Descent Into Darkness Read online

  “Darn, you win. I’ll pour the water while you undress,” Cobie said.

  Emily undressed by the bathroom door so Cobie could walk in and out of the bathroom to deliver the water. She stood naked in the hallway as Cobie finished, and then eased herself into the hot water.

  “Now don’t fall asleep in there. I want to bath before the water gets cold.”

  ***

  Both men took turns peeking through the gap in the drapes and saw Emily undressing. This further excited them about the prospect of finding some women to join their camp. There were five couples and several children in their group, and these two were the only single men.

  “Jack, I want the black haired one; you can have the blonde.”

  “Roy, what if the girls don’t want to come with us?”

  “They won’t have a choice. They come with us, or they die,” Jack replied.

  “Hey, where did the short sassy one go? I see the blonde’s legs through the bathroom door, but the other disappeared.”

  ***

  Cobie heard a noise outside of the bedroom window and snuck out the kitchen door with her pistol in her hand. She walked around the side of the cabin and saw the men peeking in at Emily. This enraged Cobie as she stepped toward the men.

  “Drop your guns,” she yelled.

  Both men snapped around to face Cobie. This frightened her, and she shot four times hitting the men once each. One fell dead to the ground the other slumped against the cabin wall and said, “Why did you shoot us?”

  “For being perverts and trying to rape us you dirtbag,” Cobie said as she placed the pistol to the man’s forehead.

  “Please don’t. I’m sorry we peeked in the window. We were going to knock on your do …”

  The gun barked; the area lit up with the flash from the gun’s muzzle. The air was filled with the smell of cordite as the bullet passed through the man’s brain and into the cabin wall. Cobie stood there in shock at what she had just done. Emily came out the front door and around to where Cobie stood with nothing on but a towel and a pistol in her hand.

  “Cobie, what happened?”

  Emily’s voice shook Cobie from her stupor, and Cobie said, “I caught these two pervs looking through the window while you were bathing. I killed them before they broke in and raped us in our sleep,” Cobie said.

  “Cobie, we need to pack up and run. The gunshots might bring their friends or others to us,” Emily said.

  “Oh, shit, you’re right. I’ll load up while you get dressed,” Cobie replied.

  The women walked a couple of miles and saw they were walking around a lake. There were three houses off the road, but two had faint lights coming from them, so they kept walking another three miles.

  “I can’t walk anymore tonight. Let’s walk up into that hill and sleep,” said Emily.

  “I agree. My legs are burning and wobbly,” Cobie said.

  They found a flat spot under the trees and gathered pine straw for a mattress. Cobie placed a plastic tarp on the ground, and they huddled together in their one sleeping bag.

  “Do we need to have someone watch the road in case we were followed?” Emily asked.

  “No, we are up in the woods, and they would make a lot of noise getting up here. Let’s get some sleep,” Cobie replied.

  The women slept soundly long into the morning. The bright red sleeping bag could be seen from the road, but they were lucky that night. The five men searching for the people who murdered their friends passed them twice in the dark. The men gave up before daylight and went back to their cabins.

  Emily and Cobie covered the next thirteen miles on Highway 66 by sundown the next day. They had a late start, but Cobie kept pushing Emily, and they made good time. They arrived at the west end of Emigrant Lake and found a boat-launching ramp with a shelter that they could use for shelter that night. There weren’t any homes nearby, and the shelter was in an open area so they could see anyone approaching.

  The lake had numerous abandoned boats, cars, and camping trailers. Most of the owners were dead or would never come back to claim their property. None of the late model cars or boats with electronic ignition and computerized fuel injection would run.

  Joe, Cobie, and their friends had been spared the gruesome experience of watching everyday people starving to death or killing each other for a scrap of food. They also missed the craziness resulting from a large part of the population going cold turkey because they ran out of their anti-depression medicine. Suicides and murders skyrocketed for several months. Life was tough in the woods but much better than in the cities.

  Emily placed her backpack on the picnic table under the park shelter and said, “Can we have a fire tonight? I’m cold,” Emily whined.

  “I’m sorry, we can’t. Emily, you know that someone might see the fire and come to harm us. Actually, we are making some changes. Starting tonight, we will take a two-hour shift on guard while the other sleeps. We can’t afford to have thugs slip up on us in the night,” Cobie said.

  “Do we have to?”

  “Emily, I don’t have to tell you that the world has gone to shit. You have to step up to the plate, grow up, and act like an adult. That means taking responsibility and doing difficult things that help keep us fed or safe from the bad guys,” Cobie admonished.

  Emily looked at Cobie and replied. “Jane, I’m tired and can’t keep up with you.”

  Cobie didn’t turn to look at Emily, so Emily raised her voice, “Jane, I said …”

  “Emily, my name isn’t Jane and don’t raise your voice. Call me Connie. I think that’s my name. Anyway, it sounds right. Now, if you ever want to see your mom again, you’ll stop whining and complaining and get with the program. Finding your mom, that is if we find her, will be very tough, and test us every day. You are a great young lady, but the days of sitting on your butt in front of a TV or iPhone are over.”

  Emily started crying and hugged Cobie for comfort. “Connie, will I ever see my mom again?”

  “Darling, I won’t lie to you. It doesn’t look good, but we won’t know if we give up. You have to put your big girl panties on and do what it takes to find your mom. From now on you are a woman who has to be ready to fight, kick, and scream to stay safe and protect your family and friends,” Cobie said.

  “What happens to me if we don’t find my mom?” Emily asked as she dried her tears.

  “Dear, you can stay with me. I will help you survive until you can learn the right skills to survive on your own,” Cobie answered.

  “How did you learn what you know?”

  “Joe taught me,” Cobie answered.

  “Connie, I think you just remembered something,” Emily then said. “Who is Joe?”

  “I can almost see him in my mind. He is very important to me. I get tingles and shiver every time I think about him,” Cobie said with a grin.

  “Cloe and Joe must mean a lot to you,” Emily said.

  “Yes, they do. I wonder if Cloe is my daughter and Joe is my husband.” Cobie replied.

  Emily laughed and said, “Try thinking about the last time you had sex with Joe. That should jog your memory.”

  Cobie blushed as memories of the bath and Joe rubbing her stomach flooded into her mind. Her face turned red, and her pulse quickened as she felt his hands below her breasts. She remembered the feel of his hands as he ran them down to her waist as he massaged her aching body. Just as she was turning over in her memory, Emily grabbed her and pulled her down behind the table. The sound of the truck heading away from Ashland answered Cobie’s question about the rough treatment from Emily but also wiped the memories about Joe from her mind.

  “Come on girl we need to move around the lake to the shelter that is hidden from the road,” Cobie said.

  “Well, did thinking about having sex with Joe work?” Emily teased.

  “Yes, well, almost. I need to try that again when there won’t be any interruptions,” Cobie replied.

  “Well, I could take a walk around the lake while
you think of Joe and …” Emily said before being interrupted.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Cobie protested.

  “It was and if not, why did you run your hands down from your boobs to your waist in a very sensuous way. That looked like you remembered something very juicy,” Emily continued to tease.

  “Okay enough of that. I don’t need advice about the mating habits of adults from a 12-year-old,” Cobie snapped back.

  “Connie, I’m fifteen. Who is twelve?”

  “Oh, shit, I wonder if Cloe is 12,” Cobie answered.

  ☆

  Chapter 5

  Joe spent a few hours gathering his equipment and deciding what to take with him. He thought a lot about what he should do to find Cobie. He knew he would have to capture and interrogate several thugs. He didn’t mind taking chances asking regular people if they had seen Cobie but knew interacting with the gang members would be extremely dangerous. He resolved himself to going in prepared to do battle with the gangs and beat them on their own turf.

  He had to capture and kill them without getting himself killed or captured. He went down to the basement and checked every book for what he needed but couldn’t find how to make a suppressor for his weapons in the books. He sat down at his Grandpa’s desk and looked through several three-ring binders. He saw one marked guns and thumbed through it to find a section identified as Gun Modification.

  He found several articles that were printed from the internet that gave instructions and a list of materials needed to make suppressors for guns. He searched the basement to see if his Grandpa had made any suppressors but never found one. He did find about half of the materials on the list and placed the list in his backpack. During his search, he found a box with 12-quart size cans of gunpowder on a shelf in the back corner. Next to the explosive were several plastic bags containing rolls of fuses. There were two-inch metal pipes and end caps on the shelf above the explosive. He examined the threaded end caps and saw half of them already had a small hole drilled in one end.

  “Holy crap, Grandpa was ready to make some pipe bombs,” Joe said to himself.

  He spent a few hours making six pipe bombs. He carefully placed each one in a plastic bag and then put them in his carry bag.

  Joe spent the day preparing for his mission even though several of his recent wounds were still painful. He kept taking the pain pills until he headed for town.

  He read three of his Grandma’s letters to be caught up and was disappointed for the first time because the first two were written when his Grandma was upset by a visit from one of his aunts and her brats as Grandma put it. The third letter was much better.

  Dear Joe:

  Today was much better than yesterday’s crappy visit from Carole and those spoiled kids of hers. How the hell your Grandpa and I delivered that poor excuse of a human being into this world, I don’t know. She wants my money and can’t wait for me to die to get her grubby paws on it. Well, she is still crying.

  Back to the good news in my life. Your Dad called me this morning and cheered me up with his jokes and stories about spending time in the woods with Grandpa and me. The girls hated the woods, but your Dad thrived on them and loved them dearly.

  That started my day off on the good side, and then I heard from you. I loved hearing about your friend’s old Mustang, and you were building an engine for him. I don’t know if your Dad told you, but I bought an old biplane and built the engine, myself back when I was in my twenties. That’s how Bill and I met. I crashed into his sawmill up above Grants Pass. I also raced a Shelby Cobra in SCCA races. I never won many of the races but got a charge out of beating the men.

  Anyway, you are a good man, and you are always helping people fix their cars or other tasks when they need help. Don’t change.

  Love Grandma.

  There was a knock on the door, and Joe drew his 9mm Glock. He spied out the window and saw Ginny, Jane, and Dan standing there. He holstered his gun and opened the door. Jane pulled him close, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and said, “Joe we were worried about you. We want you to stay here and give up this mission.”

  “I’m fine. My ribs hurt a bit, but I’m feeling much better now. Jane, how is your shoulder?” Joe asked.

  “My shoulder hurts like hell, but don’t change the subject. Please stay here with us,” Jane replied.

  “Give up. I am going, and that’s that. I know you mean well but stop this crap. How is Cloe?” Joe responded.

  Dan realized it was a lost cause and replied, “We are doing just great as long as we don’t run out of rabbits. Those snares are feeding us. I never liked wild game before but really appreciate the furry beasts now. Cloe sulks a lot and keeps pretty much to herself, but she has been a huge help. She knows you have to go find her mother, but she is fearful you won’t come back. She has taught us trapping, hunting, and tracking. More importantly, she keeps telling us what Joe would or wouldn’t do. You made a major impact on that young lady’s life.”

  “I miss her too,” Joe said.

  Dan added, “Oh, I forgot, Cloe’s box traps have caught a bunch rabbits, and the Bunny Ranch is officially flooded with rabbits.”

  “That’s great. I knew she could do it,” Joe replied.

  Ginny looked over the gear spread out on the table and kitchen counter and said, “It looks like you are getting ready for a long trip.”

  “I am. I plan to search Ashland and the other cities until I find Cobie. I’ll be gone until I find Cobie,” Joe said.

  Jane said, “I’ll go with you.”

