A Private War (3 page)

"Yes, I hear you."

"Are you in a good position to fire?"

"Yes, I'm in the big pile of rock almost directly across from you. The pirates look like they are going to start moving any minute," she replied.

"Ok, as soon as you hear me open up, that's your signal. Don't let any get by you if you can help it. Especially cover the other exit."

"Can do!"

"Good luck, Kate."

"Same to you Gaylon. Just remember it's your turn to cook when we get back."

He waited a second before propping his M-4 on the fallen tree trunk and after taking a deep breath let half of it out and looked for someone to kill first. He quickly sighted through the four power scope at the first pirate he saw. The M-4 bucked against his shoulder as the pirates seemed to grow a red flower in his chest. He fired at another and another. Over the crack of his M-4, he could hear the sound of Kate's rifle and he smiled. Switching the M-4 to full auto, he sprayed the area in front of him and three men died who had tried to rush him. As he shot empty, he dropped the M-4 and pulled the big .357 from its holster and laid the front sight on a pirate running towards him with a 12 gauge shotgun. The handgun roared in his hand and the heavy hollow point hit the pirate just above the bridge of his nose. The back of his head exploded with a rain of brains and blood. He sighted on another and fired. The bullet caught a woman with a handgun in the chest and knocked her to the ground like a limp rag doll, blood on her shirt. Looking left he fired twice in rapid order, the rounds striking a pickup truck loaded with gas. The resulting flash saw gas cans exploding like Roman Candles as they went flying through the air, raining burning gas and flames over a wide area. Quickly, the flames raced through the tall grass to the other trucks, cars, and motorcycles so that many pirates ran screaming with burning flesh and hair.

On the other side of the road, Kate fired into a group of pirates and was rewarded as she saw one and then another fall to the cold earth. Thumbing the selector on her modified AR-15 to full auto, Kate covered the camp with fire and on shooting empty, punched the magazine release, rammed a fresh one home, jacked back the charging handle and continued firing. A truck caught fire and exploded in a huge fireball, killing several pirates as the burning shrapnel tore into them. Two pirates tried to run down the road and Kate cut down one with a head shot. Switching targets, she fired a short burst, and caught the other in the back and he pitched toward on his face. She could see Gaylon firing the .357 at a pirate running towards him, who's M-16 was blasting the bark from the tree trunk he was behind. The first bullet he fired took the pirate in the chest and the second caught him in the throat. A geyser of blood sprayed out behind him as he fell. Kate sighted on more targets as they ran from him.

Putting the .357 back in its holster and reaching under his armpits, he pulled the twin Kimber 45's. Firing first the one in his right hand and then the left, he killed anything that moved. The pirates, seeing they were cut off, started firing back in earnest and bits of leaves and bark rained down on his position. Dropping both Kimbers, he picked up the M-4, changed magazines, and fired back on full automatic. The long burst of fire forced the pirates back for a short time, but Gaylon knew he was in trouble.

"Kate, can you bring any fire to bear on the pickup truck about thirty yards in front of me. I'm getting some heavy fire from that direction."

"No problem, it's on the way."

All around the pickup, leaves and grass were jumping as Kate emptied an entire magazine into the truck. With a whoosh, the gas tank exploded and men ran screaming, only to be cut down. Kate thought to herself, "Like I said, No Problem!"

Suddenly a burst of fire started coming from the base of the hill and two pirates fell. "Die, you bastards!"

"Gaylon, that's Jimmy down there, he'll be killed!" Kate screamed.

"I'll get him!" he shouted as he rammed the Kimbers into his vest and started running across the road just as the remaining pirates made a break for freedom. As the lead truck passed him, he fired a long burst at it with his M-4 and dove for cover. Something slammed into his right leg, the pain burning deep into his thigh and he could feel the blood running down the side of his leg. The pirates poured on the firepower as they raced by, but gunfire was still coming from Kate's position and a motorcyclist pitched over the handlebars and the bike slammed into a tree.

