we can find a way to make a harness out of rope or something.”

  “Where do we keep them?” Bailey asked as she looked down at her very tight pants.

  “Yeah, it’s not like I have pockets,” Tara chimed in.

  “Tara, you and Bailey keep it in your backpack for now,” I ordered. “Your glocks don’t have safeties so that is probably your best options. Anna, Paige, if you can manage it try to tuck it into your waistband or a pocket. We want to make these things as accessible as possible while remaining safe.”

  “So, is that it then?” Bailey asked as she took off her backpack and loaded her gun into it. “We done for the day?”

  “I think so,” I said with a nod as I looked to the darkening sky. “Let’s get some food in us and head to bed.”

  So, we all made our way to the firepit, got a fire going, and made dinner. As we ate, we laughed and joked as usual, and I was happy knowing that from this day forward everyone was better prepared for the dangers that might come our way. It would be a while before they could handle them like operators, but they would learn quickly. I just hoped that they learned quickly enough, because when trouble came our way they would need to be ready.

  Chapter 5

  The next morning came too soon, and my arms were majorly sore from the day before. This was the first day in a while where I had felt so groggy, and I groaned and pushed myself out of bed.

  I got dressed and headed out towards the library, but the sound of coughing stopped me in front of Rolly’s room. The man wheezed hard for a solid few seconds, stopped to take a breath, and coughed some more.

  I frowned and raised a hand to knock but thought better of it. I had to trust that he would come to me if there was something actually wrong, though in the meantime I might have Paige keep an eye on him. While she didn’t have a lot of medical training, she was still the closest thing to a doctor that we had.

  I continued down the hall and through the common room. Two of the girls, Anna and Bailey, were already awake and getting ready for the day.

  “Good morning,” Anna whispered as she laced up her running shoes.

  “You guys are up early,” I replied.

  Tara groaned and rolled away from us.

  “I’m going to go for a small run with Anna,” Bailey said.

  “Have fun,” I said with a smile. “Don’t forget your guns and stick to the campus grounds.”

  “Don’t worry, it won't be a very long run,” Bailey replied. “I am not great at cardio, but that’s why Anna agreed to help.”

  “Yeah, we are really just gonna get the blood pumping,” Anna said as she stood and slung her backpack onto her shoulders.

  “Well I’ll go make sure you have some hot water and breakfast ready in the library when you get back,” I whispered.

  The three of us slipped out of the common, and down the stairs before we woke the others. We stepped outside to find the orange glow of a mostly cloudless sky.

  “We will see you in a bit, Tav,” Anna said as she started to stretch.

  “Yeah don’t have too much fun without us,” Bailey added as she tried to copy the movements of her redheaded companion.

  “I’ll try,” I said sarcastically before I gave them a wave and left them to their exercise. That was probably another thing all of us should start doing soon as we were pulling in enough nutrition and protein that we could spend a bit of time getting in shape. I stopped by our salting shack and grabbed the leftover rabbit meat we shoved in there from the night before. There was enough there for all of us and would be a good first meal.

  I stepped into the library and was greeted by the smell of leather and paper. The sun filtered in through a large side window and gave the whole place a warm glow. I made my way to the whiteboard and our conference table.

  I set down breakfast, picked up a green dry erase marker, and crossed out shooting range. It could use some improvement still but it was functional. The water line was finished, so I crossed that off as well.

  All of our work had whittled the list of projects down to three things. There was a garden, the shower stalls, and an expansion of our smoker. Because we had the shack to keep our meat in the garden looked to be the most important of our remaining projects. I knew the girls really wanted one of those sun heated showers done but we needed to take advantage of the season, since spring was one of the best times to get seeds in the ground.

  The library doors creaked open, and Rolly stepped inside, and he moved noticeably slower than he had the day before.

  “What, didn’t feel like joining Anna and Bailey for a run?” I asked.

  “You kidding me, I barely wanted to get out of bed this morning,” he replied before he sat down at the table with a groan.

  “I woke up a little tired and sore myself,” I said.

  “How about we do something less exciting than shoveling dirt this morning then?” he chuckled.

  “I think that sounds like a good idea,” I agreed with a nod. “Don’t want people getting jealous of our exciting lives.”

  Then Tara and Paige stepped inside.

  “Are Bailey and Anna really running right now?” Tara asked?

  “Yeah, they decided to get in some exercise,” I said. “
We will probably all want to start doing that before too long.”

  “Ugh, I hate running,” Tara groaned.

  “It’s good for you,” the messy haired brunette said. “I used to do it pretty regularly.”

  “Can’t I just spend time with Tav for cardio?” Tara asked.

  “We need to do more than just cardio,” I said.

  “Oh no,” Tara grumbled. “What does that mean?”

  “He’s probably talking about exercising,” Paige laughed.

  “So was I,” Tara purred as she winked at me.

  “Paige is right,” I laughed “Pushups, sit-ups, probably some burpees.”

  “Alright, now we are into stuff that not even I want to do,” Paige said.

  “Don’t you want to be ready for anything?” I asked.

  “If it means doing burpees then maybe not,” Paige said with a shrug.

  Rolly laughed and shook his head.

  “Laugh it up old timer, but you’re going to join us in this too,” I said.

  “What are we talking about?” Anna asked as she entered with Bailey. The two women were sweaty and glistened slightly in the sunlight as they crossed the room.

  “Burpees,” Tara groaned.

  “Oh nice,” the redhead said. “Wouldn’t mind doing those again.”

  “You disgust me,” Paige joked as she grimaced at her athletic companion.

  “Hey, it’s not my fault you don’t know how to have fun,” Anna replied.

  “I think you’re the only one who thinks burpees are fun,” Bailey said.

  “Not true,” I said. “I enjoy them too.”

  “Well at least we now know that we are being led by a crazy man,” Tara said.

  “Better crazy than mean at least,” Rolly said with a shrug.

  We all laughed and then started to pass breakfast around the table.

  It seemed that an exercise plan might not go over as smoothly as I had hoped, but for the moment though it was not something I needed to worry about. Our days were still too full to fit in a fitness regimen, and at least our daily activities would help the girls to stay fit until then.

  “Any more big projects today?” Paige asked.

  “Yeah, I don’t want to lose this momentum we have going on now,” I replied.

  “So then what are we going to work on today?” Bailey asked.

  “Well, you’re going to start getting a garden set up,” I said. “Choose a big chunk of the courtyard and start getting the ground ready for planting.”

  “I haven't really done much gardening before,” Bailey admitted.

  “That’s okay,” I said, “There are plenty of books you can use to help you get an understanding of what to do first.”

  “If you want, I could point you to where all the gardening books are,” Paige offered.

  “Yeah, that would be great,” Bailey said with a smile.

  “Paige, after you help Bailey with that, you and Tara will meet up and spar for a couple hours,” I instructed.

  “Wait, but I practiced yesterday,” Tara said.

  “Yes, that’s why I have you helping Paige today,” I explained.

  “Oh, for a second I thought I was being punished or something,” the platinum blonde said with a shrug.

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “I thought you liked knife practice.”

  “I do, sorry,” she sighed. “I just, like, wanted to make sure I wasn’t in trouble or anything.”

  “Why would you be in trouble?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, but it was pretty normal back when this was actually a school,” she said. “It hadn’t happened for a while so I guess I just thought things seemed to be going too well.”

  “Aww, you don’t need to be hard on yourself like that,” Bailey said.

  “Yeah, everyone makes mistakes,” I said. “But I’m here to help you learn from them. Remember, I am not some college professor.”

  “Yeah, that’s true,” Tara agreed with a nod. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to get all melodramatic.”

  “It’s alright,” Bailey responded. “We are all here for each other.”

  “She’s right,” Anna said with a nod. “Our mental state is just as important as our physical one. If we can’t open up and share with each other than we might just go crazy.”

  “Thanks guys,” Tara smiled.

  “Of course,” I said. “Now back to our plans. Anna, you and I will head out into the woods to check the traps.” I turned to the handyman. “Rolly, the gun range could use some improvements. A simple shooting bench would be nice, and a table or rack to set the guns on would mean we didn’t have to put them in the grass.”

  “On it,” he said with a nod.

  “If you have time do you think you could draw me up some plans for a bigger smoker too? The one we have clearly isn’t large enough anymore.”

  “Yeah, no problem,” he said. “It will be a nice change of pace.”

  “Good,” I said. “This afternoon we are going to do some more shooting. I want to get in as much range time as possible in these next couple days to help reinforce all you guys have learned.”

