by Eric Vall
“It’s Tav,” I shouted out the window before I opened the door.
The front door of the house creaked out, and Justin stepped outside with his gun at the ready. He lowered it and smiled as he saw me step out onto the grass.
“Welcome!” Justin said as he tossed the rifle over a shoulder. “It’s nice to see you again.”
Rolly and the girls all got out and gathered behind me.
“Seems you brought more of your crew this time,” the farmer said as he nodded to my team.
“Yeah, this is everyone,” I said.
“Nice to meet you all.” Justin smiled as he waved for us to follow him inside. “Come on in, I know Briar and my wife would love to say hello.”
“Is Briar doing okay?” Tara asked as we followed.
“Marla says he is going to make it,” Justin said. “He’s actually been awake for a while today. You might get lucky and get a chance to talk to him. I’m sure he would like to say thanks for what you guys did.”
“It wasn’t anything,” I said.
“Sure, because anyone can take out a convoy of military troops and return all the stuff they stole,” Justin chuckled.
“He has a point,” Paige said. “I think we can be a little proud of shit like that.”
“Yeah, we were totally badass,” Tara said.
We all stepped inside and then made our way back through the house to the sitting room. Marla was on the floor with her two boys, and the three of them played with a pile of blocks. Briar was awake and sitting up on one of the couches, and a smile slowly crept across his face as he recognized me and Tara.
“Well if it isn’t my own personal saviors,” he said.
“We wanted to stop in and make sure you were doing okay,” I said.
“If you hadn’t patched him up, I don’t think I would have been able to save him,” Marla said as she stood up. “It’s nice to see you guys again.”
“It’s nice to see you too,” Tara said with a smile.
“I’m glad to see that things are going well here,” I said. “We are on our way to scout on this National Guard outpost, but we wanted to stop by and make sure things were going alright.”
“Things have been great since you guys came along,” Justin said.
“Yeah, it’s been a pretty good couple days,” Briar said. “I just can’t wait to take care of my own farm again.”
“It’ll be a little while still,” Marla said.
“Yeah, I heard you got tore up pretty bad,” Paige said.
“I’ll get better,” Briar assured us.
“Yes, but until you do you are staying here,” Marla said.
“It’s fun having company anyway,” Justin said.
“That’s true,” Marla agreed, “the boys have enjoyed having you here.”
“They’re so cute,” Bailey said as she crouched down and waved at one of the small children. “What are their names?”
“Frank, and Mitch,” Marla said.
The two boys looked up towards their mother at the sound of their names but quickly went back to playing with their toys.
“I don’t think I ever got your name though,” Marla said. “In fact, there are a few of you I don’t recognize.”
“Right, sorry,” I said. “This is the rest of my team. Tara you’ve met, but then we have Anna, Paige, Bailey, and Rolly.”
“Well, it’s really nice to meet you guys,” Justin said as he went around and shook their hands. “Anyone associated with Tav is welcome here.”
“You’re all welcome at my place too,” Briar added. “At least once I can get back there anyway.”
“We’ll just have to stop in at some point,” I said. “Maybe we can help you put your place back together once we clear out the rest of these soldiers.”
“Ah, you don’t have to do that,” Briar said. “You’ve already done more than enough for me. Oh, in fact, I have something for you. It's not much, but I figured I had to do something to say thanks.” He pulled up a small backpack at his feet and rummaged around inside a moment and brought out a nice looking black pistol.
“You really don’t owe us anything,” I said.
“I insist,” Briar said. He ensured it was empty and then handed it over to me before going back into the bag. “There’s another part with it.”
It was lighter than most of our other pistols but it had a nice grip and a slim ten round 22 LR magazine. A nice set of fiber optic iron sights was installed on the top rail.
“That looks fancy,” Anna said. “What is it?”
“It’s a Ruger 22 pistol,” I said as I handed it to her.
“It’s a MK IV tactical,” Briar corrected. He set his bag back by his feet and tossed me a small black suppressor, a box of subsonic 22 LR, and a spare magazine. “That suppressor fits right on the front. When you have it installed on that pistol the only sound you can hear is the action working.”
“I’ve seen them in action,” I said. “They are pretty damn quiet.”
“Yeah, I used it to take care of a rat problem a couple years back,” the wounded farmer explained. “I could usually get more than one of them at a time since it made so little noise. Don’t have much use for it now though. Figured you might be able to think of a few things you can do with it though.” Briar gave me a wink and a wide grin.
“This is actually something we don’t have in our arsenal,” I said as I returned the smile. “Thank you, we’ll put it to good use.”
The girls passed around the pistol and gave it a feel before it made its way back to me, and then I tucked it into one of my large side pockets along with the suppressor. I knew just who to give it to, since I’d noticed her eyes sparkle when she held the pistol in her hands.
“Well, we should probably be going,” I said.
“So soon?” Marla asked.
“Yeah, we have a busy day ahead of us,” Anna said.
“Oh, right,” Marla said with an embarrassed smile. “Well I guess I won’t invite you to lunch then.”
