Apocalypse in the Homeland: The Adventures of John Harris (15 page)

“Beth, I like you very much and won’t come on too strong. I don’t want to scare you off.”

Beth leaned over, kissed him on the cheek and replied, “Thanks, I need slow right now.”

Phil said, “Do you hear that? It sounds like a truck approaching. Let’s hide in the trees until we see who it is.”

Phil grabbed his shotgun from his saddle, Beth pulled her 9mm from under her blouse and they ran over to hide. An old truck drove up and stopped about 50 yards from their location.

They heard someone yell, “Beth. Phil. Come here. Beth. Phil.”

Phil said, “That’s Jan and Robert. Let’s see what they want.”

They waved at the other two and walked over towards them.

Jan walked over to Beth and said, “Beth, John has returned. He’s alive and can’t wait to see you. Robert will take you to him. I’ll stay with Phil and Rose.”

Beth started crying and jumped in the truck. Robert sped back to town as fast as he could on the old dirt road.

“Phil, I’m sorry I talked her into seeing you. She was so sure that her husband was alive and we all told her to move on.”

“I’m happy for her."

***

Beth was nervous during the ride back to town and felt very guilty for giving up on the man she loved more than her own life. She tried to figure out how to tell him that she had starting to date so soon after declaring him dead. They arrived at the police station and she jumped out of the truck, ran into the office and saw John seated at a conference table.

“John, we thought that you were dead.”

“I heard that a lot today. Come here and kiss me.”

They embraced and kissed long enough that Steve said, “Get a room. We kids don’t need to see the parents making love.”

Beth turned and gave Steve a finger and kept kissing John.”

John broke free long enough to say, “Beth and I need some time alone so I can tell her about my last several months away.”

Beth escorted him down the street to the house that she had been living in for a couple of months. She fixed him a stiff whisky and coke and they sat down on the couch in each other’s arms.

“Beth, I need to tell you the bad and the good about my stay with the folks from Billings.”

“Wait John, I have to tell you that I thought that you were dead and everyone kept telling me to move on and find a husband. I was on a picnic with a man when they came to find me.”

“Do you love this man?”

“No, we had dinner and were on a picnic with his daughter.”

“Beth, you did nothing wrong. You thought that I was dead and a single woman is easy prey for the bad guys. I just wish that I hadn’t been gone so long.”

Beth cried for a few minutes and then John started telling her about his disappearance.

“Beth, I don’t know how they found me, but I was in a wreck and lost my memory. There were twenty people telling me that I was Jim Jones and had joined their team a year ago. They wanted me to train them how to fight and secure the place they lived at in Billings, Montana. I was part of their group for almost three months. I lived, ate and became one of them. I just regained my memory two weeks ago.”

“John, I can’t imagine not remembering anything about my past. Did you forget me?”

Darling, I didn’t even know who I was. They made up a story and everyone told me the same thing. I have to tell you that I spent the last two months thinking that I was married to another woman.”

Beth tensed up and pushed John away and said, “You thought that you were married to another woman. Where the hell is she? Did you bring her here to meet me?”

“Beth, I thought that I was Jim Jones and married to Kristen Jones. I’m sorry, but we lived as man and wife for two months.”

“John, that sounds like an excuse to screw around while you were lost in the woods. I know that you have never lied to me before, but I hate this.”

John watched her cry and tried to speak, but she interrupted, “Do you love her?”

“No, I don’t love her. I always had a nagging thought that what was going on was wrong, but again everyone including Kristen made me believe that I was her husband.”

“I want to meet this bitch. Take me to her.”

“She is at the hospital in a town north of here and is near death. She will be brought here in a couple of days. We were attacked and she and Tom’s wife were riddled with shrapnel from several truck bombs when a gang tried to rob us. We lost over thirty people in that attack. Beth, I love you and only you. I don’t care for her anymore than I do for the rest of the Billings people.”

John knew that was a lie, but it was what Beth needed to here right now.

“I will introduce you to her if she lives, but please don’t be too had on her. She and the others were just trying to survive.”

John, my brain says I agree with what I am hearing, but my heart has been ripped apart thinking that you have shared a bed with this other woman. How old is the bitch?”

“Beth we need to move on and get past this.”

“I agree, but how old is this woman and is she pretty?”

“She is 25 and yes she is pretty, but not as beautiful as you are.”