Looking down he could see the blood running down his leg was bright red, "an artery", Gaylon thought, "shit, not now!" He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and jammed it into the wound then removed his belt and tied it around his thigh, above the wound.

"Kate, I'm hit, I can't get to him, you'll have to do it."

He grabbed the M-4 from where it had fallen and started firing toward the road. Shooting empty, he pulled the .357, dumped the empty brass, and with a speed loader, reloaded and continued firing. With a final burst of gun fire and a roar the last of the pirates flashed down the road and out of range.

As Kate ran down to the road she had to stop and stare at the carnage that they had caused. At least ten trucks were wrecked and burning, and bodies lay everywhere, some burning from the fires. Most of the tents that were still up had either burned or were still burning and the smell of burnt flesh lay heavy upon the air. Kate shook her head in amazement and ran to where Gaylon lay, his head propped up against a tree.

"Are you, all right?"

"I'll live, go check on Jimmy."

Kate ran across the road, but as she got closer she slowed. She saw that she was too late to help her brother. Jimmy must have left Granite House after Kate and had followed them to the pirate camp. Just like Kate, he wanted some payback for the killing of their parents. He had watched Gaylon make his way across the road and had started to follow  but had only made it to some rocks on the side of the road. He covered his head as the firing started and realized that he was still a fourteen year old boy. But, when he saw the pirates starting to rush Gaylon's position, he knew he had to help or his friend would be killed. The bullet that ended his life came as no surprise and Jimmy died knowing that he had avenged his parent's deaths. Kate could only stare at Jimmy body, too many had died and she was too drained inside to cry. Maybe tomorrow she could cry, but not today, so she turned and walked back to Gaylon as he lay on the ground. He looked into Kate's eyes as she walked up to him, they told him the story, and Jimmy was gone. Straining he stood, and reaching down, picked up his M-4 and slung it over his shoulder. Putting his arm around Kate's shoulder, they headed into the burning camp.

Most of the fires had finally burned out as they moved from body to body, a tent pole for a crutch. They checked for any that might still be alive, but they had done their work too well. In all, they counted twenty two bodies in the camp, many with burns. Dragging all the bodies to the center of the camp, they covered them with gasoline and set them ablaze. Taking anything they could use, along with any weapons, they loaded down one of the surviving trucks, a 4 X 4, and returned to Granite House with the equipment and a shrouded body of a young boy.

Neither of them had much to say on the trip back. Later, Gaylon lay on his bed at Granite House as Gaylon told Kate how to tie off the bleeder and about putting on a fresh bandage on his leg. The bullet had entered his upper thigh, but it had missed the femoral artery and major nerves, all good news, and so far there had been no signs of infection. So Kate gave him a tetanus shot and tried not to worry. The shortage of doctors had made the smallest cut dangerous and turned a major sickness fatal. He was lucky that he had planned ahead; his library was well stocked with all kinds of books ranging from simple how-to books to complex medical and chemistry texts. He had also filled his two freezers with deer, pheasant, chicken, beef, and pork shot or bought before the war.

With his own power supply, he was safe from a blackout. In one of the side tunnels, he had created a green house with flicker lights and he liked the freshness in the air the plants helped to maintain. Plus the fresh fruit and veggies were vitally needed for a healthy diet now that most of the big farms and orchards were destroyed. Next to the green house were many large white plastic tanks or totes which were part of the aquaponics system for trout, tilapia, and catfish which in turn fed the plants growing above them. In another tunnel was his woodshop that contain a complete Shop Smith Mark V, Model 510 with all the extras so he could make anything with wood and could even machine some small metal parts. One long side tunnel was used as a firing and archery range, Gaylon had hundreds of arrows and the supplies to made more. The stock room contained supplies for more than 5 years and at every chance he got he bartered for more. Kate could only shake her head as she stirred the soup on the twin hot plate that was used in place of a full size range. All baking was in a microwave or a toaster oven because of the massive drain it caused on the power plant. The soup quickly came to a boil and Kate searched the cupboards for a bowl.