“We can make you something for the road if you want,” Justin offered.
“You don’t have to do that,” Bailey said. “We brought plenty of food.”
“Are you sure?” Marla asked. “It’s really no problem.”
“It’s okay ma’am,” Rolly said. “We packed food to take care of ourselves for a few days.”
“Maybe we can stop by for dinner some time once things have cleared up,” I said. “Maybe get the whole community together for a potluck.”
“That’d be fun,” Paige said. “We don’t get to do much off campus.”
“It’d be fun for us too,” Justin said. “It’s nice to have friendly visitors again.”
“What, am I not friendly enough?” Briar teased.
“You don’t count anymore,” Marla said.
“Yeah, you’re pretty much family now,” Justin chuckled.
“Alright, let’s get moving,” I said as I addressed my team.
“Be safe out there,” Marla said as she picked up one of her boys.
The young child stuck a thumb in his mouth and waved at us with his other hand as he started for the front door.
“We’ll do our best,” Tara said. “You guys stay safe too.”
“We will,” Justin assured us as he walked us out.
“Hey, thank you guys again,” Briar called out. “Kick some ass out there.”
“Oh, we will,” Paige replied.
“Thanks for stopping by,” Justin said once we all got outside. “It means a lot that you took the time to check in on us like this.”
“We just hope that we make you feel safer,” Bailey said.
“You guys most certainly do,” the man replied with a quick nod. “I don’t think we have actually felt safer than we have these past few days. Just knowing you guys are out there helps us sleep easier.”
“I’m glad,” I said. “Thanks for taking care of Briar. I’m glad he is going to be okay.”
“It helps that the wife
has done this sort of thing before,” Justin admitted. “Still, it seems like the decent thing to do.”
“I wish more people thought like that,” Anna muttered.
“Yeah, maybe then we wouldn’t have to fight so much,” Bailey added.
“Once we kick these soldier guys outta town, I bet things will quiet down,” Anna said.
“That’s the hope,” I said.
“Well, I guess I’ll let you guys go,” Justin said. “I look forward to seeing you guys again soon.”
“I’m looking forward to that dinner,” Rolly said.
“I’ll be sure we have something good to serve you,” the farmer chuckled before he waved and disappeared into the house.
Rolly and the girls all quickly started to load back up, but I pulled Tara aside.
“I want you to carry this,” I said as I pulled out the Ruger.
“You sure?” Tara asked as she bit her lip.
“You’re good at being sneaky,” I said. “This pistol and suppressor will allow you to be deadly at close range and stay silent.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” the platinum blonde said as she took the pistol.
“This thing fires a small bullet,” I said as I passed her the suppressor and the magazine. “It will go through a skull easily enough, but you’ll need to be accurate. So aim small and target someone’s eyes or mouth.”
“Got it, I’ll watch my aim.”
“Good,” I said with a grin. “I have a feeling stealth is going to be one of our biggest advantages moving forward with this operation, and your new gun will be invaluable in any stealth maneuvers we plan.”
“Sweet,” The platinum blonde grinned. “I really like this whole being useful thing.”
“You’re very useful,” I said.
“Yeah, and for once I actually feel like it,” she replied as her beautiful smile grew wider.
“Good, now let’s get going,” I said as I rubbed her shoulder.
Tara nodded, gave me a quick kiss, and sprinted off to load into the truck.
I made my way to the truck and climbed into the cab.
Anna and Rolly were already strapped in and waiting.
“We all ready to go?” Rolly asked.
“Yep,” I confirmed. “That was our last stop too.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to feel those nerves creeping in,” Anna admitted.
“Me too,” Rolly agreed.
“Try not to let them overwhelm you,” I said. “We still don’t even know exactly what this outpost looks like. Maybe we’ll get lucky and there will be some obvious weaknesses we can exploit.”
“Wouldn’t that be nice,” Anna mused.
“Yeah, I have a feeling it’s not going to be that easy,” Rolly said.
“Me too,” I added with a nod. Then I turned on the truck, turned the beast around, and started off through the trees towards the main road once more.
Everyone was silent as we hit the blacktop again, and the bright mood that everyone had earlier seemed to fade away as we drove farther down the road. I knew that this assault wouldn’t be easy, but if we didn’t do it things would get worse for our new friends. The National Guard would undoubtedly send out more troops once they realized the first ones would not be coming back but this time they probably wouldn’t be so friendly.
I looked over to those in the cab with me, gave them a reassuring smile, and tried to look more confident than I felt at the moment. This was bigger than anything we had done so far, and I knew that they would be looking to me to be strong and make them feel better.
“We’re just about to where we took out the caravan,” I said.
My passengers only nodded their acknowledgement and kept their eyes facing forward. Both Rolly and Anna clutched their guns as they strained to notice anything unusual in the woods.
“With any luck our trip will be free of any more surprises,” Rolly said.
“That’d be nice,” Anna said.
“Agreed,” I added. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Chapter 3
We rolled on past the empty military trucks and piles of bones we had left after we burnt the bodies last time we came through. The air still stank of charred flesh and burned hair, and the sunny day felt a little less cheery.