  Joe turned to her and gave her a hug before saying, “We almost lost you, and more importantly, your boys almost lost you. Please stay close to home for a while until I can teach you more about survival.”

  Jane kissed Joe on the forehead and replied, “Joe you always think of others more than you care for yourself. Others may find that a bad trait, but I like that in a man.”

  Dan caught Joe by surprise when he said, “Joe we have begun placing a guard to watch over the cabins every hour of the day. You and I both know some bad group will eventually stumble on us. Hell, we just walked up to your cabin, and no one challenged us. Move in with us now and forget about finding Cobie. It would make us all safer.”

  Joe replied, “Darn I forgot to set the trip wires. Dan, give it up. I’m finding Cobie.”

  That evening, Joe strapped on his gun belt. He then put on a shoulder holster on with a Glock 17 and 2 - 17 round magazines. He then tucked an extra 9mm pistol in his belt and shouldered his backpack. His bow and arrows were strapped to his backpack, and even though it pained him to draw the bowstring, he knew it would come in handy during his trip. Joe grabbed his M4 rifle and placed his Ruger MKIV .22 in his carry bag.

  Joe drove to the neighbor’s cabin to say bye to Cloe before heading down the mountain to town. The sun was going down as Joe approached the cabins. He hailed the camp so no one would shoot him and was pleasantly surprised that one of Jane’s sons came up behind him and welcomed him into their camp.

  Joe heard a familiar voice yell, “Joe, I missed you.”

  Cloe ran up to Joe and hugged him while chattering about recent events a mile a minute. Joe hugged her and gave her several books on living in the woods and a few of the Foxfire books.

  “Cloe, I hear you have been a big help down here. I am very proud of you and want to give you something. Here are a holster and 9mm Beretta that I took off one of those thugs. I’ts a better gun than the one you have.”

  Cloe looked at Joe and said, “Thanks, I’ll use the other as my backup,”

  Cloe gave Joe a hug and thanked him several times then said, “Joe I can’t thank you enough for teaching me the things we need to survive. Thanks.”

  “You are welcome. Well, I need to get started on my trip. I’ll be back with your mom,” Joe said, and he picked up his bag.

  “Can’t it wait until I’m better so I can go with you,” Jane pleaded.

  “Sorry, but I can’t bear thinking about what could be
happening to the woman I love.”

  They all waved as Joe looked back at them from the edge of the woods and then disappeared into the darkness. He only traveled at night and thoroughly scouted the area around him as he went to Talent, which was the next city north of Ashland. He knew it would take several days to several weeks and he wanted a safe location for a base of operations. He arrived early the morning of the next day and searched for an abandoned ranch house in the hills southwest of town.

  Joe wouldn’t admit it to himself, but he knew his mission was to kill every thug and gang banger in the area because he knew Cobie was probably dead. His anger raged within him, and the only release would be finding Cobie or killing thugs. Joe prayed for Cobie’s safety but also prayed that God would give him the strength to wipe out the criminals.

  The older house was on top of a hill with the only access being an old road that wound its way up the hill on the north side. There was a fence around the property, so Joe closed the gate and strung several trip wires. The fence would keep dogs and deer from stumbling into the trip wires, so he placed small explosive charges on the ones closest to the house with noisemakers across the driveway and all around the house.

  Joe wouldn’t give up on Cobie, so he decided to search for Cobie during daylight hours by asking town folk if they had seen her. Then at night, he would kill or capture the gang members. He had a few thoughts on how to get them to talk.

  Joe noticed that most people stayed hidden during daylight hours and this slowed his progress. They were afraid of the gangs. People didn’t want to talk to an armed stranger, and Joe was heavily armed. He was shot at several times approaching people but was able to ask a dozen people around the city of Ashland if they had seen Cobie or the pickup. Only one said they had seen a pickup matching the description. It was on the north end of Ashland. After a full day of searching for Cobie, he only had one sighting of the pickup.