Going Home (27 page)

Beth looked over at me. “If it wasn’t for Jim, Bill and his gang of monsters would have done far worse. They did some horrible things to people around here that knew about him and had mistreated him. Bill held real resentment against some of those folks. And when he got the chance, he loosed his malice upon them in truly horrible ways.” She wrapped her arms around her husband.

“Where are the families of those girls?” I asked.

“They are the daughters of one of the locals that truly despised Bill for what he had done. Bill had his men go and get him. They killed him here under these trees; only they did it really slowly. Then they took his wife. I will hear the screams from the two of them for the rest of my life. He had owned a liquor store and wouldn’t sell to Bill. When they took him, his house was full of liquor. They all got real drunk and then did what they did. Bill said the girls were his; the others weren’t allowed to touch them. He said he was owed,” Jim said, his face in his palms.

Thad walked up onto the porch where Bill lay; he found the keys to the locks holding the girls. Coming back down, he reached out and took Beth’s hand and placed the keys into it. “Go make it right,” he said as he pushed the keys into her palm. She and the other women went to the shed, where they set to the task of freeing the girls, doing their best to comfort them.

I walked away from all the others. I needed a minute to think; this was simply overwhelming. The rancid smell of burnt hair, cotton, and flesh hung in the air like a putrid cloak. You simply could not escape it.
“I went down, down, down, and flames went higher
.
”

A diesel engine cranking and coughing to life brought me around. I turned toward Jim, still in the arms of his wife. “What the hell is that?” The engine began to growl, getting louder.

“It’s that big truck, back there.” He pointed into the woods behind the houses. I walked toward the back of the house. Thad came up alongside me. He had the barrels open and was dropping two fresh shells in. It sounded as if the truck was coming right at us, crashing and crushing its way through the brush.

Jim picked up the pistol and stood up. Everyone was staring off into the dark bush, marking the location of the thundering truck with their eyes. The old deuce and a half smashed out of the brush to the left of the houses. Whoever was driving it was running blacked out. The huge old truck strained to gain speed. Jim raised the pistol and began shooting. The pop, pop, pop from the 9 mm barked in rapid succession. Thad and I both just stood there as the truck hit the paved road in front of the houses, turned west, and headed for the overpass. Jim stood there holding the now empty pistol, its slide locked to the rear. “That was the other two. Why didn’t you guys shoot?” he asked.

I looked over at him. “I’m getting a little weary of all the killing,” I said.

Thad followed with, “Amen.”

Now that the last of their oppressors were gone, the folks in the little hammock began to relax a little. The girls had been released from their restraints; others were distributing the food that was stored in there as well. A couple of the men went into Bill’s house, looking for weapons. “We ain’t gonna let this happen to us again,” they said as they came out with a couple of rifles, one of them stuffing the pistol Mary had been holding into his pants.

I noticed that the man that picked up the pistol was the one wanting a ride. He looked over at me. I stared back at him; he knelt down and continued rifling through Bill’s pockets. I sure hoped he didn’t try anything stupid.

Jess came over to where Thad and I were standing. “Hey, I’m so sorry for all this. My dad wanted to tell you guys about it, but he was afraid; that’s why we haven’t been around. He is so ashamed. But they were all so scared. You guys brought me home, and then you did this. I don’t know what to say. I wanted to get home so bad—this isn’t home; this is hell, or it was. If it wasn’t for you two, who knows what would have happened after you left?”

“We did what had to be done, nothing more. I really don’t feel for anyone here but those girls. Everyone else just stood by and let it happen,” Thad said.

“They were all so afraid, and those guys had all the guns. What do you think they could have done?” Jess replied.

“There’s an old quote; I don’t remember it exactly, but it’s something like,
All
it
takes
for
evil
to
succeed
is
for
good
men
to
do
nothing.
There is always an option. I just hope the girls will be all right someday,” I said as I walked toward the truck. Jess stood there, Thad followed along.

We both sat on the tailgate of the truck. The fire had died down somewhat; it was still a big fire, just not the inferno it had been. Both of us sat there for a bit, neither of us talking. After a little while, Thad said, “What now? I want to get home an’ soon, and I damn sure don’t want to stay around here.”

“Me neither, you should just take the truck and get on the interstate. It’s right there. I need to go south and east from here; you need to go southwest, and you have a hell of a lot farther to go than I do.” At the moment, I didn’t really care what happened. I felt deflated; I just didn’t give a shit. Two weeks and people were already doing this, only two weeks! What was it going to be like in two months?

“You sure?” Thad tilted his head toward me as he asked.

“Yeah, man, it’s been the plan the whole time. I’m not real far from home now. Once I get around Ocala, I’ll be in the forest the rest of the way and shouldn’t have any trouble at all,” I answered. “When are we gonna head out?”

He sat there for a minute in silence. “I feel like I’m running out on you.”

“Dude, don’t worry about it. You have a long way to go. To be honest, I’m glad it’s not me. You’re gonna have a hard time, so be careful, and take care of yourself.” I slapped him on the back as I said it.

“Well, then, I’m leaving now, if you don’t care,” he said.

I hopped off the tailgate. “Good, get your big ass outta here. I don’t even like you anyway,” I said, finishing with a big, cheesy grin.

He stood up. “Feeling’s mutual; now get your shit outta my truck.” We both laughed, and he helped me gather my stuff from the bed. I went through the cab to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind.

Once all my gear was stacked and accounted for, we said good-bye. “Be careful; check the notebook and call in. I’ll be on too, so we will know where each other is. You have my address; in the weird-ass event you ever get over my way, stop by.”

