Escaping Home (25 page)

“Get off me, fucker!” she heard Fred shout.

There was the sound of a struggle, and then the sound of a hard blow. Jess heard Fred moan and fall to the ground, then the sound of chains being dragged across the floor. There was a scuffing sound and she assumed they were dragging Fred. Then Mary was brought out, still crying. She offered no resistance and was soon restrained as well.

“Jess, I'm sorry!” Mary sobbed.

“Shut up!” a voice shouted. “Prisoners are not allowed to speak!” The only sound was of boots grinding on the concrete and Mary's pitiful crying.

Jess was shoved from behind. “Move!” She nearly fell, the shackles only allowing her to take small steps. She was led along and a door opened, and even with the bag over her head, she could tell she was outside. A hand grabbed her by the waist chain and pulled her along. She heard what sounded like a metal door slamming open, and she was shoved, almost losing her balance in the process.

“What'd this one do?”

“They say she killed one of our guys.”

“Is that so?”

Suddenly, she yelled out as a kick to the back of knees sent her falling to the floor. “Don't move till the door closes.” It was slammed shut, and she was in total darkness. She lay on the floor and listened as two more doors were opened and the same statement made, then they slammed shut. An all-enveloping silence filled the place.

Jess sat up, her hands straining at the chains. She leaned down and after several tries managed to get the hood off. It made no difference, though: the room she was in was completely black, giving her a sense of vertigo. She exhaled slowly, listening to the sound of her breathing. Once again, a familiar thought passed through her mind.
What have I gotten myself into?

T
ed stepped out of the woods onto the trail and we stopped. Sarge called Mike on the radio and told him to bring the buggies up.

“What do you think?” Ted asked.

Sarge unfolded the map and handed it to him. Ted looked it over. “Pretty good drawing.”

“Yeah, ole boy said he was a surveyor.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm, what?” Sarge asked, annoyed with the tone.

“It's just too good. I mean this has distances marked on it, a compass rose up here in the corner.”

“He said he was a surveyor. If you're thinking it could be some sort of a setup, then why didn't they already hit us? Why wait and see if we actually show up?”

Ted nodded. “That makes sense, I guess. How'd he get out?”

Sarge relayed the story Omar told of his escape and what happened to the ones captured afterward as Mike and Doc drove up in the buggies.

“Somebody call a taxi?” Mike shouted.

“Let's get out of here. I need to go talk with Sheffield.”

I climbed in the buggy with Doc, looking back at Taylor. “Well, how was it?”

“Boring. Also, I had to pee behind a tree in the woods, and I never want to do that again.”

I laughed as Doc started to drive off. We were turning around when a rip of automatic weapon fire sounded off to our north. While it wasn't on top of us, it was too close for comfort. Mike stopped abruptly and Doc slammed on the brakes to keep from crashing into him.

Sarge came over the radio.
“Sounds like our friends are in some trouble.”

The volume of fire intensified. I keyed my mic. “Should we go help them?”

“
Let's go check it out
,” Sarge replied.

We slowly made our way toward the sound of the shooting. From the direction it was coming from, they must be on Highway 40. As we crawled up a small hill, Sarge's buggy stopped and the mast started to rise.

“What's that?” Taylor asked, pointing to the top of the mast.

“It's a camera,” I replied.

“Really? That's cool. Can we go up and see it?”

“Just hang on.”

“I got a view, come on up here and take a look,” Sarge called.

We all climbed out and went up to Sarge's side. He had the little console in his lap. On the small screen we could see the Blazer on the north side of the road. The doors were open and muzzle flashes were coming from under it. Sarge panned the camera to the left. Two Humvees sat in the road with gunners in their turrets, laying down a steady stream of fire.

“They better move; they're maneuvering on them,” Ted said, pointing to the corner of the screen where uniformed men were cautiously working their way down the shoulder of the road.

“We need to go help them. Try to draw the fire off 'em,” I said.

“Naw, we aren't doing that,” Sarge said.

“Why the hell not? They came out here to bring you some info. You're not going to try and save their asses?”

“We gotta pick our fights, and this ain't one.”

I was getting pissed. “What do you mean it ain't one? They're on our side in this shit. We need to support our friends!”

Sarge launched himself out of the seat with more agility than I would have ever thought a man of his age had.

“Dammit, Morgan! You don't think I want to help them? You don't think I want to wade out there and kick some ass? We can't stand toe-to-toe and fight these bastards; we've got to pick when and where, and do it on our terms. Didn't that little shoot-out that forced you out of your home teach you anything?”

“It just doesn't seem right. They're willing to fight the good fight. To leave them there to get their asses shot seems wrong.”

“Not everyone wins. Not everyone goes home. They may pay the price today, but there isn't shit we can do about it right now. Instead we're going to watch and see how these bastards operate, what they do. That way if they do get wasted today it won't be for nothing—they'll be teaching us.”

Sarge climbed back in the buggy and went back to watching the screen. During our argument, Taylor had backed away. I could see her out of the corner of my eye, looking uncomfortable. The guys sat through the argument as though nothing were happening, but I guess they're used to it. On the screen, the DHS goons closed in on the group, and soon the shooting stopped. Two men were dragged out from behind the Blazer and forced to kneel on the road with their hands over their heads.

“Let's see what they do now,” Sarge said.

We watched as they were searched. I could see Calvin shouting at them; the other must have been Shane, his son. I wondered where Daniel was. Calvin was pushed to the ground and his hands secured behind his back. He was still yelling, and one of the DHS men came up with a piece of duct tape and put it over his mouth, then black hoods were pulled over both of their heads. Calvin was dragged toward one of the Humvees, and then Shane was too, kicking and screaming.

“Looks like they're going by the book,” Sarge said, more to himself than anyone else.

“What book?” I asked.

“Ted, what do you remember from field manual three three nine point four oh?”

“That's the internment resettlement manual, isn't it?”

“Yeah, that's it.”

“Something about the five
S
s,” Mike said.

“Yep, what were they, remember?”

“Let's see, shit, shower and shave, I know those,” Mike said with a grin to Taylor. She thought it was funny and smiled back.

“Shut up, stupid,” Sarge said, causing Taylor to laugh out loud before clamping a hand over her mouth. Mike looked over and shrugged.

“Search, silence and segregate,” Ted said. “I can't remember the other two.”

“Speed and safeguard,” Sarge said. “They've already done the first three; the last two don't really matter right now.”

“I can't believe we just sat here and let them be taken like that,” I said.

“If we'd have tried to help, then we'd be right beside them, Morg.”

Once the search was over, one of the DHS men pulled the pin on some kind of a grenade and tossed it into the truck before running off. There was a small explosion, more of a pop, and the truck rapidly caught fire. Soon it was burning intensely and we could see the smoke over the trees.

Sarge panned the camera around some more. “See any bodies?”

“No, I was curious too. They only took two away, but I don't see any,” Ted said.

“I wonder where the guys on the ATVs are,” Mike said.

“Good question. Let's wait a bit and see if they show up.”

Taylor tapped me on the shoulder. She said she was scared and wanted to go home.

“We will soon. It's all right. They don't know we're here.”

“What if those guys tell them?”

I was surprised by the question. She was smarter about this than I thought. Sarge answered it for her. “They didn't or those guys would already be out here looking for us. They might later, but not right now.”

We waited about an hour, but the ATVs never showed. We discussed whether we should go out and check the scene, but we decided the chances that someone was left behind was too big a risk. We all mounted up and headed back toward the river, leaving the smoking carcass behind.

The trip back would pose a bit more peril as we would be traveling in broad daylight. With this in mind I told Taylor to watch her side, keeping an eye out for people. She took it seriously and turned slightly, keeping the muzzle of the H&K pointed out. On the ride I noticed for the first time that it was considerably warmer now. I leaned my head back and watched as the light winked through the canopy of trees. The smells of the forest wafted around us: pine, oak, dirt. It was peaceful for a moment. At least, until the buggy lurched to a stop, bringing me back around to the reality of where I was.

“What's up?” I asked.

“The paved road is up ahead. Ted's going to walk up and check it out,” Doc replied.

“Is something wrong?” Taylor asked.

“No, it's just a precaution.”

She nodded and went back to watching her side of the buggy. I watched Ted disappear down the trail. After five or so minutes he called over the radio, giving the all clear. We pulled up and he hopped back in with Sarge. Once on the other side of the road we only had one more to cross. At the second road we stopped to repeat the process. This time Ted called for Sarge to come up. I was curious, so I hopped out too.

“Dad, can I come?” Taylor asked.

“Sure. I don't think it's anything big. Come on.”

We walked up to the road to find Ted standing just inside the tree line.

“What's up?” Sarge asked.

Ted pointed up the road. “It's the neighborhood fruit loop.”

Up the road, standing on the center lane was the guy from Alexander Springs. He had his arms out like he was balancing himself, walking on the yellow line.

“I think that ole boy's nuttier than squirrel shit,” Sarge said, shaking his head, “but I don't think he's anything to worry about.”

“I think he's been alone too long,” I said.

Sarge turned to go back to the vehicles. “Come on. Let's get back.”

“Who was it?” Taylor asked when I got back.

“Just that weird dude we saw at the park.”

We started across the road; the guy was still in the middle of the road. His back was to us and after a few steps he turned about, facing us. Sarge was already across the road when the nut job drew a pistol. I watched as he raised it and fired a shot, with a Joker-like smile on his face. Taylor screamed and ducked, and my arm flew out instinctively to protect her.

When the shot rang out, Sarge floored it, as did Doc. There wasn't any time to react to it—we were gone as fast as it happened.

“
Who the fuck was that?
” Sarge shouted over the radio.

“It was that damn crazy guy out walking on the road,” I answered.

“He shot at us?”

“Yeah, as we were crossing he drew a pistol and loosed a round. He was smiling the whole time.”

“We'll have to deal with him later. Friggin' nut.”

We made it the rest of the way without any issues. As we pulled up beside the cabin I saw Thad, Danny and Jeff skinning a hog that was hanging upside down from the limb of a big oak tree. Thad and Danny were on either side of the animal working knives, cutting the hide away. Jeff was cutting chunks of fat from the hide and dropping them in a bucket.

I smiled when I saw Little Bit poking the gut pile with a stick. Taylor and I walked over. She scrunched up her face. “That is so gross.”

Little Bit lifted up a stick with a piece of intestine on it. “Taylor! I'm going to eat your brains!” Taylor squealed and ran in the opposite direction of her sister.

“So, we smoking a pig today?” I asked.

Thad smiled and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “Yeah, I'm gonna smoke it tonight, good an' slow.”

“Cool, that'll be some good meat. Why now, though? You couldn't wait to use a real smoker, I bet.”

He pointed off in the direction of the pigs. “I think that sow's carrying a litter,” he said, then slapped the ham of the one strung up. “This boar here's been cut, so I figured we could go ahead and butcher him to give that momma a little more feed.”

“Plus we can use the meat,” Danny said.

Sarge and the guys strolled up. “Damn, I can't wait for some of that porker,” Sarge said.

Thad smiled again. “Yeah, we even found some sauce for it. Morgan had a few bottles in some of that mess under the cabin. But for now, we're going to make up a brine and soak the meat for a few hours, then I'll get it on the smoke,” Thad said.

“Can't wait,” Sarge added. “I'm going to have to go down the creek and meet with that Guard captain. We'll be back before dark.”

“You need me?” Mike asked.

“Naw, you want to stay here?”

“Yeah, I'll help the guys out with the wonderful pork goodness.”

“Fine by me. Doc, you wanna go?”

“Sure. I haven't been down there. I'll go.”

“All right then, let's load up. We got some planning to do.”

Sarge and Doc headed down the river. Smoke from the outboard drifted on top of the water like a fog. I watched them as they left, marveling at the fortune that brought us all together. I looked at Thad and thought for a moment about the terrible losses he'd suffered, and yet here he was skinning a pig with a smile on his face. Danny was Danny, he was upset about his house, but looking at him you'd never know. He was very stoic and his face never revealed his emotions. And his wife Bobbie was just as solid as he was when it came to adversity. Jeff, kneeling beside the bucket, was probably the least affected among us, as far as I knew. He was perpetually upbeat, nothing ever seemed to bother him. I remembered that night on the road, watching him methodically kill those men. He was completely emotionless, performing the task as if it were any ordinary chore.

Then there was Mike. He was younger than the rest of us here, but his life in the Army had made him wise beyond his years in the business of death. Together with Sarge, Ted and Doc, he was a formidable force. Mike's youthful exuberance was contagious and he was always fun to have around. Even now, only hours after watching the gruesome incidents of this morning, he was beside Little Bit playing in a gut pile. She would squeal and laugh when he picked up the organs, cutting a lung loose and blowing it up like a balloon.

I looked over to the cabin where Mel and the other girls were staying. Mel and I had obviously had our differences about moving here, but she was holding our family together, and for that I was grateful. Taylor and Lee Ann were still coping well. Lee Ann had rebounded from the shooting better than I thought. She seemed unfazed by the fact she had taken a bullet to the leg. Before, I could only imagine the drama and therapy such a situation would require. Taylor, unlike her sister, seemed to be gravitating toward the worst of this new life. Her interest in firearms and wanting to venture away from the relative safety of our little cabins on the river were a real concern.