Surviving (10 page)

              She put her arm around him and lay her head on his shoulder for the next fifteen minutes. Neither of them said a thing and just enjoyed each other’s company.

• • •

              Beth and John went around shaking each one until they opened their eyes. Jim jumped up and exclaimed, “Good morning LA.” Gus kicked him in the ass and told him that there were ladies present. All were laughing at Jim and Gus. They all quickly put their rather damp clothes on and packed up what little gear they had in their possession and made ready to leave. Just as they started down the creek bed, they heard tin cans banging and someone cussing. Apparently, the bad guys had the same idea about getting an early start.

              “Let’s haul ass folks. That was one of my trip wires and it is only a hundred yards out. Let’s go! We need to get to civilization,” Gus exclaimed.

              John knew that today they had to keep on the move and stop less than their pursuers or they would get caught. They had just been lucky back there when Gus' trap had warned them.

              Just then, they heard a scream and a burst of gunfire.

              Gus laughed, “I’ll bet they just found my pongee sticks. That will slow one of the bastards down for a while. They will be looking for traps everywhere.” With that, they picked up the pace.

• • •

              Maria woke up with Manny softly stroking her hair with one hand while the other was resting under her blouse. She shoved his hand away from her hair and slapped the other one.

              “Manny, you are just making me hate you more and more, yet you say you love me.”

              “I do love you and I also want you in the worst way,” replied Manny.

              She replied, “Well, I will never want to be with you if you keep trying to rape me like those other women.”

              All of the others were awake and had already gotten their gear ready to travel.

              “Maria, the rest of us are ready to go. We must catch the Yankees before they get moving this morning,” said Jesus.

              Maria said, “I’m not going anywhere until I take a trip behind those rocks over there and Jesus make damn sure that Manny doesn’t try to peek.”

              They bickered for a minute and Karl said, “The Lady has to go.”

              Maria went behind the rocks to do her business in private, but had to watch over her shoulder the entire time to make sure that Manny or one of the other perverts weren’t watching her using the outdoor facilities. She knew that she had to get away from this bunch one of these days, but she also wanted to slow them down so that the hunters could escape. She took her time until she knew that Karl would be upset. She finished, returned to camp and picked up her part of the gear and they followed Red along the creek bed.

              Red said, “Be very quiet, I think that they camped rather close to us and we may be able to surprise them this morning."

              The sun was just peaking over the horizon and they had traveled only about a mile when one of them tripped one of Gus’s warning devices and the tin cans clattered and scared the crap out of the guy and those around him. Pepe, one of Karl’s guards, then laughed and started forward again when he screamed in pain and fired off several rounds. They all ran over to him and found that he had stepped off into a shallow pit and had impaled his leg on a sharpened stick. About ten short sticks had been sharpened to a point and stuck into the bottom of the pit. The guard was screaming in agony and bleeding profusely from the wound. The stick had entered above the ankle and come out at mid-calf, tearing a large hole in the guard’s leg.

              “Hold Pepe still while I get a tourniquet on his leg above the wound.”

              Red and two others grabbed him and held him down while Jesus used his belt to make a tourniquet above the knee.

              “Maria, do we have anything for pain.”

              “Only aspirin.”

              “Well give him what you have and then we must move on,” said Karl.

              Karl went over to his trusted guard.

              “My old friend, there is little that we can do for you now and moving will just cause the bleeding to get worse.”

              Karl said, “Maria, bind the wound and leave him the aspirin to dull the pain. As soon as we kill the Yankees we will come back for you.”

              Karl said, “Perhaps these Yankees are more skilled than we had thought. We all must be more careful and watch for other traps. Anyone can make pongee sticks, but to hide them well enough that one of my best men falls on them requires a lot of skill.”

Karl then motioned Red to lead them in pursuit of the Yankees.

              They had gone only another hundred yards when Red waved them to come to him. He pointed out a black fishing line that was stretched out across the path. He took a long stick and tripped it. A rope with a large noose came up out of the leaves and sprang upward into the branches above. It was a snare trap large enough to catch a man, but unless it caught his neck it probably would not kill, but again the trap put them on notice that perhaps they were picking a fight with the wrong people.

              That one slowed them up considerably, even with Red scouting their path. They were all spooked and were just waiting on the next trap to be sprung.

