Family Survival Page 13

  “Jo, Will, Bob you and me. We are the Wraiths.”

  “Poor Bob is still grieving for Jane.”

  “We need to get his mind off Momma Jane and get on with life. He’s a tough man with a big heart. He needs to grieve for another few weeks and get his ass back in the game. Men or women without a mate won’t make it long in this world.”

  “Was there a message for me in that sentence?”

  “Yep, dear teacher, you’ve been single for several years and need to pair up for safety, quality of life, and peace of mind.”

  “You are wise beyond your years. Could you introduce me to some of the single men in the community?”

  “You live with the best one. Be patient and good things come to she who waits but works her magic.”

  “I was afraid the family would ask me to move out of Bob’s house since we are now alone together.”

  “No, we think you are a keeper. I’ll leave it at that.”

  They all went to work at their various jobs while Joan cleaned the house and tended to the garden. Bob arrived home from work first, and Joan had a cup of coffee and a beer waiting on him.

  “Joan thanks for the coffee, but where did you get the beer. I only have a few cases of Bud Light left, and this is a full body ale.”

  “You are the first one to try my home brewed beer. Well, technically, it’s ale, but the main point is that it is alcohol. I may be a lady, but I love my home brewed ale. My Dad always brewed his own at home, and I helped him growing up. Is it good?”

  “Damn Skippy. This is excellent. I’m not an alcoholic, but I also love my beer and whiskey.”

  “It’s a bit green because I only let it ferment for three weeks.”

  “Can you make whiskey?”

  “Yes, but I’ll need someone with a good taste for whiskey to help me find the right aging and flavor. Moonshine is all I can start brewing. Bourbon gets its flavor from additives and the type of barrel it’s aged in. Distillers actually burn the inside of the barrels to give whiskey flavor and color.”

  “Damn, we don’t have any barrels.”

  “We can start with steel drums and add charred wood. It will take years to perfect the flavor, but what else do we have to do?”

  Bob looked at Joan, smiled, and said, “I volunteer to be your helper and official taster.”

  “I accept your offer. We can start gathering the supplies and equipment over the next few weeks. When the crops come in, we will be able to improve the process. I can make vodka from potatoes and moonshine from corn, wheat, or about any grain. I also know how to make wine.”

  “Damn girl; if we make excess, we can trade it for other much-needed goods.”

  “Bob, that’s part of the reason I started making the beer. We need medical supplies, hygiene products, and ammunition. The other reason is that I saw you were running out of beer and I want to contribute to the family however I can.”

  Joan surprised everyone with the ale for supper and was thanked by all.

  Bill took a sip and exclaimed, “This is great. I hope there is more.”

  Joan replied, “There are another 39 bottles in this batch. I have to find bottles, mason jars, or even gallon jugs to put the ale into for consumption. Bob and I are teaming up to produce wine, beer, and whiskey. We all like to drink the stuff, but we can also trade it to other communities for things we need.”

  Jo kicked Maddie under the table, and Maddie smiled back at her. Matt was visiting Missy, so they were tasked with the dishes when most of the others made excuses and left. Bill had to go back to their small hospital to check on a kid with a fever. Will and Maddie were waiting on Joan to ride with them when Jo came out of the house walking with Joan who got in Bob’s pickup and left with him.

  “Mom, I guess you told Papaw about Joan.”

  “Yes, and they are riding together over to the swimming hole. Let’s go.”

  Will thought for a minute and decided to keep his mouth shut because he knew that he didn’t want to know what their devious plan was for his Papaw and Joan. Well, he did, but he didn’t want to get involved.

  Their cover story was that the family was out for a swim after a hard day’s work. Bob brought a dozen cans of beer for the meeting, and all brought blankets and towels. As usual, Will and Bob walked down the rocky bluff to make sure the water was clear of logs or other dangers so they could jump off the cliff into the water. There were no dangers, so Will yelled to the women to jump in and join them. Maddie and Joan jumped into the cool water together followed by Jo. They swam for a while and then climbed back up to the top of the bluff so they could see anyone trying to approach.