"Try the one to your right, third shelf up, and get one for me." a voice said behind her. Kate jumped.

"God, you scared the hell out of me, what are you doing out of bed. If you wanted something, just yell. That leg of yours needs time to heal and walking around like that is going to start it bleeding again."

"Well, I just smelled your good cooking and I had to have some."

"Gaylon, it's out of a can."

"So, it still smells good, let's eat."

In silence, they eat and thoughts of all that had happened in the last few days filled their minds. He could see the pain locked up in Kate's eyes and he hoped that in time it would lessen. All he could do for now was to be there in case she needed him. As soon as he was finished eating, Kate picked up the empty bowls, and walking over to the sink, set them in the dish water she had already ran.

"Do you think the pirates will be back, are we going to have to fight them again soon? Or have we chased them out of the area for good," Kate asked in a low voice, "God, I just wish this was all over and things could be the way they used to be."

"They'll be back, but I don't think anytime soon. We kicked their butt and it will take them awhile to lick their wounds." He replied

"But, why should they come back, a lot of them are dead."

"That's why." he replied "They will want some payback of their own."

Still using the tent pole for a cane, he turned and headed back toward his bedroom. He stopped only stopping briefly in the radio room to inform the Paramilitary of their attack on the pirate camp and the loss of Jimmy. The body count was rising on this private war of survival.

Gaylon's leg was slow to heal and as the days turned into weeks, he thought more and more about Kate's continued silence. It was as if she had drawn in and was slowly wasting away. When finally the leg was strong enough, he told Kate that he was walking into town the next day and Kate surprised him by saying that she would go too. So as the sun was breaking through the trees the next morning, they set out to travel the ten miles to the town of Redway. The very first time he had walked to town was shortly after the holocaust was over and he had been shocked by its appearance as many of the stores were looted and several houses were burned. The tiny local police force had been unable to establish law and order as the survivors from out of town had run wild rioting, raping, and burning. It was only after the local military reserve unit had finally succeeded in getting together many of its people, along with a large number of former military, and they formed the "Paramilitary" had things stabilized. Working in concert with regular military units that had survived in other areas, they were able to get many pieces of additional military hardware, including large numbers of fully automatic M-4s, two armored fighting vehicles, and even four 105mm Howitzers with load outs. The pirates and the paramilitary were always in a constant state of war and casualties ran high on both sides. But the town and much of the surrounding area were currently safe to travel in with the paramilitary providing protection to any farmer that asked for it. They only had to feed and house the men needed.

As they walked the many miles, he told Kate of the plans that he and Captain Samuels, the Paramilitary Commander, has discussed about destroying the pirates for good. But, Samuels just didn't have the men or supplies needed to mount the size of the operation required. As they passed the scene of their first battle with the pirates, they noticed that the armored car was gone and so were the bodies. Near the edge of the road stood a one mass grave and single grave with a homemade wooden cross with two names and a date. 'Here lies Ken and Mary Johnson, may they have the peace in the hereafter that they could not find here.'

"The Paramilitary must have found the bodies, we'll have to thank them for the cross and all when we get to town," Gaylon stated," I wish we could have done something more at the time."

"Yes," Kate said with bitter tears, "I'll have to thank them."    He could add nothing more as they continued down the road in silence.

Early in the afternoon they reached the outskirts of Redway itself and they made their way to the Paramilitary Headquarters in the old elementary school building. The building now had steel shutters and sandbagged entrances with a lookout on the roof that scoped them out while two men manned an M2 fifty caliber heavy machine gun. As they approached the men milling around the front of the building they all stopped and stared, they had heard of the raid on the campground, and as they got nearer the men broke out in a ragged cheer and rushed towards them.

"Great going!"

"Yeah, you sure caught those bastards!"

"You could have saved us some!"

"Hey guys, back up, we didn't do anything special and besides we had a personal score to settle with those assholes," he explained, "there are still a lot of them out there, believe me!"