“Is this the remnants of that caravan?” Rolly asked.
“Yeah, looks pretty much exactly like we left it,” I said.
“Why’d you burn the bodies?” Anna asked. “Not like we have to come here often.”
“I knew we had to drive this way to get to the outpost, and didn’t want to deal with any wild animals,” I said.
“A pile of burning bodies probably deterred any scavengers like those assholes that put up the roadblock, too,” Rolly said.
“Probably,” I agreed as I pulled the map out of my vest and passed it to Anna. “I've got a spot circled on the map. That’s where the outpost is supposed to be. I wanna stop about three miles out from there. There’s no way they’ll hear the truck that far out and three miles isn’t a bad hike.”
“Alright.” Anna looked around, got her bearings, and then focused on the map. “I think we’re a couple miles out then.”
“Anything of note for me to keep my eye out on?” I asked.
“Not really,” Anna said. “I guess you’ll just wanna use the odometer.”
“I can do that,” I said.
About four minutes later I rolled to a stop on a stretch of empty road. Like most of the roadway this area was surrounded on both sides by trees, and the lack of abandoned cars made the whole area look strangely ordinary.
I stepped out of the truck, stretched, and let out a groan.
“Are we there yet?” Paige teased as she and the others climbed out of the back.
“This is as far as we go in the truck,” I said.
“So do we start hiking then?” Tara asked.
“Not yet,” I said. “This is going to be our base camp. We will be heading to the outpost on foot but at the end of the day we’ll return here. This is also where you'll want to go if something happens, and we all end up separated. Think of this truck as your cozy little home away from home, but we can’t just leave it out in the open. If these National Guard guys happen to send guys this way, they’ll definitely stop and check one of their own trucks.”
“What do we do then?” Anna asked.
“We hide it,” I said. “We’re going to split into three teams and head into the woods. Collect branches, leaves, twigs, anything that we can throw over the truck to help us blend it in with the forest.”
“Got it,” Anna said. “Bailey, you’re with me. Tara, you and Paige check the other side.”
“Guess that means I’m going with Tav,” Rolly said.
“Yeah,” Anna confirmed with a nod. Then she looked at me and bit her lip. “I mean, if that’s okay. I should have maybe asked before yelling out orders.”
“It’s alright,” I laughed. “I like your initiative. Come on Rolly, let’s go find some camouflage.”
The teams split up and entered the forest. We covered both sides of the road and all tried to head off in different directions.
Rolly collected branches, while I scooped up twigs and various small foliage that was dense enough to cover nicely.
“I was all gung ho when we got up this morning, but now that we’re close I’m more nervous than I thought I’d be,” Rolly said once we were alone.
“This will be your first real fight,” I said. “Makes sense that you’d be nervous.”
“I guess,” he muttered. “I had hoped that having something worth fighting for would keep the worries and fear away, but if anything, they are worse now.”
“Having motivation is good, but everyone gets afraid,” I said. “Hell, I’ve been in more firefights than most of the guys I served with and I still get a bit nervous before a fight.”
“Really?” The handyman asked as he looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “You don’t seem like you’re
scared of anything.”
“The only people who aren’t afraid of getting shot at are either crazy or foolish,” I said. “The real trick is just learning how to control your fear.”
“How do you do it?” Rolly asked.
I hadn’t really thought about that before. At this point there was little conscious effort in trying to suppress the emotions that would kill me like fear and doubt.
“Well, it helps to have done this before,” I admitted. “I think I rely a lot on knowledge too. Like, I know how to handle the guns we have, I know how to use the terrain to our advantage, and I know the strengths and weaknesses of my team. Our recon today is going to hopefully give us the knowledge of where our enemy is weak too.”
“I suppose that makes a bit of sense,” Rolly said. “I think right now knowing that you’re going to be there with us is one of the things that has kept me from freaking out.”
“Part of my job is to bring that level of comfort to the team,” I said. “No one wants to follow a leader who doesn’t instill at least some level of confidence.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Rolly chuckled. “Still, you do a good job at bringing out the best in me and the girls.”
“I think all anyone ever really needs is a little push,” I said.
“I only kinda agree,” the older man said. “I think people need someone to believe in them. You’ve believed in us since the moment you met us. Never once have you treated us like anything other than capable despite our lack of knowledge and practice.”
“People can do great things when given the chance,” I said with a shrug. “Being under pressure also helps sometimes.”
“Yeah, in my experience pressure will either make or break a person,” Rolly agreed. “I’m just a little surprised that it didn’t break me. I guess there’s a chance it still could though. Like you said, this will be my first real big fight.”
“You’ll be okay,” I said. “Once the shooting starts, just follow my lead and listen to what I tell you.”
“Oh that I’ll do for sure,” the grey haired man chuckled.
“See, then you’ll be fine?” I said with a wide smile.
The two of us headed back to find a large pile of forest sitting in the middle of the road. The girls had already collected a fair amount.