Bug Out! Part 3: Motorhome Madness (8 page)

“Check for car keys to this SUV,” Jerry said.

“Will do,” Jackson said. “May have to go through some pockets….one of the guys we shot today might have them.”

“So they were going to cart off their dead,” Charlie said. “We ought to finish that job. Load the dead guys into the back of the truck and dump them somewhere. If we don’t, it’s going to start smelling real bad back here.”

“Good point,” Jerry said.

“I’ll back the truck over by them,” Charlie said. He got in and fired it up, then moved it over to where Jackson pointed. He got out and helped Jackson load the bodies into the truck bed. Earl came over and helped. They had all six bodies in the truck, and then they started going through the pile of stuff. There were six handguns, and five long guns with ammo. No keys for the SUV.

“We still need to pick up the other six bodies, but we might want to dump these ones first,” Jackson said. “It’s going to be hard to lift the other bodies on top of these.”

“I’ll call Hilda and ask her if there’s a canyon nearby that we can dump them,” Charlie said. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed her number.

“Hilda?”

“Yes, Charlie. What’s been going on back there?”

“We killed another six bad guys. We’ve got twelve bodies to get rid of now. Is there a canyon close by that we can dump them in? They are going to stink pretty soon.”

“Yes, get on that road back there, but go south instead of north. There are some switchbacks there as the road climbs into the hills. You can dump the bodies off of the cliff next to the big turnout.”

“Alright. Is that the way to get back to the front of the RV Park?”

“Yes, basically. There’s a spur off of that road, right before it widens into two lanes on each side. It goes off to the right. That will bring you into the side entrance to the front parking lot.”

“Alright, then we’ll dump the bodies there. I’ll call you before we head back. We are going to bring the pickup truck to the park, and the SUV too if we can find the keys. It’s full of supplies.”

“Alright. Be careful. I take it nobody got wounded this time.”

“Nope, everybody is fine. Talk to you soon.” Charlie put the phone back in his pocket.

“Hey, found the SUV keys,” Jerry said. “The redneck that was going to shoot us had them in his pocket.”

“Excellent,” Charlie said. “Hilda told me where to go to dump the bodies. Who wants to go with me? I’m going to take the first load.”

“I’ll go,” Earl said.

“Me too,” Jackson said.

“Alright, I’ll go check out the bodies of the other guys. May need help dragging them, though.”

“We can probably get the truck back in there if we’re careful,” Charlie said has he got behind the wheel. Earl and Jackson got into the cab next to him, and he drove out onto the road.

Jerry took the keys and got into the SUV. He cranked it, and the engine fired up.

“Excellent,” he said to himself. He shut it back off, and then got out. Frank came walking up with Lucy by his side.

“It’s clear back there, and the Sheriff is keeping watch up in the blind. What’s going on here?”

“Body disposal, mainly,” Jerry said. “There were six from the first fire fight. We think this second group of guys were here to pick up bodies, but I think they were also coming back to get this SUV. It’s full of supplies.”

“Really,” Frank said. “So I take it Charlie took off with Earl and Jackson to get rid of the first load?”

“Yep. Want to help me go through the bodies of the new guys?”

“Sure. Might be something worth keeping.”

“Yeah, not a lot of stuff on them, but the old guy there had the keys to the SUV in his pocket.”

“That other one looks kind of young,” Frank said, looking at the body laying over to the left.

“Yeah, I was a little pissed at Charlie for shooting him, but he convinced me that it was a good idea.”

“So the kid didn’t have a gun pointed at you guys?”

“Oh, he did, but the old guy wanted him to kill Charlie and me. The kid didn’t want to, so the old guy had us get down on our knees. Earl nailed him at that point, but then Charlie grabbed his gun and shot the kid.”

“Why?”

“He said we aren’t set up to handle a prisoner, and we can’t trust him to be free around here.”

“You know, that does make a little sense,” Frank said. “I probably would have just tied his hands and held him for the Major, but then we don’t know if the Major is coming back here. I’m a little worried, because it’s been a while.”

“I know, that’s what got me cooled down about it. Charlie’s a careful guy. Can’t blame him for that. Anyway, let’s go check out the bodies back in the woods. Should be four of them by my count. Maybe we can drag them to a place that the pickup can get close to.”