“Don’t lie to me. I will see her eventually.”

“I love you and we need to move on.”

“We’ll move on when I say we move on. Don’t you have something to do? I need time to think. Your bedroom is on the left at the end of the hall. Don’t bother me if you get back late.”

John had Steve get his team along with Tom, Brenda and Paul at the city hall conference room and began telling about his last several months. There were several gasps and a few chuckles during his story.

John ended his story and Tom added, “We have apologized to John for tricking him, but we needed his knowledge and training to survive.”

Imelda spoke up, “So you are still able to walk after Beth heard about Kristen? I’d have cut your balls off and then asked questions.”

“Thanks for the moral support. I am not proud of what I did, but having lost my memory I can’t say that I did anything wrong and didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

“So this Kristen is an old fat lady with no teeth.”

Brenda choked and had to get a drink of water.

Steve added, “Damn, I thought I was in trouble when I was dating three women at the same time and kept calling them by the wrong names.”

This caught Janet’s attention and she said, “Three women at the same time. Now whose balls are about to be cut off?”

“Sweetheart, it’s only been you since Idaho.”

“Well don’t come up with some story about losing your memory.”

Brenda spoke up to defend John, “Look, what we did was wrong but John was told that Kristen was his wife and they had been together for almost a year. Thirty people gave him the same story and Kristen took care of John while he recovered from the blow to the head. John, I’ll talk with Beth and try to make her understand.”

“I would give her a couple of days to let this sink in before I talked with her. She is still processing what I told her.”

“You didn’t lie to her about Kristen did you? That will get you killed when she meets her.”

“No, I told her that we lived together as man and wife.”

“No, I mean about her being a hot young woman.”

John went to his new house after the meeting and poured three fingers of bourbon into a glass and drank it down in one gulp and then poured another glass full just to sip. He sat down in a recliner and stared at the wall for several hours and then went to his room, got undressed and went to bed. Later in the night, he felt the bed move and Beth slid into the bed and put her arms around him.

They lay there a few minutes until John tried to speak, “Beth I’m so sorry……..”

“John, shut up and listen, I have not forgiven you or really understand what happened and can’t imagine losing my memory, but I do know I love you and you love me. Yesterday I was going to move in with and even marry a man that I never met before just to have security and a chance at survival, so I guess I can swallow my pride and stay with you a little longer. Don’t give me a reason to think that this is a bad decision.”

“I won’t.”

“And don’t try anything. I’m not in the mood and won’t be for a long while.”

“Yes, dear.”

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Chapter 18

John woke to the sound of a rooster crowing at dawn. The room had a chill and he had forgotten to add some wood to the monkey stove when he got up to go to the bathroom a couple of hours ago. He was still holding Beth in his arms and she felt wonderful as he watched her snore slightly. Her eyes were closed and he kissed her gently on the cheek as he slowly let go of her and got out of bed.

“Well, at least you didn’t call me by her name last night. Not much, but it’s a good start.”

“Good morning, you have the cutest little snore.”

“Right now if I farted in bed, you’d say it was cute.”

John broke up in laughter and said, “You’re never going to let me off the hook are you?"

“No, now go to work so I can dream about Phil.”

John grabbed his pillow and acted as though he was smothering her. He let her up and they broke out in a pillow fight. They ended up in a passionate kiss and John started to put his hand under her t-shirt when she grabbed his wrist and twisted it very hard.

“No, I don’t mind teasing you, but it will be a long time if we ever jump back in bed together. There won’t be any fun for John until you convince me that Kristen doesn’t mean anything to you."

***

“John, I disagree; we have three options. Drive to the ISA, fly to the ISA and the one you don’t like is to stay here and make this area our home. I want to get back to Mobile, but there are many dangers on the road and as you said the ISA is coming here in a year or so.”

“Paul, you are correct. There are three options, but I’m heading home to Mobile; who’s going with me?”

All, but Paul and Tom, raised their hands.

“Paul and Tom, staying here is great for you and no one will hold it against you. I want to get home and bring the troops in to secure the area and make this part of the ISA.”

"I would like volunteers for two teams. The first will be a volunteer and me to attempt to fly to the Dallas area to find ISA troops. The other team will try to drive south and should have eight to twelve people."

There were more volunteers than they needed so they moved on to the planning stage.