              Maria taunted them with, “What happened to all the big talk about these tourists and how you big bad guys were going to hunt them down for sport?”

              Karl replied, “Manny, shut the Bitch up or I’ll forget that she works for you and gut her.”

• • •

              “Have any of y’all figured out yet that they are having no problem tracking us since we continue to follow this damn creek bed?” asked Scott.

              Gus replied, “Speak to me boy, what you got in that tiny brain of yours?”

              Scott replied, “Well I was just thinking that we are just barely staying ahead of the bad guys and just a bit of bad luck and our asses are six feet under. Have any of you thought that we might want to try to throw them off of our trail and perhaps take a parallel course about a mile or so east or west of this creek?”

              “Damn, John, the boy is right, we are not thinking. We need to quickly think up some kind of way to throw them off our trail by leaving some diversionary tracks and then head off quickly in another direction for that half mile or so,” Gus stated.

              “What about how the Indians always doubled back on the cowboys by turning around while walking in water and then slipping out of the water without leaving footprints on the bank?” Beth exclaimed.

              “Damn good idea,” came from Gus.

              “Until we get to some water deep enough, let’s take turns splitting off to the left and right to perhaps slow them down or at least confuse them,” John added.

              Steve and Scott peeled off out of the soggy creek bed and doubled back for several hundred yards then turned away from the creek and came back towards the others several times. John saw them moving at a trot, but staying far enough away so that their tracks would not be seen. They then quickly rejoined the main group.

              Gus and Jim took off and were not in sight for a long time. They were off setting several snares and misleading trails. Then John spotted Gus leading Jim back towards him, he was grinning from ear to ear.

              Steve asked, “Gus, what kind of foul trickery did you leave for them?” Just then, John noticed that Jim was no longer packing the Hawken. Gus laughed while he told them about setting several traps for the bastards, with the first one being the Hawken set to blow up like a pipe bomb.

              Gus had made the trap so that no one could possibly spot it. The fishing line was tied to a stick that when stepped on would trigger the Hawken at knee-high level. He had filled the barrel with gravel, which would either result in a shotgun blast or blow the whole gun up. The stick and line were carefully covered with bits of leaves and other sticks so that it blended in with the surroundings. The other traps were a mixture of pongee traps and tin cans that would rattle and scare the hell out of the bastards.

              They kept walking for about half hour when they heard a loud boom that made every bird in the woods fly off. They must be at least a mile back and will really go slow now with more dead or wounded.

• • •

              The Hawken did not explode, but the gravel peppered Karl and Maria on the legs just enough to sting and make them think they were hurt badly until they pulled their pants down and checked their legs. Karl was pissed. He got on the satellite phone and raised hell with someone.

✼

Chapter 15

The Cabin

Idaho Woods

May 18, 2020

              They had hiked at a fast pace most of the morning when Gus caught Scott off to the side.

              “Scott, I hate to say it, but these women are slowing us down and we are going to get caught if we don’t do something,” Gus said quietly.

              “I was thinking the same thing, and I think Jim and I should go back and ambush them again,” said Scott.

              “Whoa boy, I meant that I would go back and kill some of the bastards,” exclaimed Gus.

              Scott gave Gus the time out signal and then gave Gus his plan.

              He told him, “Jim and I can pull off the ambush then run like hell back to the main group or hide out if necessary. Gus, I know you can kick any man’s ass, but Jim and I can run circles around you."

              Gus begrudgingly agreed and gave them some extra magazines for the AK and the 9mm. Scott filled Jim in and they fell back and disappeared.

About two hours later, they stumbled into a clearing. The house was in the middle of a very dense stand of trees. They would have missed it had they not come out of the woods right at the front door. It was actually a fancy log cabin with rather large bay windows on either side of the front door. John had dreamed of having a log cabin like this one, but Scott’s mom was a city girl and would have none of it. The more John thought about the house, he began wondering if he had spent most of his adult life trying to please a spoiled girl who just needed a spanking. Well, too late. John pleased her and never got the cabin in the woods. His last thought before Gus got after them was that he would never make that mistake again. Love is wonderful, but sometimes you have to please yourself and take care of number one.

              The cabin’s roof was covered in solar panels and there were two large propane tanks behind the house. There was a large fenced in garden that had a large variety of vegetables. There were numerous fruit trees spread throughout the large clearing. Gus and John agreed that these guys must be Preppers like themselves. They wondered aloud about what kind of stores and food they would find.