“Alright,” Frank said. “I’d take the keys out of that SUV just in case.”

“Good idea,” Jerry said. He walked over to it, opened the door, grabbed the keys, and locked it.

“We need to shout out to the Sheriff when we get back there,” Frank said. “So we don’t get blasted with that scattergun.”

Jerry nodded. They got back into the woods and over the creek.

“Sheriff, heads up,” Frank shouted. “Jerry and I are coming back.”

“Where are the rest of the guys?” he shouted back.

“Body disposal duty,” Jerry yelled.

“Oh,” the Sheriff said. “Not a bad idea, it’s going to get smelly back here.”

Frank and Jerry went to all four of the bodies, and picked up their guns, also emptied their pockets. Along with the weapons, they found ammo, rations, and assorted other stuff. They put it all in the knapsack that one of the Jihadists was wearing, and carried it back to the parking area, arriving there just as Charlie drove the truck back in.

“Stripped those other bodies, huh?” Earl said, looking at the knapsack as he got out of the passenger side door.

“Yeah,” Jerry said. He unlocked the back of the SUV and dumped it in. “Let’s go get those other bodies.”

Jackson got out of the cab, and then Charlie. Everybody but Charlie went back to carry bodies up. They got them piled up in front of the truck, and hoisted them in. Then Charlie, Earl, and Jackson got back in the truck again, and took off.

“Well, there’s a good job done,” Frank said. Jerry looked at him and nodded.

“We have to get that schedule started for the blind back here,” he said.

“I know, and we need to make sure we have reliable people back there.”

“I wouldn’t be too hard on the kid, Frank. He wasn’t cut out for this kind of stuff.”

“I know. We’re probably lucky that things happened like they did.”

“I’m surprised you handle yourself so well.”

“So am I,” Frank said. “I’ve always been a good shot, but I never killed anybody before.”

“Well, back to the blinds. I’m thinking we ought to always have two people up there, not just one.”

“Yeah, Jerry, I agree. Would have helped in both of our battles.”

“What are your thoughts about sticking around?”

“We need to find out what happened to the Major and his guys,” Frank said. “If they got killed back there, then I think we might want to get the heck out of here. I think it would take a pretty good force to take the Major out. Probably more of a force than we can handle.”

“After we get this job done, maybe we ought to take a vehicle and go up north looking for them.”

“Think so?”

“Maybe,” Jerry said. “Let’s discuss it with the group when we get back.”

“Look, here comes Charlie,” Frank said, pointing. The truck pulled over next to them, and Charlie motioned them over.

“One of you guys want to follow me in that SUV? Hilda told me how to get back to the front gate.”

“I’ll walk back through the forest and let the Sheriff know what’s going on,” Frank said. “I need to grab Lucy’s leash on the way through anyway.”

“Alright, I’ll drive the SUV, then,” Jerry said. “Let’s go.” He jumped into the SUV and fired it up. He waited for the truck to get to the driveway, and then he backed out and drove after them. Frank went back into the woods, Lucy bouncing along just in front of him with her tail wagging.

“Sheriff, I’m going back into the park,” Frank shouted.

“Alright,” the Sheriff shouted back. “I’ll stay out here for a little while.”

“You need a rifle?”

“Naw, the Deputy has my rifle up here,” he replied.

“OK, see you in a little while,” Frank said. He headed to the back gate, looking around carefully as he walked. He got to it, went through, and pulled Lucy’s leash off the fence. He bent down to put it on her, and then walked back to the front of the park. He arrived right as the truck and SUV were pulling through the gate. Hilda was down there to meet them.

“Wow, that’s a lot of stuff,” Hilda said, looking in the SUV.

“Yep, worth bringing in, that’s for sure,” Charlie said.

“You got rid of all the bodies?”

“Yes, they’re gone. Heard anything from the Major?”

“Not a peep,” Hilda said. She got a concerned look on her face.

“Where do you want us to park these?”

Hilda thought about it for a moment.

“Put them back behind the clubhouse, in front of the maintenance building,” she said. “That isn’t visible from outside of the park.”

“Alright, be back in a minute. Jerry, follow me.”

They drove the vehicles behind the clubhouse. Frank went into the store, followed by Hilda, and they went up the back steps to the roof. Jeb and Jane were sitting up there.

“Sounds like I missed some fireworks,” Jeb said, grinning.

“Yep, that was as hairy as the first battle,” Frank said.

“I’d say worse,” Jerry said as he walked up onto the roof. “An old redneck got the drop on Charlie and me. If Earl wouldn’t have taken him out, we might not be alive right now.”

“Now don’t go getting Hilda upset,” Charlie said as he got on the roof to join them.

“Too late,” Hilda said. “What happened back there? Don’t sugar coat it.”

“Well, the Deputy lost his nerve when these cretins showed up,” Frank said. “When we got back there, one of the Islamists was on his way up the ladder to get into the blind.”

“Yeah, until you blasted him,” Jerry said. Jane walked over to Frank and gave him a hug. She was trembling.

“I’m OK, sweetie,” Frank said, looking down at her and petting her head. “Anyway, we shot the guy on the ladder, and then some other guys opened fire on us. We shot three more guys in the forest during that fire fight. Then Charlie and Jerry snuck over to the parking area to disable the vehicle so survivors would be able to get away. That’s where the redneck got the drop on them. He had them covered, and was about to shoot them when Earl blasted him with his 30-06. There was another guy with him, and Charlie grabbed the redneck’s gun and shot him with it. That’s pretty much it.”

“The rest of the time we spent getting the bodies from both of those fights out of there,” Jerry said, “and taking their truck and SUV. The SUV is chock full of supplies. That’s probably the main reason they came back, although they had also picked up the bodies of the first six and moved them over next to the pickup truck.”

“So we’ve taken out twelve of these guys now,” Jeb said. “They’re gonna be pissed, and they know where we are. We’d better get ready.”

Earl and Jackson came up onto the roof.

“What’s going on?” Earl asked.

“I just told these folks what happened back there,” Frank said. “Have a seat.”

“So how are we going to protect ourselves against these dudes?” Jackson asked as he and Earl sat. “We’ve been pretty damn lucky so far.”

“I agree, we’ve been real lucky,” Jerry said. “Frank and I were talking back there. We think it would be a good idea to have the blind manned with two people instead of just one.”

“Why?” asked Jeb.

“It will be harder for anybody to get the drop on us that way,” Frank said.

“Alright, that makes sense,” Jeb said. “Do we have enough qualified folks to do that?”

“Probably,” Charlie said. “I wouldn’t put two of our top people in there at a time, though. One top person and a second person that isn’t quite so experienced ought to do it.”

“For the next 24 hours, I’d make it two top people,” Jerry said. “I agree with Charlie after that. If we are going to get hit again, I suspect it will be sooner rather than later.”

“Hey, look,” Jeb said. “Here comes the Humvee. The Major is driving.”

The Humvee drove up
to the front of the park. Hilda ran down the stairs and over to the gate to meet them and let them in. She looked inside. It was just the Major, one of the privates, and somebody laying down in the back.

“Hi,” the Major said. “Hilda, right?”

“Yes, Major. Do you have wounded?”

“My Lieutenant. Is there a doctor nearby?”

“Yes, I can get one here in just a few minutes. I’ll go call him. You can pull over by the clubhouse. We have a stretcher in there.”

“Thanks so much,” he said, and he drove forward and parked. He got out as Frank, Jerry, and Charlie came running over.

“You alright, Major Hobbs?” asked Frank.

“No, I’m not alright. We took a real beating back there,” he said.

“How badly is the Lieutenant wounded?”

“Looks like he’ll recover, but he’s lost a fair amount of blood. I’ll need to get an airlift set up to get him out of here. Is there a field large enough here to put down a chopper?”

“You’re best bet is probably that front parking lot,” Hilda said as she walked back over. “Doc is on his way, and he’ll bring the ambulance and paramedics too, just in case. Anybody else need medical attention?”

The Major shook his head no, and so did the private, who was getting out of the passenger seat.

“What happened?” Jerry asked.

“I’ll tell you in a few minutes, after the doctor gets here. Did you guys see any more action? We thought we heard gunfire coming from this direction.”

“Yes, six more fighters came to the back,” Charlie said. “They were attempting to pick up that SUV and get the bodies of their dead. We killed all of them.”

“Good,” he said. “Look like the same folks?”

“Yep, a mixture of Islamist fighters and militia men,” Frank said.