Forsaken World: Next Generation (Book 7)
Date: 2023-05-24 00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Zombies
Description: .....and the shenanigans continue! The family that slays togethers stays together. But it's a family like no other. Join the adventure in this Forsaken World
Publisher: A-Poc Press llc

FORSAKEN WORLD

Dark Crossing

Book Four

….

THOMAS A WATSON

Copyright © June 15, 2018

THOMAS A WATSON/A-POC PRESS

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Credits

Sabrina Jean/FastTrack Editing

Cover Art by Nicholas A. Watson & Christian Bentulan

This book is a work of fiction. People places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the written consent of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Thank you for acknowledging the hard work of this author. If you didn’t purchase this book or it wasn’t purchased for you, please go purchase your own copy now.

A Special Thank You

Leslie Bryant

Yalonda Butler

Steven Smith

Jeff Ashby Jr.

Amy Jennings

Cora Burke

Robert Launt

Joan Macleod

Shelly Deuso

Anna Shirley

Fleur Wilkinson

Britta Victoria

Kathy O’Rourke

Deb Serres

Google Maps

CAST

Carver-

Johnathan (dad) Sandy (mom) Lance (13)

Wilkerson-

Bill (dad) Mary (mom), Ian (13), Allie (8) Jason a.k.a. Ooops (18, dead)

Thompson-

Jennifer (15, calls Ian boo), Carrie (8)

Lilly Ricci- (24, veterinarian)

Doug Leary- uncle Doug (dead)

Dogs: Dino-mastiff   George & Judy shepherds

Dan & Ann (with parents)

Bear Trap Team

Heath (owner of house, 36, worked construction) Robin (wife, 35)

Lori (daughter, 14) Denny (son, 12)

Rhonda (Heath’s sister, 26, redhead)

Dwain (Heath’s brother, 28, worked for phone company) Kathy (wife)

Jodi (daughter, 7)

Grady (37) Brenda (wife, Heath’s cousin)

Nazis

Soldiers of the New Dawn

Devil Lords- Motorcycle gang (Little dicks)

Location of Cabin in Kentucky

Parents’ route home.

Chapter 1

Southwest of Arkansas City, Kansas

Moving inside the house as pain radiated from the bite on his leg, Bill stopped and looked around. Standing between the living room and kitchen, he could tell the house had been empty for some time but hadn’t been ransacked. Seeing a gun cabinet, Bill started to grin before he saw the door was open and the inside was empty. Looking at the bottom storage area, he saw it was open and empty as well.

Spinning on his good leg, he hobbled into the kitchen and saw a six-pack of soda on the counter. Grabbing one, Bill took the top off and drank the warm liquid down. When he was done, he let out a belch that almost rattled the windows. Glancing out the window, he saw the sun touching the horizon.

Moving further into the house, he entered the first few rooms to see all the dressers open. Continuing down the hall, he stepped into the master bedroom. Hobbling over to the bathroom, he opened the medicine cabinet. Grabbing a bottle of aspirin, he tossed a handful in his mouth, not worried about the effects on his liver, since he wasn’t planning on being around that long.

After chewing the aspirin up, he walked back into the bedroom. Seeing the closet open, Bill noticed a metal case on the top shelf. Hobbling over, he grabbed it and pulled it down with a grin at seeing it was a rifle case. Setting the case on the bed, he opened it up and let out a soft whistle. “You don’t use a .375 H&H hunting rifle around here,” Bill chuckled.

Taking the rifle out, he saw a box of shells tucked into the corner with a small notepad. Limping over to the window, he lifted the rifle up. “My word,” he gasped, peering through the scope. “You can count the hairs on a gnat’s ass a hundred yards away.”

Lowering the rifle, he looked at the scope. “You don’t put an 8x40 on a .375!” he cried out.

Moving back to the bed, he took out the box of shells and the notepad fell open. Lifting it up, he saw it was a range notebook. “You sighted in a .375 at three hundred yards. Why didn’t you just get a 7mm?” he chuckled.

Racking the bolt open, he fed in four shells and then closed the bolt, chambering a round. Slinging the rifle over his left shoulder, he dumped the rest of the bullets into his left thigh pocket. “Now we can get some shit done,” he grinned, hobbling out.

Walking back outside, he looked over at the barn, moaned at how far away it was, and started his trek. When he finally reached the barn, he was panting hard. But, it was well worth it when he spotted a quad cab Ram 4500 dually with the biggest and most intimidating front cattle guard he had ever seen. “Fuck the gun, use your truck to take some game,” Bill spoke out loud.

Hearing the ‘door open’ chime and seeing keys in the ignition when he opened the door, he grinned from ear to ear. Reaching in and turning the key, Bill saw the dash light up and the glow plugs turn on. Before he turned the engine on, Bill heard a soft hum to the south.

“Oh goodie, friends,” he said, turning the key off. Tossing his shotgun on the front seat, he closed the truck door gently and moved along the truck bed. Stopping at the corner of the barn, he pulled the rifle off his shoulder. Way off in the distance, he saw a speck moving across the field.

Using his left hand to hold the corner of the doorway, Bill brought the rifle up to look through the scope, the speck zooming to his eye. He could see it was a man driving a four-wheeler slowly across the field toward the farm. Using the rangefinder in the scope, he put the four-wheeler at five hundred yards.

Watching the man, Bill saw him looking down at the ground and then up at the farm. “Following our tracks,” Bill grinned, and saw a smaller form lean out from behind the driver. The passenger was looking at the farm through binoculars while the man slowed down.

Bill watched the passenger look off toward the east and lift one hand, pointing. The driver grabbed the binoculars and looked to the east. “Yeah, they left. But I have a surprise for you,” Bill said, watching the man hand the binoculars back.

Grabbing the handlebars, the man steered the four-wheeler toward the barn, since the field was surrounded by barbed wire. Taking a deep breath Bill let half out, centering the crosshairs on the driver’s chest. When the four-wheeler was two hundred yards away, he slowly squeezed the trigger.

A thunderous ‘Boom’ sounded and Bill flew back, feeling pain radiate through his collar bone. Crashing down on the ground and flat on his back, Bill shook his head. “Forgot how much these damn things kick,” he groaned, moving his right arm and feeling the pain in his shoulder.

A few miles away, Johnathan turned in his saddle to look back when a very loud gunshot sounded. Seeing Mary and Sandy looking back, “Bill is buying us time, let’s make sure it’s not in vain,” Johnathan told them, kicking his horse back into a trot. Both wives turned around doing the same.

Back at the barn, Bill was getting to his feet and shaking his head, trying to get the ringing in his ears to stop. “Yeah, I would’ve left the damn thing at home too,” he grumbled at the rifle.

Racking the bolt to eject the spent round, Bill shoved the bolt home before he lifted the stock to his sore shoulder and looked back out into the field. He could see the larger driver laying still in the dirt. Off to the side, the smaller passenger was rolling on the ground with the four-wheeler fifty yards away and still creeping off at an idle.

“Glad I don’t have to shoot this damn cannon again,” Bill confessed, lowering the rifle. Moving back to the truck and opening the door, Bill tossed the rifle on the passenger seat next to the shotgun and climbed in. Turning the key, he waited for the glow plugs to go off and then started the engine.

Listening to the diesel rumble, Bill grinned. “Man, do I miss cars,” he said, backing out of the barn. Driving around the house and out into the field, he reached the downed men just as the sun slipped below the horizon.

Turning the engine and the interior lights off, Bill got out while pulling his pistol from his waistband. Walking past the first body, Bill saw it was a large man lying on his side. Stepping around, Bill shook his head to see the massive exit wound. “That’s why you use a .375 on dangerous game,” he told the corpse, continuing over to the other form.

It was a kid, around sixteen. Sprawled out on his back, the boy was holding a tourniquet on his right arm. Standing over the kid, Bill saw the bullet had almost taken the boy’s right arm off at the bicep. “Where are the rest of your guys?” Bill asked, looking down at the boy holding the tourniquet tight.

“Hanging back ‘till we call where you was heading,” the boy grunted. Bending down, Bill patted him down for weapons but only found a knife. Glancing around, he saw two rifles in the dirt as the boy asked, “How’s my paw?”

“Why did you risk following so close today?” Bill asked, looking down at the kid and ignoring the question.

“You already knew we was here,” the boy moaned. “It didn’t matter no more.”

“Just how in the hell did you keep an eye on us?” Bill asked, glancing around. Off in the distance, he could see shadows on the road.

“Easy. Just watched you through spotting scopes,” the boy said.

“Okay,” Bill said, punching his leg and sucking in a breath. “What were you going to do? Let the stinkers wipe us out?”

The boy looked at Bill’s leg and saw it soaked in blood. “You bit?” the boy asked.

Cocking the hammer of the pistol, Bill aimed at the boy’s crotch. “Hold on!” the boy cried out. “We find people and lead stinkers in to surround them. We wait a few days, then drive up in a big tractor. We tell them they can come with us, but have to join.”

“Forced conscription,” Bill nodded, letting the hammer down. “Where are your friends holding up?”

“They ain’t my friends,” the boy spat. “A bunch of prisoners busted out of the penitentiary to the north and took over Kaw City. It’s just a small town sitting on a peninsula in the lake. They took my family the month after this started.”

“Interesting,” Bill shrugged, looking down at the kid. “How many there now?”

“I don’t know,” the kid snapped. Bill cocked the hammer, aiming at his crotch again. “Hey, I don’t know! It’s a lot, though! We been rounding up people since this started.”

“Describe the layout,” Bill insisted, lowering his pistol.

“In my back pocket,” the boy said, rolling slightly to his side. Reaching in, Bill pulled out a folded sheet of paper.

Unfolding the paper, Bill looked at the hand-drawn map. “Just why in the hell would you keep a map like this? You have areas drawn on here listing what’s stored there,” Bill asked, squinting his eyes to make out the lines and words in the moonlight.

“Because if you bring in supplies and put them in the wrong area, you get beat down hard,” the boy popped off with a grimace, turning to look at his destroyed arm.

Tapping the boy on the forehead with the pistol, “We are talking, so don’t look away, boy,” Bill growled.

“It hurts,” the boy whimpered.

“You have fuel marked here,” Bill grunted, motioning to the map.

“Yes, sir. They got four tanker trailers parked beside the school,” the boy panted through gritted teeth. “How’s my paw?”

“Oh, he’s dead,” Bill answered nonchalantly. “But you have more important things to worry about because if you don’t keep talking, I’m going to show you real pain.”

The boy turned, looking at Bill in horror. “We didn’t have a choice. They got my mom and sisters,” the boy whimpered.

Hearing a radio call out, “Dean, do you still have them?” Bill stood up, looking behind him. “What’s your paw’s name?” Bill asked, moving over to the body.

“Dean,” the boy sobbed.

Rolling the body back, Bill removed a radio from the dead man’s belt. “What’s the town just northeast of here?” Bill asked.

“Arkansas City,” the boy called out as Bill came back over.

Nodding, Bill leaned over and hit his leg with the butt of the pistol. As pain shot up his leg Bill blinked, remembering the area. Cocking the hammer, he aimed at the boy’s crotch. “Don’t make a sound,” Bill warned, standing over the boy.

Bringing the radio to his mouth, “This is Dean,” he croaked in a dry, soft voice.

“Dean, what’s wrong?” a voice called back.

Waiting a few seconds, Bill pressed the transmit key. “Bikers in Arkansas City,” Bill said weakly. “They shot us, and I think they got the horse riders.”

The radio was silent until another voice came on. “How many?”

“Too many to count,” Bill moaned. “My boy’s dead and I’m going to take as many as I can,” Bill said, lowering the radio beside the pistol before pulling the trigger. A ‘boom’ sounded and Bill released the transmit key, thankfully before the boy had cried out in alarm.

“Everyone, pull back now!” the new voice screamed over the radio.

With a grin, Bill looked down at the boy and saw the bullet had impacted a few inches from his head. “Oh, my bad,” Bill grinned, then heard radio chatter of people crying out to pull back. Off in the distance, he could hear the soft hum of engines fading to the south.

“How do you get to the peninsula?” Bill asked, still listening to the radio.

Swallowing with a gulp, the boy looked up at Bill with fear. “We take boats from where we park the ATVs around the lake. For big loads, we use the bridge on the south side of town after pulling the stinkers away,” the boy answered, moving his eyes to the barrel of the pistol.

Realizing what the boy had said, “Stinkers? You called them that because I did?” Bill asked.

Barely shaking his head and not taking his eyes off the gun, “No, sir. Heard it over the radio,” the boy answered.

Giving a grunt, “My son’s best friend named them that,” Bill stated, grinning with pride.

“Sir, we didn’t have a choice,” the boy sobbed, staring at the pistol pointed at his face. “Can you please make sure my paw don’t get up and eat me?”

“Maybe. Depends on how much you talk,” Bill replied, kneeling down beside the boy. After talking for half an hour, Bill stood when he heard movement behind him.

Turning around, he saw the boy’s paw twitching. “Well, I don’t want to get in the way of your paw,” Bill said, lifting the pistol and shooting the boy in the left knee. The boy cried out as the .357 slug punched through his knee.

Walking away while the boy screamed, Bill moved over as Dean sat up. Pushing Dean over, Bill took a map from his back pocket. “You cocksucker!” the boy howled, rolling on the ground.

“Hey, you started it!” Bill snapped, unfolding the map and stepping back. Looking at the map, Bill saw Dean slowly stand up. When Dean turned to him, Bill lowered the map to stare at Dean’s pale face. “Bitch, your best bet is to talk to your boy,” Bill spat.

Dean looked at Bill through his cloudy eyes and he sniffed the air. Hearing his son cry out, Dean turned away from Bill and stumbled over to the boy. “That’s what I thought,” Bill chuckled, looking back at the map.

“No, Paw, it’s me!” the boy shouted as Dean dove down, latching on his son’s left shoulder.

As the boy screamed, Bill leaned down to hit his wound hard again. “Hey, keep it down,” he panted, stumbling back and blinking the bright lights from his eyes. “Can’t read the map with all your screaming.”

The boy struggled, pushing his paw back as Bill turned for the truck. Dean grabbed his son’s hand, biting three of his fingers off. Climbing in the truck while the boy screamed again, Bill started it up and headed back to the farm.

Pulling in front of the barn, Bill shut the engine off and climbed out. In the field, he could hear the boy’s screams getting weaker. “Should’ve left us the fuck alone,” Bill mumbled, walking into the barn.

In the dim light, he grabbed a roll of plastic and carried it to the truck. Stepping outside, Bill stopped when a female stinker grabbed his arm. “If you want to keep that hand, I suggest you let go,” he warned, looking at the hand. The grip felt like a vise but it suddenly released as the woman let go, detecting the change in Bill. She groaned, turned toward the field and stumbled away.

“Oh, there won’t be anything there by the time you show up, whore,” Bill chuckled, tossing the roll of plastic in the bed of the truck. Unrolling the plastic, he pulled the sides out to form a liner and then pulled out his knife, cutting the excess off.

Stumbling back, Bill looked down at his left leg, not feeling it anymore. “Not yet,” he growled. Opening the driver’s door, he put his left knee in and slammed the door on it.

Falling back and holding his leg, Bill felt the pain reawakening his numb leg. Letting his leg go, he reached in his left thigh pocket, pulling out a small bundle of paracord. Grabbing the hand grenade he’d been saving, Bill tied the cord around the neck of the grenade and then made a necklace out of it.

Struggling to his feet, he put the necklace on and he put weight on his left leg. Pain shot through his body, awakening his mind. Moving back into the barn, Bill rolled some tires out and tossed them in the back of the truck. Climbing back in the cab, Bill backed the truck into the barn and tossed in several bales of hay.

Driving out of the barn, he pulled over to a fuel tank. Turning the truck off, Bill climbed out and each time he stepped with his left leg, pain radiated through his body. “Whatever it takes,” he panted, grabbing the nozzle and throwing it in the bed of the truck.

Gripping the pump handle, Bill started pumping when another stinker walked over. “Unless you’re going to help, piss off!” he snapped. After the stinker sniffed the air, not smelling a human, it turned away moving back to the road.

The plastic sheeting formed a pool as the fuel was pumped into the bed, soaking into the hay bales. “Shame. Seems like a good truck,” Bill sighed, stomping his left leg when he felt his mind getting hazy.

Seeing the bed half full of fuel, Bill tossed the nozzle on the ground and headed for the cab. Stopping at the back, Bill opened the rear driver’s side door and dug under the seat for the road hazard bag. Grabbing it and opening it, he grinned to see road flares before he shut the door with his hip and climbed behind the steering wheel.

Starting the truck again, Bill looked out the front window and saw Paw and the female stinker heading for the road. “Damn, didn’t even wait on your boy,” Bill laughed, dropping the truck into gear.

Centering on the two, Bill pressed the accelerator, driving over them slowly. Looking in the side mirror, he put the truck in reverse and drove over the two bodies with the back wheels. “That’s what you get, bitch,” Bill said, pulling out.

Driving onto the road, Bill headed west and rolled down the window. Propping his arm in the window, Bill let the pistol lay in his lap while he cruised down the road. Passing the first barn the stinkers had showed up at days before, Bill shook his head. “I got here in thirty minutes,” he huffed, passing the barn. “Nothing beats modern transportation.”

Finding the house they had spotted the day before, surrounded by stinkers, Bill pulled off the road and drove down the driveway. He had seen this house marked on Paw’s map and figured he could help a few more people. Plus, drag in some more stinkers.

Sticking his head out the window, “Hey, stinkers, come on! I’m starting a party!” he shouted, driving around the house.

Coming around the other side, he saw a man standing at an open upstairs window. “Wait till they’re gone and find somewhere to hole up, but don’t go to Kaw City. That’s where the bad guys are!” Bill shouted, and the man nodded, raising his hand in a wave.

A woman stepped up beside the man as Bill pulled his head back, not wanting the stinkers to lose interest in him. “Don’t wait long because I can only pull them off for the party! After that, the stinkers may come back!” Bill shouted, and both waved at him again.

Driving back to the road, Bill slowed to wait for the stinkers to catch up. Looking back, he could see the crowd moving slowly toward him in the brake lights. Seeing almost all of the stinkers coming, Bill let off the brake and eased down the road.

As a wave of lethargy swept over him, Bill stomped his foot down on the floorboard. “SHIT! I need more time!” he shouted stomping his foot again. Feeling very little pain, he struggled to keep his eyes open. Patting his pants, he l pulled out his knife. Flipping the blade open and feeling his eyes getting even heavier, he jammed the blade into his right thigh feeling the blade sink into bone.

“Fuck!” Bill screamed as pain inundated his mind. Leaving the blade in his thigh, he looked in the rearview mirror with tears rolling down his face, soaking his beard as the truck idled down the road. Seeing the stinkers were getting close, he tapped the accelerator to speed up to twenty miles an hour.

The pain did its job. Wide awake now, Bill drove on. Punching the CD button, he grinned when Hank Jr. inundated the cab. “That’s right! A country boy can survive!” Bill shouted and rolled down the passenger window.

Looking back, he saw the stinkers still following in the distance. Realizing they were falling behind, Bill took his foot off the accelerator. “I shouldn’t be able to see this good at night,” Bill admitted, sticking his head out the window. His brain told him it shouldn’t be able to see the stinkers a mile away, but Bill could see their shadowy outlines quite clearly.

“Damn, these fuckers can see pretty damn good at night,” Bill said, pulling his head back in. “Wish I could tell Johnathan.” It wasn’t night vision, but it was better than he could ever remember seeing at night. Looking over at a stand of trees, Bill cocked his head to the side. The shadows under the trees seemed much too dark. “Weird,” he mumbled.

Speeding up and singing along with Hank, Bill headed for the barn they’d been attacked in. Coming in from the north, he could still see a bunch of stinkers. A large group was under a lone tree near the road. He stopped on the road, hearing the fuel that hadn’t been soaked up by the hay in the bed slosh around.

Looking up in the tree, Bill saw a man holding his bloody stomach. “Have some trouble?” Bill shouted as the stinkers moved toward the truck.

“Help me!” the man screamed.

“Okay,” Bill said, reaching over and grabbing the shotgun. When he pointed it out the window, the man screamed while raising his hands and promptly fell out of the tree. The stinkers that had been heading for the truck spun around, hearing the man scream while the others tore into him.

“You’re welcome!” Bill shouted, tossing the shotgun back on the passenger seat. He eased forward and stinkers around the area moved to the road.

“Get out of my way!” he shouted, pushing them aside with the bumper. Those not pushed to the side, he felt the truck bounce over while the fuel in the bed continued to slosh around.

When he pulled through the crowd, a stinker grabbed the arm he had resting on the door. “You’re touching me,” Bill snarled, not turning away from the road and continued pressing the accelerator. The hand that held his arm let go, recognizing Bill was almost like him.

Heading south, he picked up speed while he reached down, twisting the knife in his leg. Chewing his bottom lip through the pain, tears again ran down his face and into his beard. When blood filled his mouth, Bill let go of the knife and pleasure filled his mind.

Turning his head and realizing the pleasure came as soon as he’d tasted blood, Bill spit the blood out and slapped the knife. “Not yet,” he shouted, feeling blood from his leg pool under him. Speeding up, he finally turned east thirteen miles later. A sign told him Kaw Lake was seven miles ahead.

Reaching over, he turned the radio down and then heard the diesel engine through the open windows. “Damn diesel,” he mumbled, reaching over and into the road hazard bag. Pulling out a road flare, Bill grumbled, “Can’t sneak up on shit with a diesel.”

Ahead, he saw a large group of stinkers at a wall the Kaw City group had built with crushed cars. Stacking the cars four high Bill had to admit, the wall looked nice and secure. Knowing the wall was the thickest at the road, Bill could see the crushed cars were stacked five high with another stack behind the first. Letting his eyes scan the wall he saw the stacked cars weren’t doubled up a hundred yards off the road. Turning off the road and into a yard, he aimed the truck between two stacks a hundred yards away from the road.

At thirty miles an hour the truck punched through, knocking the two stacks over. Diesel fuel splashed up from the bed and ran down the front windshield as Bill turned the steering wheel right, heading back for the road. Pressing the center console he opened the back sliding window. Gunshots sounded when he passed a group manning a guard post at the road. They only managed to hit the truck a few times as Bill sped past. He smiled when he looked in the rear view mirror and saw the large group of stinkers pouring through the hole he just made. The group shooting stopped and started to engage the tide pouring in.

“You guys get sidetracked too easy,” Bill chuckled, speeding up as steam rolled out from under the hood. “Only a mile,” he said, flooring the accelerator.

Striking the flare, Bill closed his eyes as the flare almost blinded him. Slowing down for a second, he tossed the flare back out the sliding rear window and heard, then felt the whoosh as the truck bed filled with flame.

Closing the rear window before the flames made it inside, he saw flames rolling down the front windshield, igniting the fuel that had splashed over. Feeling his arm getting hot, Bill turned to see his left elbow on fire. “Stop that,” he said, pulling his arm inside and rolling up the windows.

Hearing a thump from the front, Bill looked to see a man flying away. “Need to keep my mind on the task,” he panted as his elbow burned. Reaching up with his left hand, Bill put his thumb through the pull ring of the grenade hanging off his neck.

Pulling the pin, Bill held the spoon and saw the tanker trailers ahead while people poured out of houses, seeing the flaming truck speed past. Guiding the truck off the road and pressing the gas pedal to the floor, Bill flew past a school as he aimed at the first trailer, feeling his mind get very hazy.

“I love you guys. Hope this helps,” Bill sighed, letting the spoon go with a pop.

The truck hit the closest trailer at sixty miles an hour, ripping a hole in its side. When the airbags blew, they knocked Bill out and the fire from the bed flew over the cab, lighting the leaking fuel from the tanker. Two seconds later, the grenade exploded.

Over forty miles away, Johnathan, Sandy, and Mary turned southwest when a loud explosion roared in the distance. Several seconds later, they saw the sky flash when the other three trailers exploded. It took a minute for them to hear the next, much louder explosion.

“That was Bill,” Mary stated, looking at the orange sky to the southwest.

“Yep, he bought us our time,” Johnathan said, turning back around on his sweat-soaked horse.

“A grenade can do that?” Sandy asked, following Johnathan.

“If you use it to set something larger off,” Johnathan replied, wanting to smile for his friend, but couldn’t. “I hope you didn’t suffer,” he whispered under his breath. But in his heart, Johnathan knew Bill had suffered for hours from the bite.

Looking at her watch, “How much further are we shooting for?” Mary asked, and then reached up, wiping the tears from her face.

“We have six hours. I want away from here,” Johnathan said over his shoulder.

Glancing back at the orange sky to the southwest, Sandy nodded. “Yeah, you were right. We have more to fear from humans than stinkers,” she said, turning back around.

Chapter 2

South of Ivy Grove, Kentucky

Leaning back, Lance adjusted the Kydex facemask that covered his face. Using molds of everyone’s faces, the ladybugs and Lilly had made everyone a mask. The black mask covered from the forehead to the jawline, stopping as it reached the ears. Unlike the hockey masks the boys didn’t like, the Kydex mask formed to their face but buckled on like a hockey mask.

With large eye holes, and holes under the formed nose, small slits were over the mouth to allow them to breathe through the mask. Lance and Ian had painted vivid gray skulls on their masks to further distance them from hockey masks.

Lance looked up at the dark sky as a new day was about to begin in this hellish forsaken land. Looking over at the mobile home he was watching, Lance had to admit, the Devil Lords had chosen this hideaway spot better than all the others.

It was a mile outside of the patrol area to the southeast. The mobile home with a barn sat in a large hollow, surrounded on every side by steep, wooded slopes. A winding dirt road led to the site, but the gang had put up a fence around the ridges, so stinkers had never found the area.

Looking over at the dead guard, “Sorry Four-Eyes,” Lance told the corpse. Thanks to Bones’ computer, they knew the original members of the gang. Right now, Lance was waiting for Stone to come out of the trailer.

They’d only grabbed a few hours of sleep after planting the deed with the Nazis. When Lance and Ian had gotten ready to continue their plan, they’d found Lilly waiting on them. Right now, Ian and Lilly were a hundred yards back watching over Lance. Ian was on an M14, Lilly was covering him, and Dino was covering both of them.

Glancing at his watch, Lance sighed. “Stone, you’re late making rounds,” Lance muttered softly as the sun broke in the eastern sky.

Seeing the front door open and a large man without a shirt step out, Lance smiled and leaned back against the guard shack Four-Eyes had been in to keep watch. “Damn, Stone, you’re bigger in person,” Lance mumbled, watching the figure walk over while rubbing his hairy chest.

“Damn it, Four-Eyes, if you’re asleep, I’m going to kick your ass,” Stone growled, then started walking faster.

Before Stone reached Four-Eyes, Lance aimed his AR at Stone, but Stone didn’t notice. “Hey, bitch!” Lance barked, and Stone turned to Lance while grabbing for a pistol at his hip. “Pull it and see if I don’t light your ass up,” Lance dared.

Stone narrowed his eyes, looking at Lance and slowly raising his hands. Looking at the dark gray skull painted on the mask, Stone saw black face paint around Lance’s eyes making the skull seem alive. “You have balls, kid,” Stone growled.

“Shut up, bitch boy,” Lance smirked. “I’m here to give you a message to take to Boss Hog.”

“Who from?”

“Soldiers of the New Dawn,” Lance said, using the name of the white supremacist group.  Seeing Stone’s jaw clench, Lance rested his back against the guard shack, but kept his AR aimed at Stone. “Just to let you know, you have a dozen snipers on you now and a bomb beside your trailer.”

Giving a startle, Stone cut his eyes around the bowl of the hollow. “What’s your message?” Stone asked, turning back to Lance, who was now holding a metal box with an antenna on one end.

Flipping a switch on the box, Lance chuckled to see Stone shudder. “I just armed the bomb on your porch. It has mercury switches, so don’t fart around it,” Lance warned, tucking the remote in his vest.

Breathing deeper and narrowing his eyes at Lance, “Message,” Stone growled.

“Fine,” Lance huffed. “You have three days to leave, or we will make you.”

Stone gave a curt laugh, “Like to see you try.”

“Please. We hit you so many times, you idiots don’t even know it,” Lance chuckled. “I mean, we take out Bones and the others, and you dorks just run around looking stupid. How did you like the toilet?”

The hostile look fell off Stone’s face and was replaced by shock for a few seconds. Slowly the shock left, and evil filled his face. “You’re awful brave, boy,” he said.

“Boy?” Lance snapped. “I have a bucket full of balls, a yard full of dick, and enough hair on my ass to weave an Indian blanket. Have you ever seen a boy put a rubber on with a tire tool? Who are you calling boy, bitch?”

Stone stepped back in surprise from the response and froze to see the barrel of Lance’s AR move with him. “So, three days?” Stone clarified.

“Yes, or you can join us,” Lance offered with a nod and Stone’s face relaxed some.

“What are the terms?”

“Easy. You little punks will be our bitches,” Lance nodded. “You know the difference between like, love, and show off?” Lance asked.

A dark expression filled Stone’s face. “No,” he growled.

“Spit, swallow and gargle,” Lance sang out. “Which ever one of you gives me my daily blow job, I want a show off.”

Stone’s face started turning red and veins stood out on his forehead. “That’s not much of a deal,” he growled in a low voice.

“Hey, you’re the idiots. Feel lucky the captain offered that. I mean, we have a team watching you all the time, have marked every place you’ve been, using your own radios to triangulate,” Lance stopped. “Oh, sorry, that’s a big word. We used your radios to tell us where you’ve been.”

With his head trembling in rage, Stone growled through clenched teeth, “I’ll tell Boss.”

Keeping his AR pointed at Stone, “If you join us, Stone, I want you to show off while you blow me,” Lance smirked, and Stone leaned to move, but Lance gripped the AR, still aiming at his chest. “Don’t, bitch boy,” Lance warned. “I took Four-Eyes with ease.”

Stone slowly cut his eyes over to the body and saw a cut across the neck. “I’ll deliver your message,” Stone said, staring at the body.

Lance nodded, not saying he had caught Four-Eyes asleep and had almost puked when he’d cut the man’s throat. “Get the others up and leave because the bomb will be going off in two hours,” Lance chuckled, stepping backward to the fence. “Don’t slam the door on the trailer, or I’ll have to find another lil’ bitch to deliver the message, and we didn’t leave many of you outside of Pineville alive. Word of advice; don’t go near the barn. It’s going to blow big time and pull in stinkers from everywhere.”

Stone nodded and the ground beside his foot exploded, making him jump. “That’s one of my snipers. He wants you to show off for him, too,” Lance chuckled, opening the small gate and walking out of it backward. “Head to the house and don’t look back, or you will lose some blood.”

Watching Lance close the gate, Stone spun around to run for the mobile home. Before reaching the front porch, he skidded to a stop, seeing a box beside the front door with a blinking light. “You fuckers are so dead,” he growled, easing up on the deck. Seeing six blocks with C4 printed on them, Stone broke out in a cold sweat.

Opening the door very carefully, Stone walked inside, and Lance spun around, taking off in a sprint. “On the way,” he called out, grabbing his PTT.

“Covering,” Ian called back, trying not to laugh. “Man, that was some good shit.”

Lance grinned under his mask, running through the trees. Glancing up the slope, he saw Ian and Lilly running down with Dino leading them. Ian and Lilly reached the buggy before Lance. Never pausing, Lilly jumped behind the steering wheel while Ian jumped in the passenger seat.

When Lance jumped in the back Lilly took off, throwing Lance into the seat. “I’m not in yet!” Lance snapped, getting situated as Lilly sped up the slope.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Lilly exclaimed, panting hard. “Lance, those guys are killers and you were taunting him!”

Finally in the seat correctly, Lance looked out at Dino running beside them. “What? You thought I was going to blow his ego up and fawn all over him?” Lance asked with brash arrogance.

Shaking her head as she weaved through the trees, “Well, no, but I didn’t expect you to goad him on,” Lilly snapped over her shoulder.

“Man, that was great,” Ian laughed, looking out his side. “One of the few times I’m glad I lost ‘rock, paper, scissors’.”

“Lilly, stop, and Ian, call Dino over to get in. Lilly is really moving,” Lance said.

When Dino was in the backseat, Lilly took off again. Ian glanced over at Lilly but since she had on her mask, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Unlike their masks, hers was just plain black, but looked like a plain, frozen face. “I can’t wait to see how the Nazis enjoy our gifts,” Ian said, looking out.

“We could’ve waited before talking to the Devil Lords,” Lilly snapped, jerking the steering wheel around a large tree.

“That’s why the message had to be delivered today,” Lance corrected. “The little dicks will start on the Nazis now while they are reeling from the deeds, and we had to even the playing field before the Nazis regrouped.”

Biting the inside of her cheek, Lilly held her comments. Ian and Lance were both impressed with Lilly’s driving. Not one time while driving back five miles did she ask where to turn before they entered back into the patrol area. “Slow,” Ian said, grabbing his bow.

Lilly stomped the brake, skidding to a halt. “He said slow, not slam on the brakes,” Lance snapped as Ian climbed out, putting an arrow in his bow. Pulling the bow back, Ian aimed at a stinker below them trying to come up the slope.

Still biting her cheek, Lilly watched the stinker drop when the arrow hit. While Ian walked up to retrieve his arrow, Lilly crept along behind him in the buggy. When Ian was back in, Lilly stomped the accelerator, throwing them back again.

“You need to chill, chick,” Ian warned, looking over at her while he held on to the frame.

Not looking over, Lilly gripped the steering wheel tight as she sped along the ridge. When she reached the chute of the diversion fence, Lilly made both boys grip the frame hard when she barely slowed, weaving between the twisting barbed wire walls.

When she was through, Lilly stomped the pedal streaking toward the cabin. Letting the inside of her cheek go, Lilly grabbed her PTT. “Away team returning,” she growled over the radio.

“At the gate,” Carrie’s small voice answered.

Coming over the rise, the buggy went airborne and Lilly slammed on the brakes when they landed, skidding to a halt. “Damn it, you almost threw Dino out!” Lance shouted, slapping the back of Lilly’s helmet rather hard.

Glancing back, she saw Lance crawling over the divider between the seats to check on Dino. “Sorry, Dino,” Lilly said, feeling bad about that.

Turning to the gate, Lilly gave a startle to see the ladybugs opening the gates. When Allie opened the outer gate, Carrie covered as she pulled through. When she stopped inside, Lance climbed out. “Dino,” he said, and Dino jumped out while he closed the inside gate.

When Lance climbed back in, the ladybugs were in the backseat waiting. Driving more reasonably, Lilly pulled around back and turned off the buggy. Climbing out, she found Lance standing beside the buggy and staring at her. “What the fuck is your problem?” Lance snapped.

Ripping her helmet and facemask off, “You! Acting like you’re ten feet tall and bulletproof!” Lilly yelled.

Seeing Lance cross his arms over his chest, Ian bent down to grab Carrie and Allie’s hands and pulled them to the cabin. “I knew what I was doing,” Lance growled behind his mask.

“Lance, this isn’t a game,” Lilly cried out. “Those people will kill us!”

“What? You want us to leave them alone?” Lance teased, rocking his head side to side.

“You are playing jokes on them,” Lilly said, stomping her foot.

Uncrossing his arms, “Lilly, what scares you more? Someone coming in and killing, or someone coming in just harassing you? In your mind, you know they can kill at any time. You see someone screaming with their mouth burning, and you start to doubt everything around you,” Lance said calmly. “You know you are being played with, and at any time the players can hurt you, but they want to torment you. Your only hope is the players continue to enjoy giving you misery because they can kill you at any time but choose not to.”

With her bottom lip quivering, Lilly launched at Lance, wrapping her arms around him. Throwing his arms out so he wouldn’t fall down, Lance looked down at Lilly hugging him. “I can’t take you getting hurt,” Lilly admitted softly in a quivering voice.

Putting his arms around Lilly, Lance hugged her back. “Then don’t doubt us,” Lance said. “Just watch, you’ll understand.”

Looking up, Lilly gave a shudder at the grey skull looking back at her. “Please take that mask off,” she pleaded.

Stepping back, Lance took his helmet off, then unbuckled the mask and pulled it off. Lilly looked at the black face paint surrounding Lance’s eyes. “You look like Alice Cooper,” she chuckled.

“Cool,” Lance grinned, and Lilly did a double take. “I know who Alice Cooper is! Mom listens to him all the time.”

“Wow,” Lilly said, holding out her hand. Lance took it and they headed for the cabin. “I don’t want to see you hurt, or anyone here for that matter.”

Pulling out his key, “Then trust us,” Lance said, opening the back door. “It’s actually easier now because our parents won’t get mad at what we do,” Lance admitted, and for some reason that troubled Lilly. “Having to worry about hurting, maiming, or killing someone used to limit what we could do, but not now.”

Walking in, Lilly looked at Lance, not buying that. “So, you think your mom and dad wouldn’t get pissed with you and Ian sneaking into enemy camps?” Lilly asked.

“Oh, Mom might worry, but we can’t get in trouble with the cops now and Momma said if I ever got arrested, I was in deep shit,” Lance answered, coming to a stop and looking at the table. Jennifer was at the table, staring at Ian in shock. “What did you do to her?” Lance asked.

“Nothing,” Ian answered, snapping his fingers in front of Jennifer’s face and she didn’t blink. “Carrie said she just came up here and sat down after we called in.”

Walking over to the table, “Jennifer, what’s wrong with you?” Lance asked, and Jennifer slowly turned to Lance, keeping the shocked expression.

“What the hell did y’all do to them?” Jennifer mumbled.

Sitting down beside her, “To who?” Ian asked.

“The Nazis,” Allie said, walking in the kitchen. “We watched their security feed. At breakfast, seven fell down screaming.”

“Oh,” Lance laughed. “Just showing them we care.”

Blinking slowly, Jennifer shook her head. “Lance, they were screaming. Screaming like someone was killing them. I haven’t even heard people getting eaten by stinkers scream like that.”

Leaning over, Ian kissed her cheek. “If we hadn’t shown them some love and that we really care, the Nazis might have gotten jealous from the love we showed the little dicks,” Ian stated proudly as he got up.

“Sorry, but I’m taking a nap,” Lance stated, and kissed Lilly on the cheek.

“Me, too,” Ian said, pushing his chair back under the table.

As the boys ran upstairs, Lilly took off her gear and sat down across from Jennifer. “It was that bad?” Lilly asked in a low voice.

“Lilly,” Jennifer gasped. “The only time I’ve heard someone screaming like that, they were getting eaten by stinkers. But one woman was screaming worse than that.”

Carrying two glasses of juice, Allie laughed. “They were crying like little bitches,” she giggled, walking past them back to the living room.

“Show me,” Lilly said, getting up.

Three hours later, Lance and Ian were walking downstairs and found Lilly and Jennifer staring at the projection screen in awe. Coming around, the boys saw the projector was off. Looking over at the ladybugs at their desks watching a lesson on algebra, “What’s wrong with them?” Lance asked.

Lifting the remote, Carrie paused the lesson. “They watched the Nazis screaming like little bitches,” Carrie answered with a huge smile.

Turning to Ian, “I’m going to download what has happened,” Lance said, then waved at the two in a catatonic state. “See if you can fix them.”

As Lance ran down to the bunker, Ian sat down beside Jennifer. “Hey, it was just a deed. Why are you so shocked?” he asked. “You helped,” he reminded her.

“I would rather die than have what happened to them happen to us,” Jennifer said, staring at the screen.

“No shit,” Lilly mumbled as Carrie and Allie came over, jumping on the couch. “Now I understand; the torment of a deed is worse than death.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Allie said, bouncing on her knees.

Lilly and Jennifer turned to Allie with the catatonic state turning to fear as they watched Allie bouncing on her knees. “I’ll be right back,” Ian said, leaning over and kissing Jennifer on the cheek.

When Ian came back carrying a wooden box, he found Jennifer and Lilly staring at Allie with more than a little fear on their faces. Setting the box down, Ian grabbed their chins and turned them forward. “You wanted to know,” Ian said, letting their chins go.

Reaching in the wooden box, Ian pulled out a quart mason jar. It held a thick, reddish liquid with the viscosity of motor oil. The first thought that popped into Jennifer’s mind was, ‘That’s Satan’s piss’.

“Remember when mine and Lance’s mom started their greenhouses?” Ian asked, looking at Jennifer and she nodded. “Well, Lance and I planted some Carolina Reaper peppers. At the time, it was regarded as the hottest pepper in the world, rating over three million units on the Scoville heat unit scale,” Ian said grinning and Jennifer leaned back on the couch. “No pepper spray used by cops goes over a million units.”

“Well, Lance and I grew some and then pressed out the liquid. Then boiled off the water and mixed the paste leftover with the juice from another batch we’d pressed out,” Ian explained, holding up the jar. “Don’t ever let this touch your skin because it burns like holy hell fire.”

Sucking in a breath, Lilly turned to look at the ladybugs beside her. Holding each other’s hands, Carrie and Allie had innocent smiles, looking at her. “Um, did the ladybugs know about the peppers?” Lilly asked timidly, not taking her eyes off them.

“Yeah,” Ian groaned. “They saw us grinding up several bushels into a powder,” Ian huffed, throwing up his hands. “Lance let them help us. We had to get them respirators and rubber gloves. I really wanted to spend my allowance on the new Halo game, but nnnooooo, we had to spend it on supplies for them.”

“It was fun,” Carrie said with a mischievous grin.

Shaken out of her state, