Stryker: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale (19 page)

“Tom, come get
their rifles and spare mags,” he yelled over his shoulder. He glanced back and
saw Haley and Elle, both guns up and aiming at the standing man. “Jesus, will
anybody ever just do what I ask them to do?” he muttered. Tom grabbed the
rifles and mags and carried them away.

Stryker again
approached the standing
 
man and glared
at him. “This is your idea of upholding your oath?” he said in a menacing
voice. “What kind of pond scum are you to come here and take things from people
and use that uniform and those weapons to intimidate them?” Stryker paused
while the man apparently struggled for an answer, then added, “Never mind
answering that. You just need to pick up this piece of shit and get out of
here. If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you both without a second thought.”

“I think he’s dead
already,” the man stammered. Stryker glanced down.

“He might be. I
don’t really care. You crossed the line when you pulled this crap, and if he’s
dead, I’ll spend the next one second worrying about it. Okay, I’m over it now.
Either carry him out of here now, without weapons, or I’ll end you now. Up to
you.”

“We’re leaving,” he
mumbled. Stryker stalked away, not sure if he should leave the man alive or
not, but accepting the outcome as the best one possible. He was considering
really ripping into Elle and Haley for not doing what he asked, but tempered
the thought as he approached them. Tom stood to the side of Haley, his face
drawn and pale.

“What did you think
I was going to do?” Stryker demanded as he faced Tom. “Violent men only cease
to be violent when confronted by a greater violence.” He waved his hand in a
disgusted motion. “Why the hell didn’t anybody here stop this before it got out
of hand? Are you people all sheep?”

“We talked about
it,” Tom said.

“And decided to do
nothing,” Stryker spat back. “Are any of you people men? Or, are you all
twelve-year-old girls looking for their first date?”

“We tried,” he
answered.

“Yeah, well let me
tell you something. You organize this market and you’re responsible for
security. Get your act together.” Tom remained mute, and Stryker walked away in
disgust. He felt a hand on his arm and turned to face Elle.

“Stryker, you’re
scaring us,” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re really
upset and you’re scary right now.”

“Well, I don’t mean
to be that way.”

“Well, you are.”

“I guess I’m sorry.
I don’t want you guys to ever be afraid again; but I can’t just ignore things
that are wrong.”

“Can you just calm
down for a minute and then come back?”

“Sure.” Stryker
walked away and tried to regain his composure, but it was impossible for him to
understand why the men in the market didn’t take control of the situation. It
was infuriating that he had to do what he did to maintain order.

He turned to Elle
and Haley, still angry, but said, “Thanks for having my back there.” They both
looked relieved. When they saw his expression as he approached, they thought he
was going to blow up at them.

“Ahh, no problem,”
Elle said.

“Stryker, after
what you did for us, we’re always going to have your back. Count on that.”

“I appreciate that,
ladies.”

“Do you think that
guy is dead?” Elle asked.

“Yes.” Stryker
looked away. “I tried to end it without that happening, but sometimes you can’t
predict outcomes.”

“Do you feel bad?”
Elle asked.

“I wish I did.
Let’s get our trading done and leave.” He turned away and walked to a flatbed
trailer that had a freezer mounted on it with a small Yamaha generator wired
into it.

“Hi Stryker,” the
man who shook his hand was small with a long, grey beard and washed-out blue
eyes.

“Hi Gus. How you
been?”

“Never better. What
do you need?”

“Meat and fish.
What do you have?”

“I got beef steaks,
pork chops, whole chickens, and some catfish.”

“You got a cooler
to pack it in?”

“Sure, but that
will cost you.” Elle and Haley walked up and stood beside him.

“You ladies want to
pick out what we want?”

“Sure,” Haley
replied. They picked two packs of catfish, two packs of steaks, two whole
chickens, and two packs of pork chops.

“How long will that
hold us?” Stryker asked.

“About two weeks,”
Elle replied.

“What else you got,
Gus?” Stryker asked.

“I got some lamb
chops.”

“Add a couple packs
of those, too.”

“This is going to
be expensive,” Gus said. “You can’t expect me to cut you a deal because you got
rid of those guys.”

“I’m just asking
how much.”

“What you got to
trade?”

“Gold.”

“That’s going to be
about a half ounce.”

“What can I get for
one ounce?”

“Around double
that.”

“Let’s do that. But
throw in the coolers.”

“Done.” The two men
shook hands and Stryker looked at Elle.

“Go get the fresh
veggies and fruit. It’s at the stall over there.” He pointed to the stand and
she nodded. She and Haley left and Stryker watched them negotiate for a moment
before turning back to Gus. “I have 1.2-ounce coins and I don’t want to give
you a whole coin.”

“No problem. I can
cut the coin with a bolt cutter and give you back the change.”

“That works.”
Stryker stacked the four Styrofoam coolers in one pile, walked over and gave
Elle the sliver of the gold coin that remained. “I’m going to load the Jeep.
Pay with this and don’t move until I get back. I mean it this time and I’m
going to be really pissed if you don’t listen to me.” They both looked back at
him and nodded.

He went back to
where the M-16s sat in a heap on the ground, picked them up, grabbed the spare
mags, and walked back to the Jeep. He returned and picked up the four coolers
stacked on top of each other, lifted them as one, and loaded them. He returned
to find the women in a heated discussion with the vegetable vendor.

“What’s the problem
here?” he asked.

“She won’t sell us
stuff,” Elle replied. Stryker blinked, wondering how simple things became
complicated.

“Why not?”

“She wants canning
stuff and won’t take the gold,” Elle answered.

“We can give Tom
the coin and he can write you script for the canning stuff you want,” Stryker
said, addressing a tiny little woman behind the folding table who looked like
she had been sucking on lemons. Her eyes narrowed and then she recognized him.

“You’re the guy who
helped Sara when that big guy attacked her?”

“Well, yes. She
didn’t deserve to get beat up over that.”

“Hmmm. Well, okay,
take the crate of stuff; but I want that chit from Tom.”

“You got it. Elle,
can you go get Tom and bring him over here?”

“Sure. Right back.”
After she left, Haley looked confused and didn’t speak.

“What?” Stryker
asked.

“The big guy?”

“Yeah.”

“So, he was bigger
than you?”

“Yes.”

“Nobody is bigger
than you.”

“He was.”

“What did you do to
him?”

“He was going to
beat up a woman, so I took care of it.” Stryker shrugged.

“And you weren’t
scared?” Stryker barked a laugh.

“There are lots of
things to be scared of. But, I’m only scared of what I can’t see coming. The
rest of it is just figuring out how to come out on top. If you know the threat,
you know the response.”

“You’re a strange
man.”

“Thank you, I
guess,” Stryker replied. After Elle came back, they sorted out the issues with
the vegetable vendor and finished loading the Jeep. The women looked at each
other and then Haley spoke.

“Can we just look
around for a half hour?” she looked at Stryker in the way he imagined a teen-age
girl would look when asking for an extra hour out after curfew. He didn’t have
the heart to say no.

“Go ahead, but stay
together and keep your weapons in your hands at all times.” They both scampered
off, giggling and whispering excitedly. Stryker shook his head and sat on the
hood of the Jeep to keep an eye on them. They stopped to look at merchandise
displayed on the tables, had brief conversations with several people, and when
they returned, seemed content.

“Thanks, Stryker,”
Haley said as they got into the Jeep.

“Yeah,” Elle added.
“It was fun just being around people for a while.”

“I’m a person.”

“Well, at times,”
Elle replied.

They drove back to
the ranch in silence until Elle said, “I don’t really understand why you got
into that fight back at the trading post.”

“Someone had to.”
Another silence ensured, so Stryker said, “my grandpa once told me that all
evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing. I took that to heart and I
still do. I can’t just walk through life looking the other way. It’s not
honorable and I took an oath to defend this country and its people.”

