After the Republic (19 page)

Jack found two gas cans in the corner of the barn and emptied one of them onto the dead bodies. “Bob, let’s check out the house.” Bob frowned and followed him.

Bob carefully opened the back door. With weapons raised they cleared the door and stealthily entered the living area, which was unoccupied. Jack led the way as they conducted a room-to-room search with military precision. In one bedroom they found the lifeless body of a young woman with a gunshot wound to the head.

“This is who I hit when I shot at their vehicle,” Jack whispered. “Sad. Pretty young lady. Hate that she got mixed up with these dirtbags.”

Bob shrugged. “She made her choices.”

As Jack opened the final interior door they were met by a strong ammonia-like odor. Bob spotted two glowing eyes in the back of the room. A large, angry Rottweiler let out a deep, echoing bark, charged and jumped. Jack deftly avoided the canine missile and in one lightning-fast motion holstered his pistol, unsheathed his knife and sank it into the airborne canine’s upper ribcage, followed by a second quick blow to the dog’s chest. The enraged dog struggled to continue its attack, but quickly lost its will.

“And why didn’t you shoot
him
?” Bob frowned.

“Too much noise,” Jack said. “You guys already woke up the whole mountain. Plus I have a hunch that setting off a gun in this room could be bad news.”

“What do you mean?”

“Smell that? Smells like a meth lab.”

Bob sniffed the air. “Good call, McGee.”

They cautiously entered the room, where they found two large tables covered with an assortment of jars and other containers, rubber tubes, gas cookers, a funnel, rubber gloves and other items. Shower curtains covered the windows.

“Yep, looks like a meth lab,” Jack said. Bob nodded.

“This is good,” Jack said. “Go tell Tommy and Thomas to get in the truck and be ready to leave. Then get that second gas can and pour a trail of gas from the bodies to the house, and bring a little gas in here. We can use the meth lab as the source of an explosion.”

“Good idea. Will do,” Bob said.

Jack poured liquids into the cookers, but did not turn them on. Next, he went into the kitchen and put all of the silverware he could find into the microwave, along with several bullets and an entire roll of paper towels. He set the timer on sixty minutes but did not press ‘start’. He pulled the gas stove away from the wall and turned on the gas logs in the fireplace.

When Bob returned they moved the dead woman’s body into the living area near the fireplace and covered it with the remaining gasoline. Jack knocked the hose off of the gas line to the stove so that gas flowed freely into the house. Bob turned the meth cookers on high and Jack hit the ‘start’ button on the microwave. They rushed out and Jack quickly drove up the mountain.

***

Joshua paced back and forth in front of his truck.
I should’ve gone down there. What’s taking them so long?

The kidnappers’ SUV raced up the mountain trail.
What in the world?
Joshua jumped into the cab of the truck and gripped his 9mm. His heart pounded like a bass drum as he moved to block the exit.
Where are Bob and Jack?
Joshua positioned the truck across the end of the path, got out and used the vehicle to shield himself, keeping his pistol out of view. He exhaled a deep sigh of relief when he saw Jack behind the wheel. He ducked when an explosion rang out from the valley below, followed by a second, much louder blast.

“What happened?” Joshua asked.

“I’ll explain it when we get back, but we need to get out of here,” Jack said. “You take Thomas and Tommy with you. Bob and I will dispose of their vehicle and meet you at the camp. If we’re not back in two hours send Kane to look for us.”

Joshua nodded as his brow furrowed.
Looks like Jack has taken the lead. Interesting that Bob would let that happen.
He pointed at Bob. “Looks like you got banged up a bit.”

“It’s just a scrape.” Bob lit up a cigar. “Besides, chicks dig scars.”

Thomas and Tommy retrieved two shotguns from the kidnappers’ vehicle and headed back to camp.

“What happened?” Joshua again asked.

Thomas shook his head. “Man, I don’t know where to start.” He put his arm around Tommy. “I’m just happy we’re alive.”

Joshua pressed the issue. “Let’s start with how these guys kidnapped you in the first place.”

Thomas explained everything that had happened. “Bob came in to rescue me and one of the guys surprised him and knocked him out.”

Joshua cocked an eyebrow. “Caught
Bob
off guard? Wow. That’s hard to do. That explains his swollen eye.”

“I know, man. He tied Bob up and beat on him a bit. Said he was going to kill me and then him. Tommy came out of nowhere and shot him.” Thomas looked at Tommy and choked up. “Son, you saved my life, but I wish you hadn’t risked yours to do it.”

“Dad, I wasn’t just going to sit up here and let them kill you without doing something.”

Thomas continued his account, emphasizing that Jack had saved the day. “Man, that guy is tough. He’s something else. I think he’s as tough as Bob, but not as wild. He really took charge of the situation.”

Joshua nodded. “We’re lucky to have them both. Kane, too.”

As the gate came into view Kane appeared out of nowhere and opened it. He closed it behind them and vanished into the woods.

When Kim saw Thomas and Tommy alive she broke down into tears and ran to hug them, followed by Tommy’s sister, Laura. Laura’s black hair matched that of her mother, while Tommy’s hair was light brown like Thomas’.

Rebecca hugged Joshua and Reagan pawed at his ankles. Joshua explained what had transpired.

“Wow,” Rebecca said. “I guess it’s getting more and more dangerous out there. No sense of law and order.”

“Apparently not.” Joshua shook his head.

Thomas sheepishly walked over to Joshua and Rebecca. “Man, I can’t thank you guys enough. That goes for Jack and Bob too. I’m glad we have ‘em here. Man, you were right when you said it would be a lot easier to make do if we had the right group of people with us here. We wouldn’t have made it two weeks without y’all.”

“I hate to say ‘I told you so’, but I did,” Joshua admonished Thomas. “You
really
need to be more careful when you’re out and about.”

