by AJ Newman
I said, “Please let the boy think his lying, traitorous, whore of a mother was a good person and a hero. I’ll fill you in later after I break the news to my son.”
Michelle said, “Are you sure he’s yours? That woman probably got knocked up in Europe.”
“Michelle, he’s my son, and I’m sure of it.”
“Okay, mister grouchy.”
I ran ahead of the rest of the group and filled Mom in before we both went to Jay. Jay was in his room playing with his puppy, Moose, as we entered the room.
“Dad, I’m sorry. I know I should be in bed, but he looked so lonely. Can he start sleeping with me?”
“Yes, he can sleep with you. Jay, I have some bad news for you,” I said, and then stopped to look into his eyes.
“Your mom saved Kat and me from a bad man tonight. She was a real hero, but she was hurt during the fight and died.”
Jay kept playing with the puppy and said, “Can Kat be my new mommy?”
I was surprised by this reaction. “Of course, she can be your new mommy. We’ll have a funeral for your mom in the morning.”
“Okay,” was all he said.
MMax lay beside Jay on the floor and laid his head on my son’s lap. He licked his puppy and then spent the night with Jay and Moose. MMax was still there in the morning when I checked on him on the way to the bathroom.
I finished in the bathroom and went back to bed only to find Jay snuggled up to Kat with Moose in the middle of the bed. Kat stroked his hair and hummed a child’s song. I could only guess why Jay wasn’t upset by his mom’s death, but I was pleased he’d latched on to Kat. They became inseparable, and Jay and Moose followed Kat everywhere. Jay loved me, but Kat was very special to him.
I know I might appear to be heartless, but I’m glad Syd was now out of my son’s life. I didn’t want her dead, just gone.
☆
Chapter 25
Smyrna Police Station - Smyrna, Tennessee
Two days later, Major Tidwell joined John for breakfast at their new headquarters in Smyrna. They’d set up their headquarters in the abandoned police station and used the houses in the neighborhood behind them to house the officers and enlisted men. The General’s men and local people loyal to the General controlled the area for miles around Smyrna.
Staff Sergeant Miller and Charlie were already seated. John greeted the Major. “What do the troops have to say this morning?”
Tidwell said, “The raiders have pulled out of lower Nashville and probably all of Nashville.”
Miller said, “Our officers southeast of Murfreesboro and west of Gladesville report the same. They’ve disappeared.”
John asked, “What do you hear from the Walker clan?”
“They haven’t seen any enemy activity. They reached out as far as the southern Tennessee border, and there’s no sign of them. There was an incident where a woman was killed by a scavenger.”
John’s head snapped around. “What was the woman’s name?”
Miller replied, “It was Syd. I don’t know her last name, but she was one of Walker’s old girlfriends, and she’d showed up with a child claiming it was Walker’s.”
John silently thanked God, then asked his team to put a plan together. “I want the plan no later than 1100. What the hell do we do now? I think they’re regrouping for a major attack. Is there any reason why I shouldn’t visit the Walker community to welcome them into our group?”
The others looked at each other without a reply on their lips. “Don’t everyone answer at the same time.”
Charlie spoke up. “I think with the proper support, it’ll work. Miller and I can bring some of our troops while Major Tidwell holds down the fort. Don’t let anyone other than this group know where you’re going.”
***
The Walker farm - Walter Hill, Tennessee
Mom called me to her bedroom after breakfast but didn’t say why. She had a bunch of old family albums laid out on her bed. I walked in and saw two spreads of pictures by the albums. One group had pictures of me from a baby to my early high school years. I looked and thought I’d just gotten more handsome over the years. Then I looked at the other group, which was the same spread of my brother’s pictures.
Mom had two pictures in her hand, one of Michael and the other of me when we were about Jay’s age. She pushed them closer to my face.
“When did you figure it out?” I asked.
Mom laughed, “The first day I saw Jay. I knew he was Michael’s son. Look closely at the pictures. Michael always had softer features while you had a bit of an edge to your looks. Even back then, you looked more like a warrior than Michael did. Your jaw is square, and you look ready to tackle the world. Michael looks more like tackling a good book.”
I hugged her and said, “So, I guess you think we should tell Jay his father is Michael?”
“Oh, heavens, no! The boy needs some stability in his life. He loves you and adores Kat. You can bring him up with your other kids when they come.”
I hugged my mom and said, “I guess we’d better not tell anyone.”
She said, “Only Kat, Michelle, you, and I know. Let’s keep it that way.”
I went out to the barn to check on Father James’ operation and found them to be turning out the last of the four mobile slingshots.
“Hello, Father. I see you’re ahead of schedule.”
He said, “Yes, next we’re going to try to make a better cannon. We need a tank buster weapon for Humvees and homemade armored trucks. The mortars are great for dropping bombs on troops, but we need something to aim at a truck driving straight at us. Something with enough velocity to hit the truck before hitting the ground is what we need.”
We didn’t finish the conversation because I heard my walkie-talkie squawk. I keyed the mic. “Charlie, I can hear you.”
“I’ll be there in five minutes. Don’t shoot.”