"It’s possible we will run into ISA troops before Dallas, but at least we know we control most of the Dallas area."

John’s mission was to find a suitable plane and get it ready while Joe converted some larger dump trucks into armored vehicles by welding metal plates onto them and scrounging spare parts to keep them running out on the trail to Dallas. Joe would lead the team driving to Dallas.

John took Steve and three volunteers from town to the hanger with the three crop duster planes. The three were auto mechanics, but John had worked on this type of plane before and just needed their muscle more than their mechanic ability. He had them clean up around the plane with no engine and a good airframe while Steve and he evaluated the planes with engines, but damaged airframes. They had charged the planes batteries the day before so they could save time.

“We will have to fire these engines up to decide which one to use. See that valve below the cockpit. Drain the tank into a drum and let’s put some fresh gas in the tank of this one first.”

John checked the engine out while Steve watched the gas run into an empty drum. Then they both pushed the plane closer to a large tank that was on a frame about six feet in the air. John found a large funnel, took his white t-shirt off and made a strainer to see if the gas was contaminated. They ran a gallon into a glass jug and examined the gas for water and impurities. The gas was clear and had no water. They only ran a couple of gallons into the tank and then John climbed into the cock pit, adjusted all settings and cranked the engine over. It didn’t fire at all and John couldn’t find the problem.

“Hey, Frank bring your team over here. The damn thing won’t fire.”

They swarmed over the engine and found that there was no spark from the magneto. Frank checked out the wiring and then jumped into the plane.

He came out and said, “John, start your engine.”

John turned the engine over and it sputtered to life and ran great. He let it warm up and then taxied out of the hanger and ran all over the runway before coming back.

“What's wrong? Was there a wire loose?”

“No, the owner had a hidden kill switch to prevent theft.”

John laughed and said, “Start taking the engine out. One of you needs to take notes and mark all wires with tape, so we can get this engine into the other plane without any FUBARS.”

“Will do.”

They had the engine in the other plane by noon and broke for lunch.

“Steve, I’m going home for lunch.”

“Is that what they call it now? I guess Beth and you have a lot of lunching to catch up on.”

“I wish. No, she is still pissed about Kristen. I don’t know if we will make it old buddy.”

“Good luck.”

John drove to the house to find Beth eating some leftover ribs and a salad.

“Darn that looks good.”

“It is. You’ll find some Spam and crackers in the cupboard for your lunch.”

“How long will I be on your shit list?”

“How long have the pyramids been around?”

“Look Beth, I can’t tell you that Kristen didn’t mean anything to me. She was my wife as far as I knew. Yes, we made love and I thought that I loved her. I’m not lying to you when I say that I never touched her again after I regained my memory.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“You don’t have to believe me, but the other 10 people that told the story barely know me.  Why should they lie when it makes them look bad?”

“I’ll think about it. Be a good boy, eat your Spam and go back to work.”

She ignored him for the next half hour as he munched on his jalapeno Spam, onions and crackers. He actually liked Spam so the meal didn’t bother him; getting the silent treatment pissed him off.

***

John walked over to the hanger that Joe was using to build his armored trucks.

“Hey Joe, how’s it going on the tank manufacturing?”

“Come down to the other end and see our first complete vehicle.”

They walked down to the other end as Joe filled John in on the status of his project. John could see that the truck now looked more like a monster than a truck.

“We started with a dump truck that already had a snow plow and added armor all around the cab, engine and floorboard. We added gun ports to the sides of the dump beds and welded a steel roof on top of the bed. We filled the tires with a hundred cans of that slimy stuff that seals holes in tires. I plan to tow three trailers loaded up with diesel, water, food and spare parts. Take a look and let me know what you think.”

“Wow is all that I can say right now. My best suggestion is to offer a prize to the person that can figure out the best way to disable your tank and use that information to make a stronger vehicle.”

“Great idea.”

John checked the engine from front to back and then checked it again. Every bolt and nut, the electrical and the fuel line were inspected and found to be in specification. He adjusted the valves while one of the mechanics changed the oil. Steve filled the gas tank and the plane was ready to test.

“I’m going to start the engine and taxi up and down the runway. If everything is working, I will perform some low level take offs and landings. Then we will pour over the plane and ready it for a short flight tomorrow.”

“Come on men, let’s push John out of the hanger.”

The pushed the plane free of the hanger and John taxied up and down the runway several times at just below the speed needed to raise the plane into the air. Then they heard the plane’s engine come to life with a roar and the plane lifted off the runway and shot up into the sky.

Steve watched and said, “That’s John. He skipped the low level passes and shot up above the city on the first pass. They could see the plane making turns, dropping and rising as John put it through various maneuvers. John was in the air for over a half hour when he came back to the airport and landed.

John climbed out of the plane and said, “It flies great, but I want to mount a MP15 with one of those hundred round magazines pointing forward and another for the passenger seat. I’ll do a little gunsmith work and make them full auto. Steve, have the mechanics flush out the chemical tank and run a line through to the cockpit. I want to be able to switch between the tanks. They worked until late afternoon and then called it a day."

***

John walked home, using the time to figure out what to do about Beth and Kristen. Tom had kept him informed on her recovery, but he was afraid to visit her for offending Beth.

He was frustrated, however he did understand Beth’s reaction to finding out her husband had been sleeping with a beautiful, younger woman. His only solution was to comfort Beth as much as possible, weather the storm and not piss Beth off over anything else. Of course he would shower her with attention and be a perfect husband, but only time would heal the wounds.

He arrived to find Beth had prepared fried chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes.

“John, get those nasty clothes off and get ready for supper.”

He was puzzled, but replied, “Yes dear.”

Dinner was excellent and Beth asked several questions about the plane and the plans for the flight south. John filled her in on the plane’s status and a brief rundown on the attempt to fly the plane to Dallas.

“John, how many people does the plane carry?”

“It is a two seater. It’s an old Steaman biplane built at the end of WWII and retrofitted as a crop duster.”

“Good grief. You are going to fly an 80 year old airplane from Wyoming to Dallas?”

“The plane has been rebuilt and is very safe.”

“Good, because I am going with you.”

“Darling, the trip could be a cakewalk or very dangerous. I want you to stay here where you are safe.”

“I’m going and that’s that. I’m not letting you out of my sight ever again. Now help me do the dishes and we are going to the hospital so you can introduce me to Kristen.”

John choked as he replied, “She is still ill and may not be up to a fight with you.”

Beth looked at John as she replied, “John, I will be a perfect lady. I just want to meet the woman who kidnapped my husband and slept with him for two months.”

“Yes dear.”

“Good answer. Get used to it.”

The nurse saw Beth and John walk in the door and greeted them, “Hello, what can we do for you? Is one of you ill?”

Beth responded with, “No, we came to see Mrs. Jones. Can you point us to her room?”

The nurse was caught off guard and stammered, “Her room is 105 and is down that hallway and the third room on the right.”

The nurse gave John a helpless look and went back to her desk. Beth led John down the hall and knocked on the door before entering. Tom and Paul were in the room talking with Kristen. Tom about pissed his pants when he saw Beth. They both excused themselves and quickly left the room.

Beth walked across the room and extended her hand to Kristen and said, “Hi, I’m Beth.”

“Hi, I’m Kristen,' she said as she looked at the woman who had taken John back from her.

“I hope you are getting better. People who hang out around John tend to be shot or blown up. I hear you were shot and blown up.”

“Beth, I swear that I didn’t know John had a family and wife.”

“Don’t worry about that. Had John not been knocked on his hard head, he would have told you and behaved himself. The important thing now is to get you well and out of the hospital. John still cares for you and we both want you to get better and back on your feet. Let me know if there is anything that we can do to help you recover.”

“Thanks for the offer and I’ll ask if anything comes up."

The women talked for about 15 minutes and then John and Beth said goodbye and left. John was afraid to say anything on the walk to the truck and wisely kept his mouth shut.

As he opened her door, Beth punched John in the gut and said, “Why couldn’t she have been an ugly mean bitch. I can see why you fell for her. She is cute, smart and perky tits. I guess that you’ll just have to settle for this worn out old woman.”

“You are still a young beautiful woman. I love you and wouldn’t give you up for ten of her.”

“You know I really do believe you.”

She kissed him and they drove back to the house. John went to his room and went to bed early that night because he knew he had a long day tomorrow. Beth cried herself to sleep.

John woke up with Beth’s head on his chest and his arms around him. He opened his eyes and saw her looking him in the eyes. He moved his head to kiss her and she moved away.