“Yeah, I’ll ride my horse over to your house,” Thad chuckled as he said it. “You be careful too. You’re on foot, so take your time and stay outta sight.”

“Oh, I will. Now that Jess isn’t here, maybe I won’t get shot again.” I started to laugh, and he joined in. “Don’t get on the radio until about six tonight. Sarge and the boys won’t be on till then,” I said.

“All right.” He walked around to the driver’s door and opened it. We shook hands; he climbed in and started the old truck up. As he put it in gear, he looked out the window at me and gave a nod with that huge head of his; then he pulled out onto the road, turned toward the overpass, and drove off. I gave a wave to the back of the truck as it moved away. I sure hoped I see him again.

It was almost five thirty by my watch. The sun would be up soon, and I didn’t particularly want to stay around here. I just wanted to go someplace and sleep. I’m so damn tired. As it was still dark, and no one was around for the moment, I stowed all my loose gear in my pack and shouldered it. I secured the NVGs on my head and slung the carbine over my shoulder and headed toward the road. The sound of rapid footsteps behind me caused me to turn, unslinging the carbine and bringing it up at the same time. Jess stopped short and raised her hands. “Don’t shoot,” she said.

I lowered the carbine and looked around behind her. “What’s up?” I asked.

“You leaving? Were you at least going to say good-bye? I saw the truck leave and figured it was Thad. I didn’t expect you to just walk away without a good-bye.” She looked hurt. I’m sure she also wished that Thad had given her a minute.

“Yeah, I was heading out. Sorry, I wasn’t really thinking. I just wanted to get the hell out of here,” I replied, looking over her shoulder at the flames still jumping in the ruins of the house.

“Why don’t you stay here tonight, get some rest, and leave tomorrow? We were really hoping you would stick around a couple of days and help to get things in order around here,” she said.

“I know, an’ I’m sorry. But I really want to get on the road.” I set my pack down, fished around in the Devildog for the notebook I had, and scribbled out my address. Tearing out the sheet, I handed it to her. “Look, if anything happens, and you guys end up down my way, drop in. You’re always welcome.” I gave her a little smile.

She immediately started to tear up. With the folded piece of waterproof paper in her hand, she took a small step toward me, looking at the ground. I stepped toward her and wrapped my arms around her. “I’m just glad we got you home. I’m glad you’re safe now.” I gave her shoulders a hard squeeze.

With her head buried in my shoulder, she sniffled. “Thank you, Morgan.” She stepped back and looked at me. “I would never, ever, have made that trip on my own.” She looked down at the ground for a moment. “I mean, I was totally unprepared for it. Remember you asked me if I knew what I was getting into?”

I thought back for a moment and chuckled. “Yeah, all I wanted was rid of your ass,” I said with a smile.

She let out a little laugh. “Yeah, but you took me anyway.”

“No, I didn’t. I told you it was still a free world, and I couldn’t stop you from walking down the road, as I remember.” I gave a little smile, and she seemed to warm to it a bit, laughing.

“Yeah, well, thanks anyway. If anything happens, and you need to come back, you are always welcome here,” she said with a smile.

We stood there for another minute, and then she came up and gave me another hug. “You be careful, Morgan Carter. Get home to your wife and kids.”

“I will, Jess; take care of your mom and dad. They need it right now,” I replied to her.

I stood there for another moment before I shouldered my pack and slung the carbine again. Jess stood there and watched as I got myself together. I took one more look at her; she had tears running down her cheeks.

7

I took one more look at the little hammock; people were still moving around, evidenced by lights moving around the camp. I gave Jess a last wave; she returned it. Turning around, I headed off into the woods. I finally found a place that suited me; these were some of the tallest palmettos I had ever seen. The stalks were a good four feet tall, the fans blooming out of the top. Looking back, I couldn’t see any sign of lights. I guess I was at least 150 or two hundred yards into the woods.

I set up a ridgeline for the tarp between two large stalks, about three feet off the ground, then stretched the tarp out and staked it out. After putting the pad and sleeping bag in, I dragged the pack in under the tarp with me. I quickly shucked my coat and boots and got into the bag. I laid the carbine down just under the edge of the bag and had the XD inside it with me. I was asleep before the sun ever breached the horizon.

Inside the bag, I was as warm as I could want. I slept well, although I woke up a few times, each time falling back into a restful sleep. The sun rose over a cloudy sky; it was very overcast, with a stiff breeze blowing, the sound of the tarp popping in the occasional gust that found its way through the trees. I stuck my head out of the bag and looked out the end of the shelter.
Hmm,
it’s
gonna
get
cold
. Checking my watch, it was three thirty in the afternoon.

Before the rain that I felt was inevitable started, I climbed out and stuck my feet in the boots, taking the antenna and slick line with me to get it put up. I knew I was supposed to move, but the weather was going to be shit, and I ain’t moving; I just don’t give a damn. It took several tries to get the slick line through the top of a large pine, but I finally got the wire pulled up and strung back to the shelter. Once inside, I pulled the radio out of the bag and turned it on. Putting the headset on, I started to scan the frequencies, just to see what I could find.

The traffic on the radio was picking up, or maybe I just had a better set for the antenna—I don’t know. I heard a transmission from a guy near Dallas. He was talking with another ham in Phoenix. They were comparing their situations. From the sounds of it, both cities were absolute hellholes.

The operator in Phoenix said the Mexican gangs were running wild. The local authorities tried to maintain order for a while, but they finally gave up. A group of MS13 attacked a food distribution site with automatic weapons. There were many deaths on both sides. Civilians caught in the cross fire died from rounds fired by both the gang members and LEOs on site.