by Cooper, DJ
Matt pulled out his knife and inflicted a nasty gash across George’s face, sending him into a blind rage. He screamed at Matt, “I’m gonna enjoy killing you Burns, and then I’m gonna do that bitch good.”
Matt lashed out with his knife and stabbed George in the side causing him to fall over. As Matt moved in on him, a shot rang out and caught Matt in the shoulder knocking him into the side of the ditch.
Dez, Amanda, and Eric fired wildly to cover Matt. Jeremy dropped his rifle and pulled out his SR9. Firing at anything that moved he ran with all he had for Matt. Jeremy grabbed Matt’s shirt pulling him into the blind with Dez and the others.
Dez hopped out of the blind to help get him inside. She quickly began to apply pressure to his shoulder. Jeremy grabbed the shotgun and joined Amanda and Eric, continuing to fire on the invaders.
Two of George’s guys used the momentary break to retrieve him. They dragged him into the truck and were already speeding off down the road in retreat. Tawny took out two of them in the back of the truck in passing but they still managed to get through.
Cursing, she turned to Joe. “Let’s move in.”
Joe lay motionless beside her. The heavy jacket hid the two shots in his chest but the blood on the ground was unmistakable. Tawny hung her head and began to cry; she hadn’t noticed he’d been hit. She spoke to his lifeless body, “I promise we’ll take care of Cameron for you, my friend.”
By the time Ryan arrived it was down to about the last ten of George’s men pinned down in the ditch between the woods where Tawny and Lynn were and Connor and Cameron’s blind.
Ryan called out to them for surrender. “The militia is here. You will not get out alive if you do not surrender.”
A gun came flying up out of the ditch and hands could be seen. Ryan instructed them to move slowly and keep their hands above their heads. The sheriff went over and cuffed them all using the zip tie cuffs. They were quickly loaded into the trucks and sped away to the jail.
Ryan walked up through the carnage shouting to the group that they were ok and for the others to check in.
Dez screamed over the blind, “Ryan, Matt is hit. Please hurry, help me, he’s bleeding so much.”
Ryan hollered out to some men behind him, waving his arm. “Medic, up here pronto.”
The medic briefly assessed the wound. “It passed right through. Clean shot but we need to get him to the house so I can patch him up.” He reassured Dez that he would be ok. Looking down at her he continued, “I should probably look at your leg as well.”
Dez was so worried about Matt that she didn’t even notice that she’d been shot. She looked down at her thigh, instantly turned white and without a word looked up at them and fainted.
Chapter 19
“Loss”
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
-President, John F. Kennedy
When Dez awoke she looked around and found herself on the sofa inside the house with Charleigh sitting beside her and Jeremy in the chair.
Jeremy said to Lynn. “Would you go tell Ryan she’s awake?”
Lynn nodded and headed out the door. Dez was still groggy and asked where Matt was. Jeremy told her, “He’s fine, resting.”
Ryan came in smiling at her. “Well, now… look who decided to join us.”
Jeremy enjoyed poking fun at her. “Oh yeah, Betty Bad Ass here. She’s all good till she sees her own blood and promptly faints.” He and Ryan laughed.
Dez was angry. “What? Jeremy, how can you make jokes at a time like this?” Looking around she began to cry. Looking up at Charleigh, horrified. “Ariel, where is Ariel?”
“She’s fine, now stop worrying.”
Dez was crying, asking if everyone was ok. Charleigh got up and fetched Ariel from her nap. As she sat there cradling her precious grandbaby the events of the day came back to her. She didn’t want to talk about it and asked that they let her gather her thoughts for a few moments.
Rebecca came in and brought some tea. After a few minutes sipping it Dez started feeling better.
Ariel hugged her and asked, “You sad, Mimi?”
Dez hugged her tightly. “I’m never sad when I have hugs from you.”
Ariel hopped off her lap and climbed up on the kitchen stool and asked for a snack. Dez hobbled out to the kitchen and asked if she could see Matt. Rebecca helped her to the bedroom where he was sleeping.
She sat on the bed and wept, holding his hand.
Matt woke up and said with his usual humor, “Bacon.”
She smiled down at him and kissed him gently. “My hero.”
He laughed, “Aww shucks ma’am, twernt nothin.”
He asked her if everyone was ok and she told him she didn’t know. “I was just going to go find out but I wanted to see how you were first.”
He smiled a weak smile. “I’d be fine if Rebecca would let me out of this bed. Did you know she’s on a power trip?” He laughed. “She said she would tie me up if I didn’t stay put!”
“Well sir, you might just like that, now wouldn’t you.” Kissing him, she got up and headed for the door. She told him she would be back to fill him in on everything.
Reaching the door, she looked back. “You’d better listen to Rebecca and rest, mister.”
She limped into the kitchen to see how everyone else was. She was horrified when they told her about Joe. “Does Cameron know?”
They said that he did and that he was ok but taking it hard. They commented on how Astrid was with him and noted amongst themselves that it was good she was there for him after he had been so kind when her parents died.
Wanting the complete rundown, Dez asked, “Was anyone else hurt? Otherwise, everyone is ok?”
Jeremy chimed in. “I sprained my ankle. Shit, I didn’t even notice. I was just trying to get to you and Matt. Where’s my sympathy? Isn’t anyone going to fuss over me?”
Rebecca hollered in from the doorway to the bedroom, “Frank caught one in the ass.”
Poor Frank. Through it all he just stood complaining he didn’t even get a glorious wound. They told her how Sarah had scolded him for getting shot and was, even as they spoke, treating him as though he were some wounded war hero.
Winking, Jeremy said, “Yea, she’s busy looking at him with girly eyes and tending to his every need.”
Ryan noted that they’d defended the place like warriors. George’s group was almost completely decimated. They had eight in custody, but he was disappointed that George had gotten away with a handful of his men.
The ones they had in custody were very cooperative and willing to give them all the details of their hideout. “With any luck we’ll catch up with them very shortly.”
They told her Connor and Sam were already working on putting plastic up on the broken windows and Janice was cooking up a feast in the mess hall.
All of this was a lot for Dez to take in as she sat sipping her tea. Ariel came running up with Dylan shouting it was dinner time exclaiming “Dywan and me picked the movie.”
She was hopping up and down with joy and pride at her big responsibility. Dez smiled at her lovingly and told the rest of them she wanted to have dinner with Matt and asked if they would mind excusing her. “I will go get some plates and bring it here and see everyone a bit later?”
Toni told her to go on into the bedroom and she would bring it to them. “I am going to be eating in the living room with Jeremy anyway.”
Dez hugged her and thanked her and looked at her son, scolding him. “You could have been killed with that stunt! If you ever scare me like that again, I will kill you myself!”
Jeremy laughed and said, “What’s up wit dat theah guy, you know I was the wicked good superhero heah.”
She went over hugged him, tears in her eyes.
He said, “Ma, Matt almost got killed going after George li
ke that. It was because George spotted you and was going after you that he broke cover.”
She just looked at him as he continued, “He was saving my mom so I had to do something!”
She kissed him on the head. “I know bud, I have the best men a woman could ever need. I love you.” Drawing back, looking at him, she continued, “But don’t ever do that again.”
They both smiled as she headed for the bedroom.
Matt insisted he wanted to be in the living room with Jeremy and Toni. Against Rebecca’s orders, Dez gave in and helped him to the sofa. “She is gonna kick my ass for this, you know.”
Matt smiled and chuckled. “Better you than me.”
The four of them ate and talked about George, going over what happened. Matt said, “I know I stabbed him good in the side.”
They thought he wouldn’t be up and moving anytime soon if he survived the stab to the gut. They all also knew though that if he lived and escaped Ryan’s guys, that he would be looking for revenge.
Later that evening they held a funeral service for Joe, each of them taking a few minutes to say something about their new friend. The ladies made a wreath for his cross out of some leaves and vine they foraged from the woods. Astrid was glued to Cameron’s side and never flinched at his tears or angry outbursts. Cameron vowed to kill George someday and avenge his father’s death.
As Cameron had been there for Astrid after her parents died, so she stayed close to him in his time of sorrow. Dez watched them as she said quieting words to him. She was thankful that in some way Astrid had found her place and Cameron had her for support right now. It did make her wonder about how close they were and she decided to chat with Astrid at some point about it.
Chapter 20
“Time to Move”
“There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in the shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves or lose our ventures.”
-William Shakespeare
November 15th
Almost two weeks had passed since the battle with George’s gang and there had been no word on George. He’d somehow eluded them. There were various reports from people saying that he was indeed very much alive. His guys had been moving him from place to place to keep him hidden.
After the militia found his hiding place they confiscated all the stolen supplies and allocated them for the people living in town. After that they burned every building on George’s compound to the ground.
Matt was up and around, as was everyone else who’d suffered injuries that day. But the memory was still very fresh in Matt’s mind. He discussed with a few of the others that they had to start thinking about moving to the property. He knew it was not ideal with only a barn but it offered greater safety and he knew deep down that it was not over and George would be back. Most of them hated the idea of moving with winter setting in and said they could handle George.
Matt scolded them. “He will not be so stupid next time.” Rubbing his forehead as he would for a headache he frowned and continued, “We were lucky and he was overconfident. We lost one friend already and our luck is bound to run out sooner or later.” Taking a quieter tone, he continued to talk, “We haven’t seen anything like what others are going through. We’ve been sheltered and blessed with amazing knowledge and skills so far. It’s going to get a whole lot worse and this place is just not going to be safe or defensible. What I’m trying to consider is how much easier it will be to relocate before the really wintry weather sets in.”
They had a meeting of the adults later that evening to discuss it. While most of them knew that Matt was right the thought of roughing it through the winter was unpleasant at best. They might be safer from invaders but it was going to be much harder living than it had been thus far.
Janice made hot drinks all around to warm not only the insides but the hands as well. Toni got out her ever-present pad for lists and they sat to begin the discussion of moving.
Matt began by saying, “We all know why we are having this meeting and I know most of you are not happy with the prospect. So, I think we should begin by discussing our options.”
Jeremy, who agreed with Matt, spoke up. “I really don’t feel like we have many. We have two choices really: stay or go.” While everyone was nodding, he continued, “I think we all agree that if it’s not George then someone else will come. And by now this little skirmish will be known by many. They won’t make the same mistake he and the first group did. Honestly, I think the only reason George made the same mistake as the bikers did was because we left no one to tell the tale of the first encounter. George will be seeking revenge and new minions to boss around Word will get out and we are now a target.”
Herb stood up, “I think we should go. As you all know, Janice and I are not exactly young and fit, but I for one would rather struggle with Mother Nature than think about what these animals will do to my wife.” He paused to look at Janice and continued, “All of the things we have done here to make life easier - we can do there. I know there is only a barn but we can build cabins, one by one.” Taking a deep breath, he sipped his coffee and continued, “Arthur has kept me apprised of things out there and they are getting worse by the day. It will come here, and I think it will come very soon. We should not only go… but go quickly.” He looked down and unceremoniously took his seat again.
There was quiet in the room as everyone thought of what Herb had just said. Matt broke the silence by asking if anyone else had any thoughts they would like to express. Rebecca put her hand up and Matt laughed, telling her she wasn’t in school so go ahead and speak.
“How would we do this? Can we take everything from here that we already have?”
Matt looked to Sam, who stood to look at the floor. “I think that and more. The gas is getting too low to take all the vehicles but we can take the box truck and stuff it with the supplies and things, not to mention the pickups. Do you agree, Sam?”
Sam stood thoughtfully, he’d been silent. “I don’t think we should take any cars. They won’t get across the creek and the gas could be used in the other vehicles. But to answer your question, yes, I do believe so.”
Sarah stood, and this shocked everyone as she rarely spoke. “How much land is there and can we have gardens and stuff? I think it is important we think beyond today’s issues and into the future for the kids.”
Dez smiled at her and reached out for her hand. “There are 150 acres, plus it backs to the national forest of a couple thousand or so acres. It has about 30 acres of fertile bottomland that is flat and the rest is nestled between two ridges. We own all of it, up to the tops of the ridges.” Thinking a moment, she continued, tapping her fingers on the table. “It has a couple of springs on it and the creek across the frontage as Sam mentioned. Hunting there has been decent in past years. And there are quite a few walnut trees for nuts, some berries, and ginseng, along with a lot of timber we could use to build.”
Tawny added, “Oh, and one other thing, coal… It has coal just falling out of the mountain in places.”
A few more questions about the location and other aspects were answered and then they decided to vote on it. It was a unanimous vote in favor of the move. They then began splitting into groups to assign tasks to get them ready to move out.
Dez approached Sarah and said how pleased she was that she’d asked that question Dez said it was one of the most important things she’d considered when she purchased the property and thanked her for reminding her of things she could tell them about it.
Over the next few days, they disassembled things and packed up the two houses and barn to be moved.
Matt and Dez went about discussing what to take, pointing things ou,t when Matt proclaimed. “Well, I think we have everything but the kitchen sink.”
Dez looked at him wide-eyed. She’d had an epiphany. “Why not?”
Looking at her quizzically, Mat
t had no clue what she was talking about. “Why not, what?”
“Why not take the kitchen sink and anything else that would help us build. All of it! Anything we can take.”
Matt kissed her and said, “You are a smart one, aren’t you? I’ll tell the others. If it fits, it ships. Right?”
Dez grinned. “Right!”
Ryan came by to see how their packing was progressing. He wanted to talk to Matt and Sam about something. Matt came walking up to him and shook his hand. “How are things?”
Ryan told him that they heard of a case of Ebola up in Richmond. “They have the family quarantined and they think it may have arrived with a relative that came from Lexington earlier in the month. The relative died of his injuries that were sustained while trying to get there, but they said he was sick when he arrived. They thought it was from an infection in one of the wounds but then when one of the kids got sick, they began to speculate it might be something else.”
Sam and Matt both gasped. Matt shook his head. “So close?”
Ryan nodded. “The family lives in a pretty rural area and they can’t remember having contact with anyone else since the arrival of their relative.” Pacing, he spoke, “But everyone is staying inside who knew them just in case.” He reminded them. “I need y’all to stay away from people on your way down. Let me know when you’re ready. I’m sending some guys to help provide you with protection for the trip. I know you won’t really be any further away. It’s just in the opposite direction but we need to take precautions now.”
Matt and Sam agreed and thanked him for the extra security. As Ryan was getting ready to leave for Arthur’s place, Matt walked with him. He had something else on his mind. He’d hoped the group from the north would have made it by now but they’ve heard nothing about them since Arthur spoke of them. He told Ryan they would be leaving some food and a walkie for them to be able to talk to Arthur when they arrived.