“Jesus, Elle, he
could have just shot those guys. But he tried to end it without anyone dying,”
Haley said.

Stryker’s eyes
continued to scan in all directions as he drove. He cued up the Allman
Brothers’ song “Melissa” on his mental CD player. The song was 3:42 minutes
long, melodic, and filled with aching melancholy. His version of the song was
from a live performance he attended years earlier, and featured acoustic
guitars that served to make the song even more whimsical. Stryker always found
the refrain of the song to be particularly poignant. He continued to take part
in the conversation, scan the landscape around them, and listen to the song.
When it ended, he cued it up again.

It was still
playing as they passed through the gates to the ranch and he parked the Jeep in
front of the house.

DIE OFF PLUS TWO YEARS,
ONE MONTH

“I guess that
should do it,” Sarge said, wiping his brow with a bandanna.

“It’s going to have
to. We can’t find any more trailers.” They both looked at Stryker’s yard. It
was covered with every sort of trailer known to man, including flat beds and
horse trailers. They were loaded with fertilizers, animal feed, building
supplies, and a few diesel generators they scavenged from surrounding farms and
ranches. They even found a small utility trailer in the power company
maintenance shed. They had been to every feed store, hardware store,
lumberyard, and home improvement outlet within sixty miles of the ranch.

“How many trailers
are there?” Erin asked as she approached the men.

“Sixteen,” Sarge
replied.

“Is that going to
be enough?”

“For now. We can
always add more once these trailers are unloaded. It’s just a question of how
far we’re willing to drive.”

“How’s the garden
coming?” Stryker asked.

“We just finished
weeding it and Elle says we can start harvesting in about a week.”

“I guess we’ll have
to go to the trading post and get more vegetables. I can’t say I’m all that
fond of going there. Seems like every time I do, there’s a problem.”

“Well, you could
try staying out of other people’s business,” Erin replied, grinning.

“That’s like asking
a politician to do something useful. Just ain’t in the nature of the beast,”
Sarge replied.

“Why don’t we go to
Hank’s and get what we need there?” Stryker asked. “You guys could all come and
we can have a visit with Jenna?”

“That’s a great
idea!” Erin said. “I’ll go tell Haley and Ella. They’re going to love it.”

“That’s a little
further away,” Sarge said.

“Yeah. But the
women need some distraction.”

“Why do you say
that?”

“You haven’t
noticed they’ve been bickering a lot lately? They haven’t left the ranch in two
weeks. I think they’re getting bored and need a change of scene.”

“Hell, I usually don’t
listen to them. It’s mostly just nattering about clothes and stuff; but we
could check out the swap meet that Hank told us about. Might be interesting.”

“First thing
tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

Dinner that night
was a much happier event without the quarrelling and barbs of the previous few
evenings. Sarge ate silently as the women talked about shared experiences
during the time they were locked in the dorm, and Stryker just let them enjoy
the reminiscing. Haley and Elle were laughing about something hysterically.

“Our going tomorrow
is no accident, is it?” Erin whispered.

“No.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. It’s
more self-defense than anything. I really don’t like listening to the bickering
and the innuendo I’ve been hearing. That sort of passive-aggressive behavior
always drove me nuts. It strikes me as being dishonest.”

“Have I been doing
it?”

“Yes.” She looked
surprised at first, then looked away and thought about it for a while.

“You’re right.
Sorry.”

“There’s nothing to
be sorry about. You guys are bored, and there’s not much to help with that.
This is the sort of thing that’s going to happen to any small group that lives
in close quarters.” He glanced over and saw the two other ladies still laughing
and Sarge still silently chewing his food. They could have stripped naked and
danced on the table and he doubted the older man would notice.

“Do you think I
should say something?”

“If you ain’t the
lead dog, the view never changes, and you spend your life staring at husky ass.”

“What does that
mean?”

“It means be a
leader. They both look up to you.” She thought about it for a while and then
just nodded at Stryker.