  “Do you think the sound of shooting will attract any unwanted attention?” Bailey asked. “I had that thought last night while I was trying to fall asleep.”

  “Not really,” I said as I shook my head. “The sound of the gunshots won’t carry more than a mile. Based on the area we are in, I would guess they won’t even travel that far.”

  “Man, they are so loud that I sorta just assumed they could be heard forever away,” Tara said.

  “Well a mile is still a good distance,” I said.

  “Still not as far as I thought the noise would travel,” Bailey said.

  “Well, I’m gonna get to work,” Rolly said as he stood. “Best of luck team.”

  “Have fun,” Bailey called out.

  “We should probably follow his lead,” I said. “Does everyone have their guns on them?” I asked.

  The girls were all quick to assure me they were, and even double checked just in case.

  “Perfect,” I replied. “Then let's get going.”

  Anna and I hiked through the woods towards our second trap site. The first has been a mess of splintered wood, twisted wire and bloody fur.

  “So do you think it was the mountain lion?” Anna asked.

  “Probably,” I said while I pushed a branch out of my face. “It could be something like a pack of coyotes but I doubt it. I haven't heard any of them since arriving here.”

  “It’s not good that this thing keeps trashing our traps is it?” the athlete asked.

  “No, not really,” I said as I shook my head. “I hoped it would have gotten what it wanted and left us alone. Though I am worried that we have just provided it with an easier way to find meals.”

  “Something something don’t feed a stray cat,” Anna said with a laugh.

  “Yep,” I chuckled in agreement.

  We entered a small clearing where another of our traps was supposed to be. And again, the only thing that remained of it was a tangle of metal and wire.

  “Shit,” Anna said. “Guess we need to make some more traps.”

  I knelt at the edge of the clearing and pushed some grass aside to reveal a shallow mountain lion print. “Well we can officially rule out coyotes.”

  “What’d you find?” She asked as she rushed over to me.

  “Tracks,” I said. “They’re kinda faint but these are definitely fresh.” I turned back to the woman standing behind me and grinned. “Want to learn how to track?”

  “Hell yeah I do,” she said without hesitation.

  “Well then, first lesson,” I began as I pressed a hand into the ground next to the track. “This a good way to check how fresh an animal track is. Look at the edges of my hand print. See how they are fresh and sharp?”

  “I think so,” Anna said after she shifted around and crouched down in front of me. She traced a finger along the edges of my handprint and then did the sam
e on the animal track. “This cat print looks to be pretty clear, kinda like your hand.”

  “Yeah,” I said with a nod. “I would guess it is less than a day old. The beast probably messed with this area overnight or early this morning.”

  “How will I know if the tracks are older?” Anna asked.

  “The print will be more rounded at the edges as the ground starts to go back to a more natural state,” I explained

  “Cool, so we found a track, what next?” the redhead asked.

  “Well we see the direction the track is facing,” I said as I pointed in the direction the toes led. “We want to look for more signs in that direction. Along with additional tracks we want to be on the lookout for disturbed vegetation and foliage, scratches on the ground and trees, and any signs of the creature such as its shit.”

  Anna nodded and headed into the forest in the direction our first sign pointed.

  I got on my hands and knees and followed after. I felt my way along the ground in an attempt to find tracks that I might not have been able to see. This process looked like the goofiest thing when you watched someone do it, but it was one of the best ways you could track. It allowed you to use more senses than just sight and helped to put you in the headspace of creature you were trying to find.

  “I found something,” Anna yelled.

  I poked up and saw her about ten yards ahead of me.

  “What’d you find?” I asked.

  “Looks like some bits of animal and some scratch marks over here.”

  I stood up and made my way over to her. There was a shred of bloody fur in a small clawed furrough in the ground.

  “Good find,” I said. “This is maybe a couple hours old. Look at the blood here, it’s still not entirely coagulated.”

  Anna frowned and started to look around. Then she pulled the .45 from her backpack and racked the slide.

  “Worried about something?” I asked as I looked at her gun and raised an eyebrow.

  “After our run in with that bear I am sorta afraid of getting eaten by wild animals now,” she explained. “If the track is fresh there is a chance the cat is close.”

  “You’re right,” I said as I stood, pulled out my knife, and made a large mark on the nearest tree. I had a feeling I would want to find this area again in the near future. “There is a chance its den is nearby.”