  Jo started the meeting by saying, “I guess we can all agree that our first operation should be clearing the trash from Hartsville.”

  Everyone agreed, and Bob added, “I think after we finish that one we should make a list of our priorities. I for one want to clear out a fifty-mile radius around the Horseshoe.”

  Joan added, “I agree, but I also want to find the boys who raped me and kill the sorry bastards.”

  “Joan, sorry, but who were the boys. Surely I know them,” Maddie replied.

  “It was that thug Ralph, Donnie, and Demarcus. Those boys always hung out together. I hope they are still together because I want to string them up by their balls and torture them before I kill them.”

  Jo was surprised by what Joan said and answered, “Was Donnie a skinny white kid and Demarcus a tall, heavy set black kid with a skull and bones tattoo on his neck?”

  “Why yes, that’s two of them. Do you know where they are?”

  “In hell. They are the ones who hit Maddie on the head and stole our bikes. They headed south to Nashville and were killed by someone who wanted their bikes and supplies. I watched one of them die.”

  Joan began sobbing as Bob held her close to him trying to console her.

  “I should be happy, but I wanted to kill the SOBs myself. I’ll kill a dozen more of the scum to help someone else from being attacked,” she said as she clung to Bob.”

  Bob replied, “Girl they’re dead. Move on. There’s plenty of criminals that need eradicating, besides a pretty girl like you needs to be chasing down some young man and having a family.”

  “I have a family, and they are all around me now.”

  “I meant a steady boyfriend who might make husband material,” replied Bob.

  “I have a man in mind. I just have to get his attention.”

  Bob laughed and said, “Just wear that bikini; if he’s got blood, it will get him interested.”

  She laughed and said, “That’s a good idea.”

  Jo whispered to Maddie, “She doesn’t need our help. Bob will be following her around like a puppy dog in a couple of months.”

  Will sipped his beer, and then got the meeting back on track with, “We are having fun, but we need a plan. I think we take out all of the men at the roadblocks at the same time, then the police station, and then finally the Mayor and his bodyguards.”

  Jo disagreed, “I think we hit the Mayor and his henchmen first, and then kill the others from long range as they respond to the Mayor’s house. I don’t want the Mayor to slip out of town when the shit hits the fan.”

  Joan responded, “Why are we attacking them at all? I thought Ben and Jack’s team were taking out Hartsville.”

  “Jo answered, “Because those two big men thought that women and children shouldn’t be exposed to that kind of danger.”

  “Fuck him and the horse he rode in on,” replied Bob.

  “I see it’s a challenge,” Joan said.

  “Yes. Mom started the Wraith, and we are going to keep the fear in all outlaws, perverts, and gang bangers. We will run them out of the area.”

  They spent another half hour discussing their plans and then headed back to the house for their customary nightcap on the back deck. Joan and Bob sat close together, as they drank their ale or sipped their whiskey and that made Jo happy for her father-in-law.

  Jo caug
ht Bob alone as everyone headed to their rooms for the night and said, “Pop, please don’t grieve over my Mom too long. You are still too young to waste your life mourning. Death is around every corner so you should live life to its fullest.”

  “Jo, my mind agrees with you, but my heart is broken. I need just a little more time. I’m not blind or stupid. Joan was shaking her cute ass at me all afternoon in the skimpy bikini. She looks damn good, but I’m not ready.”

  “Don’t take too long because other single men might like that bikini also.”

  “I’m not worried. Notice she sat next to me and I even flirted with her a bit. Joan and I are partners in a post-apocalyptic brewery and still. We will make damn good alcohol together for a while and perhaps we’ll…. Well, we’ll do what we want to after that.”

  Two days later, they snuck out of their dwellings and met on the other side of Bob’s barn, and then they walked a couple hundred yards to where they had staged Bob’s pickup and another old pickup for the operation. Both had large cargo trailers behind them to help with their cover story. They drove to the gate, and Bob told the guards that they were heading over to Gallatin to check out some freight trains and warehouses for food and other supplies.

  “Now Bob, you know Jack doesn’t like anyone leaving after dark.”

  “You tell Jack that he ain’t my daddy and this ain’t no dictatorship. Now get the gate open, or we’ll go through it.”

  “Don’t get your panties in a wad. I’m opening the gate. Good luck and bring me something back.”

  “Will do, if we find anything.”

  It was a short drive over to Hartsville and the first roadblock. Bob made sure they arrived an hour before shift change at midnight. The plan was to divide into two groups with each group assigned to kill the guards at one of the roadblocks during shift change. That would take out eight of the guards, and then they would go kill the guards at the other two. That would take out 12 of the guards leaving four at home asleep and all of the roadblocks unmanned.

  Maddie and Will were assigned to the roadblocks on the east and south side of the city, while Bob, Joan, and Jo had the ones on the north and west. Bob had Jane’s suppressed .22 Ruger and Maddie had her AR15 with a suppressor.

  Maddie and Will moved into position and Maddie watched the men for a few minutes, and then shot the first man in the heart. She then moved her scope to the other man and could only get a head shot. Her aim was true, and both guards were dead. They quickly ran over to the guards and staged them sitting down in their lawn chairs by the fire. Will placed his hat on the one with the bloody head and they both looked alive from a distance.

  They only had to wait for a short while until the other guards appeared. They drove up in a small older car and got out to greet their comrades. Maddie shot the driver before his feet hit the ground and shot the other as he ran around the car to see why the driver had fallen. All four guards were dead, and the mission was successful so far.

  Bob drove up to the guards at the north blockade and asked for directions. Only one guard walked over to the truck, so Bob offered them a shot of whiskey from his bottle. The one guard took a drink as the other one joined him for his share. Bob slid the Ruger above the window and shot both of them before they could react. Joan and Jo took their weapons and Bob finished them off with a headshot.

  Joan gulped, ran to the bushes, and vomited everything in her stomach. Jo offered her a bottle of water and a handkerchief.

  “Joan, every decent human being hates killing even when it has to be done. There is no shame in what you did.”

  “It’s the first time I helped kill anyone.”

  “It won’t be the last dear.”

  They sat the bodies’ upright in their chairs and waited on the next crew. This time Joan asked if she could do the shooting.

  “Are you are up to it?”

  “Yes, Bob, I have to do it now if I will ever be of help to you.”

  “Okay, but if you freeze we’ll have to slit their throats after a fight.”

  “I might puke my guts up afterward, but I won’t freeze.”

  “Here’s the Ruger; get as close as possible and shoot each one twice as quickly as possible,” Bob said as he pulled his knife and added, “Jo and I will finish them off.”

  Joan unbuttoned her shirt and took it off to reveal her more than ample bosom covered only with a sports bra and said, “Those assholes will be looking at the girls and thinking about getting in my pants. I will shoot them and wipe their grins off their faces.”

  Joan sat down between the two dead guards and waited a few minutes before the guards walked up to the fire. Joan stood up, waved Bob’s whiskey bottle, and said, “Your buddies and I partied a bit too much. They might need help getting home.”

  “Damn, where did you come from? You got any of that whiskey left?”

  Joan walked over to the two men who were busy looking somewhat south of her eyes and raised the pistol. She rapidly shot both of them twice before they took their eyes off her breasts. Before Jo or Bob could get to her, she shot both men in the forehead.

  “That’s what they get for thinking with their dicks instead of their heads. I think I’m going to….”

  She didn’t move a step before she upchucked again until she had the dry heaves. Jo again, gave her water and a handkerchief to clean her mouth.

  “Ya’ done good girl,” Bob said as he patted her on the back.

  Bob then took a rag and dipped it in the pool of blood on the ground.