I alerted the rest of the community to be on guard, and that company was about to arrive. I wanted us to look sharp for Charlie. I also didn’t fully trust General John Long. Ross called me on his new walkie-talkie and said, “Several men in uniforms are sneaking in from the road.”
“Don’t shoot unless you’re threatened,” I replied. It’s Charlie testing our defenses. I motioned for Sergeant Brown to join me. “I believe Charlie is coming down the drive right now. Be prepared in case it’s not him.”
Three soldiers walked down the driveway, scanning ahead of them for ambushes. Behind them were three Humvees following at a distance. They stopped in front of the barn, and one soldier per vehicle stepped down and then signaled the others to join them.
John got out of the middle Humvee and appeared to look for something. Then, I remembered he had a thing for Karen. I looked back at her trailer and saw Missy and Chrissy come out the door. I also saw the blinds shake at one of the windows.
John said, “Hello, Jason. I’d like to meet the key people in your group today and see what the priest has done to improve the weapons.”
I shook his hand and spoke softly. “So, you don’t want to see the woman who saved your ass?”
John grinned, “You know I do. I want to thank her for saving me and being such a great person. She’s special. I also want to meet your wife Kat, and see MMax the super dog again. I see MMax has already alerted on me.”
I said, “MMax, sit,” and then after MMax sat, I said, “MMax doesn’t know what to make of you. He’s a good judge of character, and you confuse him.”
John laughed and said, “I hear he likes to play with big cats and wild dogs.”
I replied, “We’ve had our fill of cats and wild dog packs.”
John said, “I’ve instructed my men and our community to kill every large cat they see, and we set traps for the dogs. Any that can’t be friendly are disposed of humanely. Could you take me to Karen before I meet with your leadership? I’ll give you a summary of what I’ll tell them before speaking to them?”
“I’ll be glad to take you to her. I can’
t guarantee Karen will see you. She’s been out of sorts for a while.”
John said, “I didn’t think any woman would want me with my…”
I interrupted, “Your face. I can’t say I’m sorry that happened. The lady bashed your head in to save my life.”
John said, “And I hated you for a while and dreamed about killing you. Then, I changed when I actually got out in the world away from the security of hundreds of soldiers and plenty of food. It was then I saw myself for what I was and decided to change. I blindly followed the FEMA bullshit and never realized they weren’t from our government but rogues out for their own good. I’m sorry for what I put you and Ann through during the first few days of the apocalypse. By the way, she told me to say hello.”
“Huh? Ann’s dead! I saw her body all crushed up in the Humvee.”
John grinned, “No, no, that wasn’t Ann. At the last minute, she was pulled back from the mission and left her jacket in the Humvee. You should have seen the look on her face when several of our soldiers reported that she’d died in the fight. They’d escaped the ambush, not knowing that Captain Joan Tidwell was Major Anthony Tidwell’s wife. Anthony married Joan a week before the mission. You saw her name on the uniform and jacket.”
I was now in a fog. The woman I’d once loved was still alive and working with John, who’d once been our enemy. My mind was dizzy thinking about what must have happened.
“You’re not playing a cruel joke on me, are you?”
John said, “Anthony is Ann’s ex-husband. You didn’t know.”
Kat had walked closer when she saw me react and heard most of the conversation about Ann. She turned away and walked to Mom’s kitchen. At the time, I didn’t know why she’d left my side. I took John over to Karen’s trailer and introduced him to Missy and Chrissy, who were polite but not very friendly.
We stopped by the doorway to Karen’s home, and John said, “Her girls don’t like me.”
“John, Karen really liked you. Then she found out you’re the head of a group we thought was our enemy. What do you think she’s going through? Even now, we don’t know what to think about your group. Are you a friend or just the enemy of my enemy type friend?”
John’s head hung down, “I just ask you to keep an open mind. I care for Karen more than I’ve cared for any woman before. Jason, we both never kept a girlfriend more than a month in the good old days. Karen is the woman I’d like to be with the rest of my life. She’s funny, a bit sarcastic, and smart. She’s also gorgeous.”
The door opened, and Karen said, “Jason, let the General in and go find something to do for a while. I need to give him a piece of my mind.”
I walked away but could hear their voices through the open window. Shit, Karen had heard everything we’d said. I went to Mom’s and stopped when Mom and Michelle met me on the deck. They looked worried, but when I asked, I heard everything was okay.
“Mom, John wants to meet with our leadership team.”
Mom asked, “Can we trust him? You told us he was the enemy, but now no one can remember anything they actually saw him or his men do that was bad after they left the FEMA camp. Yes, we heard from several people about how terrible the General’s men were, but I think they meant the original General who led the FEMA soldiers.”
“John Long did horrible things when he worked for the first General. He almost killed me. I still don’t totally trust him, but we need him and the protection he can offer. He tried his best to convince me he’s changed for the good. I told him it would take time for him to gain our trust, but we’ll join his group and work with him as long as he keeps his word.”
Michelle said, “I think that’s the right thing to do. You need to go see what upset Kat.”
“I saw her take off to Mom’s, but I don’t know of any reason why she’d be upset.”