“I know, man.”

***

“Any sign of Drew?” Joshua asked Rebecca.

“Nope.”

Joshua shook his head, irritated by Drew’s repeated disappearing acts. “I just hope we don’t have to go on another missing person hunt. I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

As the sun set over the tree line an hour later Joshua heard a motorcycle engine whirring up the mountain. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door.

“What time are the meetings tonight?” Drew asked.

“They’re postponed ‘till tomorrow.”

“Why?”

Joshua explained everything that had happened and added, “Where in the world have you been? It’s dangerous leaving without security.”

Drew loudly blew his nose, then rubbed it with his handkerchief. “It was safe where I went. Don’t worry about me.”

Joshua shook his head as Drew drove away.

***

A cold breeze whipped through the shelter the next morning, giving Rebecca goosebumps. She warmed her hands over the fire as Keri opened the discussion. “Ladies, this is just a chance for us to get together and talk about whatever we’re dealing with. Bottling it up won’t help any of us. We’re obviously in a whole new world compared to what we’re used to. We don’t, and probably won’t, have access to the luxuries we’ve become accustomed to. We’ve had a tough couple of weeks, and I know it has to be weighing on each of us.”

“That’s the understatement of the century,” Kim interjected. Everyone nodded in agreement.

“This time is informal,” Keri continued. “The main rules we have are that we will open and close in prayer. So let’s do that now.” Everyone closed their eyes and bowed their heads as Keri prayed. When she finished she heaved a deep sigh. “All right, who wants to go first?”

Kim spoke up immediately. “Well, my husband has almost been killed twice. We’re used to living in the country, but not having to watch our backs all the time. This is ridiculous. We’ve always been pretty laid back. I guess those days are over.”

“That’s a good point, Kim,” Keri affirmed. “What do the rest of you think?”

Rebecca offered her input. “We all have to be on our toes from here on out. I’m not used to it either. As Keri said, we have to come to grips with the fact that the world we’re used to doesn’t exist anymore.”

Caroline stroked the tightly wrapped bandages on her left wrist. “I feel like I’m a prisoner here. I know you guys say it’s the safest place we could be, but it sure doesn’t feel like it. If it’s so safe, why did Thomas almost get killed yesterday? I still just can’t believe all of this. I’m used to living in a nice house in a nice neighborhood, and now I’m sleeping in a stupid camper trailer. I’m used to being able to go where I want to go, do what I want to do, buy the things I want to buy. I’m used to wearing nice clothes and eating nice meals at nice restaurants, and here it seems like I’m destined to eat these strange animals even though I’m a vegetarian. I’m used to being independent, and not having to rely on anyone else. If I wanted something, I could go get it. Here, I am completely dependent…” Her words trailed off as she broke down into tears.

Rebecca choked up.

“Feeling totally dependent on someone else can be a terrible feeling,” Keri said. “But, if we really look at it, we were all more dependent on others than we would like to admit, even before all of this happened.”

“How so?” Andrea asked.

“Well, think about it. If you needed money, you relied on the bank to have it in the ATM. If you wanted to go somewhere, you relied on the gas station to have gas. If you wanted food, you relied on the grocery store or restaurant to have it. If your car was broken down, you probably relied on a mechanic to fix it.”

“That’s different!” Caroline retorted sharply.

Keri continued her line of thought. “It
is
different, until you consider the fact that people outside of this camp don’t have access to a lot of those very same things right now. People out there who relied on grocery stores to have food are wondering where their next meal is going to come from. A lot of people out there who relied on the gas station to have gas are walking everywhere they need to go. People out there who relied on the police to keep them safe are now fearful for their lives. People out there who relied on government benefits don’t know how they are going to make it.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way.” Caroline pursed her lips.

Keri continued, “We’ve all relied on many things, and we likely took them for granted. And a lot of people all across the country are now painfully aware of how dependent they are.
Very
painfully. But we have food, we are alive and well, we have people to protect us. Even though things are different for us, we need to take a step back and count our blessings. We’re going to have to help each other cope. If we try to do it alone, we won’t make it. And we have to rely on God.”

“How could God even let this happen?” Caroline interrupted. “I’ve been a Christian since I was little, but right now I wonder if God is even up there.”

Rebecca bit her lower lip. She noticed several women in the group squirming in their seats.

“That’s a perfectly understandable feeling in a situation like this,” Keri calmly answered. “And while I don’t understand what God’s plan is in all of this, I know He has one.”

“Some plan this is,” Caroline sneered.

Keri was unfazed. “Caroline, I can understand your skepticism. And I’m not going to try to talk you out of it. These are natural questions, and I appreciate you being open and honest. I’m willing to bet some others here feel the same way.” Sheri and Ruth admitted that similar thoughts had crossed their minds. Keri continued, “None of us will benefit from keeping this inside, and that’s why we wanted to start meeting like this.”

After a lengthy discussion Keri moved on to the next topic. “Okay, how are your kids handling things? Our two are hanging in there.”

“Ours are pretty much used to being up here in the mountains,” Kim said. “Although I’m worried about Tommy given what he’s been through.”

“Our three are struggling,” Sheri volunteered. “They’re used to living in a nice house, having their smartphones, and being able to keep up with their friends on Facebook. Now the five of us are stuffed into a cramped RV and they’re cut off from the world. They’re just not old enough to understand.”

“Billy is hanging in there,” Andrea said. “He was a bit rattled by what happened at the gas station on the way here, but he’s a tough--”

Caroline began wailing loudly. “I just wish Charlie and Allie were here! I still can’t believe they’re gone.”

Keri put her arm around Caroline. Rebecca noticed Ruth’s face overcome with pain, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Ruth, what is it?”