              Gus made them move back into the woods until he and Steve checked out the cabin. John took Bill and went to the closest side of the cabin, where there was a log garage big enough to hold two cars. They looked inside and found a Ford pickup and two four wheelers. They searched for the keys, to no avail. Damn, these people thought there might be thieves out in these beautiful woods. In front of the garage was a stone path to the house, it was just pieces of flagstone laid into the dirt. They then crept around the back of the cabin and looked into the windows and back glass doors. There were no signs of the owners so they continued to look all around to the front end of the cabin.

              They went to join the rest of the crew and saw Gus wave them in from the cabin’s front door.

“There’s no one home, but they must have just left,” Gus told them.

              They looked around and saw that someone had eaten and left the dishes on the table. The beds were unmade and clothes were on the floor. The cabin was actually a three bedroom, two bath modern house with all the conveniences. It even had satellite TV, but there was no phone. Beth made several comments about how cute the log home was and that she was jealous of the people who owned the cabin. She went from room to room exclaiming how much she loved the way it was laid out and decorated.

              Gus said, “We only have a short time to waste here; we don’t know that we have lost the creeps for sure. Bill, let’s see if we can get the truck started.”

              Steve then jumped in with, “Search the cabin for anything we need to help us move on.”

              They then spread out and quickly searched each room for food, clothes and weapons.

              Beth and John walked into the master bedroom and frantically opened all closets and drawers. John was looking at the family pictures on the dresser when he heard Beth giggling. He turned and there she was bare ass naked, slipping a pair of panties over her well rounded behind.

              John stood there and took in the view then finally said, “Damn, I think that you are the sexiest woman that I have ever seen.”

              Never wanting for words, Beth looked him in the eyes and said, “I knew that you were a pervert, your eyes are bulging right out of your head.”

              John pulled her to him, kissed her for a minute and then replied, “I like what I see, but I want to get you safely out of this mess before we finish this discussion.”

              Before John could stop her, Beth had pushed him down on the bed and jumped on top of him. She covered his lips in kisses as she lay on top of him.

              “That’s all you get for now. Gus will be after us any minute.” Just as she finished Gus poked his head in and saw them on the bed.

              He turned red and said, “O Lord,” and quickly slammed the door.

              Beth quickly dressed in dry, but poor fitting shorts and a rather tight top and then grabbed an assortment of underwear and clothes for the other ladies. She told John that he stunk and warned him to change his dirty clothes.

              John thought that it was too bad that he didn’t have time for a shower or to finish what Beth started.

              They met the others in the great room to share what all had found. There was an assortment of food, clothing, knives and one Ruger LCP .380 auto with two clips that Alice had found hidden in an end table. Steve offered it to the ladies. Neither Alice nor Janet was interested, but Beth grabbed it and stuck it in her pocket. John was beginning to think that this was one lady that could take care of herself.

              Gus then caught John off to the side and said, “The pantry is well stocked, but I expected to see whole rooms of food and water from what we had seen outside. I also expected to find a cache of guns; this guy is a Prepper like us.”

              John agreed, but thought they did not have time to keep looking.

              Gus told John, “Scott and Jim went back along our trail to give us warning if the thugs get near.”

              John was surprised that he had been so busy with Beth that he had not noticed his son was missing. John did not like that one bit. He knew his son could handle himself normally, but these were hardened killers.

              “I couldn’t get the truck started, Steve went out to the truck to see if he could hotwire it so we can get the heck out of here,” Gus added.

              John said, “We can load the truck up with some supplies in case we run into trouble."

              Janet had heard Gus and John talking and walked up to John and Beth and looked John straight in the eye and said, “Good Morning LA, I love the U…S…A……"

              John started laughing and said, “Are you a fan or are you making fun of my show?”

              “Both,” she replied, “My husband Bill is a big fan. I thought your show stunk.”

              Beth had a puzzled look on her face and added, “You are the John Harris, the Survival Show host and author?”

              “Yep, that’s me alright, although I never thought I’d use this training to fight drug lords in Idaho!” Janet called Bill over and told him about John and Bill was all over John. Bill was shaking his hand and trying to praise John and thank him for saving their lives.

              Beth said, “No wonder you sound so familiar, I listen to your show every chance I get.”

              Gus chimed in, “He’s got a big enough head already so please don’t add to the fire.”

              John quickly changed the subject and showed the others the family pictures that Beth had found in the bedroom. A tall dark haired man about 45 who looked like a ball player and an attractive blond woman were in several pictures. The other pictures had an older teenage girl, a young boy and small girl in them.

              Gus told them, “The guy is an accountant and his wife is a nurse.” Steve asked him where he had bought his crystal ball.

              Gus replied, “Don’t need one when you see all kinds of accounting manuals and the American Journal of Nursing magazines laying all around the house.”

              “Let’s eat. This place is well stocked and we can leave them some money,” Beth was hungry again.

              John wondered how she kept that slim and trim body. He was thinking that perhaps he should see what her mom looked like before he got too serious. Then John thought, too late! Gus threw them a candy bar and told them to grab additional clothes and some food. He then said that they would eat on the trail out of here.

              “Those bad guys are hot after us and we can’t stay here long,” he yelled.

              John got his wallet out and pulled some rather soggy bills out to pay for what they had taken. He counted out five one hundred dollar bills, left them on the island counter and had Beth write them a nice note thanking them for what they took and telling them that they were sorry, but it was necessary.

• • •

              Dave and Julie Kantor were returning to the cabin from dropping the kids off at the neighbors and going hiking. The kids were going into town with the Martins who would bring them back home later that evening. They were discussing how the kids were finally getting used to living in the woods after being born and raised in Los Angeles for so long. Dave had been with the FBI as a forensic accountant working on major crime. Julie had worked at a local doctor’s office and both had burned out by all the crime and violence in LA. Then after the incident, they just could not live in LA anymore. The perps got off without as much as a slap on the wrist after committing one of the most heinous crimes in local history.

“You know we have not been alone for a long time, looks like we can run around naked and have a ball until about dark,” Dave said with a big smirk.

              Julie answered with, “I’ll bet I can get my clothes off faster than you can buddy!”

              Dave was looking forward to a few hours alone with his wife because the kids had been a pain in the ass since the move. Julie had been smothering the kids since the move from LA. Besides school, this was the first time since the move that they were away from their parents.

              As they cleared the last turn and saw the cabin, Dave slammed the brakes on then backed up out of sight of the cabin. He said, “Julie, grab your shotgun and get into the woods with me.”

              Dave had seen several armed strangers come out of their cabin. Dave jacked a round in the chamber of his KEL-TEC KSG Shotgun and followed Julie into the woods. His shotgun looked like a short assault rifle, but was a 12 gauge that held 14 rounds in the twin tubes. His was loaded with 00 Buck and would tear a man in half.

              Julie’s Mossberg 500 was loaded with No. 4 buckshot that was just as deadly, but had a wider pattern that made it hard to miss your target. They had practiced many times for this, were excited and scared shitless to be executing what they had done so many times in the past. Dave wondered if Julie held him responsible for not being prepared four years ago when they lost so much.

              They watched from the woods as these strangers were trying to get the truck started.

              Dave laughed and said to Julie, “I’ll bet they never find the hidden anti-theft switch,” he chuckled to himself. “They all have their hands, so they did not find our armory,” he added.

              The strangers were eating, but weren’t carrying any electronics or jewelry. This was odd, but perhaps the robbers had already loaded up the good stuff before they got there. One guy appeared to be in charge of the group and he was rushing the others to little avail. Dave whispered to Julie that they needed to work their way closer to the thieves so they could learn more about what was going on before capturing them. Dave desperately wanted to catch these bastards and turn them over to the Sheriff and put their asses in jail where they belong. Of course, he wouldn’t mind killing a couple of them because he had many years of built up frustration with the weak California laws that coddled criminals and placed his family in such danger that they had to move out to the woods to get away from gangbangers and common thieves.

              While they had to keep hidden in the woods, Dave and his wife were able to sneak up to the garage and get within 30 feet of the ones trying to get the truck started. He took a good look at all of the intruders and only one had a gun on his hip, but knew he had to assume all were armed. Dave told his wife about his plan and motioned for his wife to stay put and be ready to take on these assholes. Dave circled back around the house to come up around the corner of the cabin just beyond the front door. He peered around the corner and could see his wife hiding behind a tree while his targets were finishing loading the truck. He watched while one of the guys cussed and another opened the driver’s side door and stuck his head down under the steering wheel.