I was certain Kat hadn’t liked John’s and my conversation, so I went to find her. She was in our old room in Mom’s home. I opened the door and saw her lying on the bed with her back to me. “Kat…darling…are you okay?”
“I know you loved Ann before me. Do you still love her?”
Crap, I wasn’t good at this crying female problem. I just knew that sex with Ann was great, but I loved Kat more than my own life, and the sex was amazing. I answered quickly because pausing could be construed wrong.
I said, “Kat, I love you. Ann and I dated but broke up the week we left for the farm. Ann is a great person and a good friend. You are my lover, best friend, and wife. I can’t make you believe anything, but I hope my actions have backed up my words.”
Kat rolled over and started undressing me. Needless to say, we were late for the meeting with John. Did you really think I would give you the details? This is my story about the apocalypse, not a porn story.
Kat and I lumbered in late to the meeting, and eyebrows were raised, to say the least. John gave his pitch about the benefits of joining his group. He then told his own story as he glanced several times across the room in Karen’s direction. He told us about serving with Maria and me in the Middle East and Europe, and then gave an accurate but not complete story of the mistakes he’d made along the way. Some of the people actually felt sorry for him.
Maria caught Kat and me while John was glad-handing the rest of our team. “Jason, I don’t know the man who gave that speech. The John we knew was a womanizer and lazy asshole. Kat, he was always likable, but a regular screw up.”
Kat asked, “And what about Jason? I know he didn’t chase women because he says he was an angel.”
“And he was an angel. He was a saint. The Pope might actually make him a saint,” Maria said with her fingers crossed in front of her.
I said, “Let’s get serious. We need to show John the improved slingshots and then get all the military supplies we can from him. We’ll trade some of the vegetables that have ripened.”
Kat said, “Jan needs to show John the gardens and field crops. I think that’ll impress him.”
Father James gave John a great tour, and the team put on a live fire demonstration that astounded John. Then the priest showed him some of the prototype weapons, such as the mortars, cannons, and huge crossbows.
We talked as I took him over to Mom and the gardens. John said, “Jason, we’ll eventually run out of gunpowder. Old time weapons will be needed to keep the groups like the raiders at bay.”
I said, “Gunpowder won’t be a problem. We can make gunpowder. The lack of primers will be the issue. We can find the lead and reload empty cartridges. John, we need to scavenge every gun shop and gun manufacturing facility for raw materials before someone else has the idea. We could also use some artillery pieces to convert to muzzle loading cannons. We’re going to go back one hundred and fifty years in weapons and ammunition a few years down the road. We need to prepare for that. People like the Father need to be looking at making some steam powered cars and trucks. We won’t be distilling any gasoline any time soon.”
John turned and patted me on the back. “You’re the man to make this happen. We have to defeat the raiders and then turn the Father and your attention to those kinds of projects. Like you, I know where this is heading. The difference is you can visualize solutions. We need more dreamers and inventors.”
Mom stood at the garden closest to the house and talked with Charlie. I lost interest in what John said when I saw Mom give Charlie a hug. They separated when Charlie saw us coming down the path to the garden.
Charlie said, “Jason, your mom has a great sense of humor. She told me about MMax pissing on those bad guys.”
I thought the story was weak, and Charlie and I followed Mom and John around the garden while she told John about the beets, broccoli, carrots, and such that had ripened.
Mom went on to say, “We have many times what we need to get us through the winter. Our plan always was to grow more than needed and find other groups to trade with. Perhaps you can set up a safe central place to have a market?”
John turned to me. “Do you have an
yone who could take on that project and others? We need to start delegating these ideas and the ones the other groups develop.”
“Yes, I have several people who could take on added work. Karen, Ross, Alex, Barry, and Marge have the skills to take on the community building stuff. Maria can take on training men and women for guard duty and fighting.”
John was happy the merger had come together so quickly. “Jason, thanks for having faith in me. I know we won’t agree on everything, but I’ll do my best for the community. I do need a favor, though.”
I asked, “What’s the favor?” and held my breath.
John said, “I need you to come to my weekly staff meeting to represent the southeastern quadrant of this new larger community. I’d also like a few folks from your group to lead or serve on some of our community improvement teams.”
“You mentioned the teams the other day. My people will gladly serve on teams to promote the welfare of the area. I’ll serve on your team and attend meetings.”
John said, “You don’t have to wear a uniform, but I’m promoting you to captain’s rank in my army.”
I said, “Change that to the people’s army, and I accept and will wear the uniform to the meetings.”
John motioned, and an aide came over with two sets of BDUs with my name and captain’s rank on the lapels. I was now an officer, but maybe not a gentleman. Our plan to work into John’s group to change it from a dictatorship to a democracy was proceeding at warp speed, since John had already paved the way. I was optimistic for the first time in months.
Mom led the way as we walked through the fields. She showed off the massive fields of grain and vegetables that came from our team’s great work in the spring. The vast fields of corn and vegetable gardens greatly impressed the General. I started thinking of him as the General since I’d been promoted. Damn, the guy was slick. My impression of him was much more positive, but I still had doubts. I heard yelling behind me at the same time Miller’s radio squawked.