  He then said, “Let’s roll. Joan, Jo, we get the police station and should be right on schedule to eliminate those bastards at the same time Will and Maddie take out the Mayor.”

  The town was quite small, so they walked down side streets and alleys to the police station and waited in the darkness until exactly 1:00 am before Bob dabbed some of the blood on Joan’s right arm and laid a towel over her hand that was holding the .22 Ruger.

  Bob and Jo helped Joan stagger into the front door to the station and Bob yelled for help. The two cops at the desk ran over to help, and a third came bursting through a door at the back of the room.

  Bob yelled, “A bear mauled her over by the river.”

  All three cops were fixated on Joan when her pistol barked several times as Jo and Bob drew their pistols and finished the cops off.

  “Please get this blood off me; that bastard could have had HIV or something.”

  Jo washed her arm off with soap and water while Bob found the first aid kit and a bottle of rubbing alcohol to finish cleaning her arm.

  “Come on, let’s move. We need to see if Will and Maddie need any help.”

  There were two sentries on guard outside the home and one inside. The one at the back door was asleep and Will cut his throat without a sound. The one at the front door was awake, but Maddie’s suppressed rifle took him out without disturbing the neighborhood. They both snuck in the kitchen door and found the inside guard asleep on the couch. Will slit the man’s throat while Maddie kept watch.

  “Maddie, I don’t want to chance killing anyone of the Mayor’s family so I’ll make a noise until the Mayor comes down to see what’s happening and you can shoot the bastard.”

  “Works for me, but what happens if he doesn’t come down. Bob said he was a real chicken shit.”

  “Then we go up and get him and try not to kill too many of his family.”

  Will knocked a chair over, which made a loud bang when it hit the kitchen floor. They heard some talking and then suddenly a man came running down the stairs with a baseball bat. Will stuck his rifle in front of the Mayor’s feet and tripped him. He fell down the last six steps and landed on his head. Maddie kicked him, and he didn’t move. He broke his neck during the fall and was dead.

  They heard a noise and then a voice, “Are you okay you worthless prick. I hope you fell and broke your damn neck.”

  They choked down a laugh and left the house to go to the First Baptist Church to wait for the rest of the team. Bob, Joa
n, and Jo walked up ten minutes later and joined them inside the church.

  “Well it’s done, and none of us got hurt. Well, Joan almost got her boobs groped. It’s time to call in the big dogs.”

  Bob pulled his long-range radio out of his pocket and called for Jim Dickerson, “Jim, do you copy?”

  “This is Otto, his second in command. What do you need Bob?”

  “Could y’all send over a couple of dozen troops to secure Hartsville? It appears that the Mayor and the police force all committed suicide last night. There are only a few of the bad guys left.”

  “That’s good news. Did you help them with their suicides?”

  “Oh no! Someone left messages from the Wraith telling the citizens to get rid of the rest of the scum.”

  “Okay, I’ll pass it on and wake up the troops.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Can I write the message from the Wraith?”

  “Joan, you are free to paint.”

  “Thanks, Bob.”

  There was a noise at the front of the church, and a man walked toward them in his robe.

  “I’m the pastor of this church. Did I hear correctly that the Mayor and his thugs are all dead?”

  “Yes, most are dead. A few cops are still in bed. We discovered the problem and asked for help in securing the town.”

  “But you didn’t kill any of the criminals yourselves?”

  “No, we’re just passing through and saw the Wraith’s message and tried to find someone in charge. We saw the dead people and stopped here to pray.”

  “I may be a pastor, but I know a load of bull when I smell it. That doesn’t matter. All that matters is that my town is free again. Thank the Wraith for me.”

  Joan walked back into the church, and the pastor asked, “Is this the Wraith?”

  “No, sir. I’m just a scared woman who serves God the best she can.”

  “Well, I won’t tell anyone about seeing y’all today. May God go with you.”

  “Amen to that brother. Let’s go.”

  ✼