“We’ll do the
dishes tonight.”

“Good. Sarge and I can
have a sip of whiskey after dinner.” They both went back to eating.

“What are you guys
talking about?” Haley asked, still chuckling.

“About the trip
tomorrow,” Erin replied.

“I know. I am so
excited to go visit Jenna.”

“Me too,” Elle
said. The upcoming trip must have prodded her memory. “When are we going to
scout the area around Corpus for a house?”

Sarge and Stryker
exchanged glances, then Sarge said, “It may not be necessary to take that
trip.” Elle clearly looked disappointed, so Sarge added, “We can go there
anyway to see it, but there’s added risk to living on the ocean. That’s
hurricane country and one good blow could take out solar panels and wind
turbines.”

“When did this come
up?” Elle said. “Did you two talk about this without including us?”

“Yes, we did. It
came up when we were coming back to the ranch with one of the trailers. I don’t
know why it occurred to me then, but it did and so I talked to Sarge about it,”
Stryker said. “It doesn’t mean anything is decided. This isn’t a dictatorship. We
all can vote on it and I’m happy to live with the decision.”

“It would be nice
to be included,” Haley pointed out, looking at Stryker.

“Heard, understood,
and acknowledged.”

“You joined the
army when I wasn’t looking? Sarge asked.

“Yeah, and I bought
some skirts, too.” Both men laughed, but the women made disapproving faces.
Stryker started to explain the term “HUA,” but they didn’t seem interested, so
he sputtered to a stop. He decided to switch back to the topic at hand. “Well,
there are some advantages to living around Corpus as well. Most of our
population centers were along the coasts and we’re more likely to meet other
survivors there.”

“By that, do you
mean men for us?” Elle asked.

“Well, that
couldn’t hurt.”

“So you want to
marry us off like some sort of mail-order bride thing?”

“I didn’t say
that,” Stryker protested feebly. For one of the few times in his life, he was
almost squirming with discomfort. When the ladies saw the look of consternation
on his face, all three burst out laughing. Stryker had been had, and started
laughing too. Sarge joined in and soon the women were making mock faces of what
he looked like while they skewered him, eyes wide like a deer caught in
headlights. The volume of the laughter increased until they finally stopped making
the faces.

“You know, this is
really cool. You guys are a lot of fun. I’m so glad you’re with us. I’m not
sure how to even express my gratitude at having you around,” Stryker said. “I
can’t remember the last time somebody made me laugh that hard.”

“You might try
loosening up a little bit. You’re always on edge and kinda hard to talk to most
of the time,” Haley said.

“Well, I guess I’m
sorry about that; but when we’re not on the ranch, I do feel pretty tense. Bad
things happen out there and both Sarge and I feel like we have to make sure
nothing bad happens to you guys. So yeah, I am tense when I think you guys
could be in jeopardy; that isn’t going to change.”

“It’s okay,
Stryker,” Erin said. “We love you guys. Even when you’re being total butts, we
know you want the best for us. We don’t doubt your motives, but we do think you
underestimate us and we do want to be a part of the decision-making process.”

“Guilty as
charged,” Stryker responded almost immediately. “I’ll get better at it.”

“Can I get my
whiskey now?” Sarge asked.

“Hell if I know.
Ask them,” Stryker replied.

The women cleaned
up the mess and Stryker and Sarge left for their bedrooms after sipping their
whiskey and chatting briefly. Stryker fell asleep immediately and was in a
state of half slumber when Erin entered the room. She slipped into bed next to
him, curled up behind him, and placed an arm around his shoulder. Stryker could
feel the pajamas she was wearing against his naked back and grasped her hand.

“Are you really
that much of a sheepdog?” she whispered.

“Go to sleep,” he
replied. “You feel good there.”

“It feels good to
me, too.”

“Sleep,” he
murmured.

Stryker woke the
following morning to an empty bed and the smell of bread baking. He walked into
the bathroom, washed his face and combed his hair, then brushed his teeth and
put on his clothes. He entered the kitchen and saw the women standing over a
loaf of bread on the countertop.

“Then,” Elle was
saying, “You take a toothpick and push it into the loaf. If it comes out dry,
the bread is done, and that’s it.” See how it’s dry?”

“How are my
domestic goddesses this morning?” he asked as he moved around them to the
coffee pot. He turned back with a cup in hand. “Where is Sarge?”

“He went to hook up
the trailer.”

“How did you sleep
last night?” Elle asked with an impish grin.

“Never better.
Having a foot-warmer helps.” Erin rolled her eyes and looked back at the bread.

“Can we cut it
now?” she asked Elle.

“Just let it cool
for a bit and we can eat it. So,” she continued. “Do you have anything to
report about last night? Please, I want every detail.” She could see Stryker
almost wince and beamed a knowing smile.

“We didn’t have
sex, if that’s what you’re asking,” Erin replied. Stryker almost spit his
coffee out.

“I better go help
Sarge,” he said and left the room.

“What an odd man,”
Haley said. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who is as bluntly honest about
their feelings, but use the word ‘sex’ and he freaks out. Weird.”

“Most men want to
talk about nothing but sex, and do everything they can to hide their feelings,”
Elle said. “I think I know all of them.” Erin and Haley giggled.

“So, are you going
to go for it?” Haley asked.

“Maybe. He does
have an interesting side, but I’m not sure yet and neither is he. So, I guess
we just wait and see. And, strangely, I’m fine with things the way they are. If
things don’t work out, I end up with a friend who would do anything for me. If
they do, I end up with a man who is as honest and caring as any I’ve ever met.
I really don’t see how I can lose and I’ve never been in that position. Every
man I’ve ever gone out with always forced a choice after a while. We had to be
lovers or just friends. I think he’s trying to find a way to be both.”

“Well, I think
that’s what they call true love,” Elle said. “Have you ever considered that he
doesn’t want to choose because he thinks the attraction may be due to the
circumstances?”

“Of course, I think
the same thing.”

“Well, this is not exactly
a news flash, but the circumstances aren’t going to change any time soon; so it
probably doesn’t matter.” She looked away and then said, “Let’s eat.”

“What about Stryker
and Grandpa?” Haley asked.

“We’ll leave some
for them.”

An hour later, with
the coolers strapped to the trailer, they left the ranch and drove south on
Highway 83 until it joined with Interstate 10. The landscape whipped by because
Sarge was driving ninety miles an hour. Stryker had the front passenger seat
and the women were in the back seat. They only had three M-4s with them because
of the limited room in the Jeep. Stryker, Haley, and Erin carried them. Stryker
noticed an apparently abandoned car, with the doors open, at a rest stop on the
opposite side of the freeway. He was sure it hadn’t been there the last time
they made the trip, and filed it away to investigate on their return home.

They passed to the
north of Kerrville, Texas, and continued on Highway 10 for another hour before
exiting the freeway and driving up the hill toward Hank and Jenna’s house. As
they pulled into the driveway, Hank and Jenna appeared from the side of the
house. They pulled off work gloves as they approached, and the women took turns
hugging Jenna. Sarge and Stryker went last, then shook hands with Hank.

“Just in the
neighborhood and decided to stop by?” Hank asked, chuckling.

“No, just thought
we would let the women have a visit and see if we can do some trading with you
or at the swap meet,” Sarge answered. “Figured we’d kill two birds with one
stone.”

“What do you need?”

“Meat and
vegetables. Our garden hasn’t come in yet and we’re thinking about relocating,
so we won’t try to start a ranching operation until we know where we’re going
to be living.”

“Well, I got both.
What do you want to trade?”

“Gold. We have some
coins. You interested?”

“Sure, everyone
takes coins at the swap meet. I can turn that into anything I need.” Stryker
gave him one of the coins.

“How much will that
get us?”

“More than I have
right now.”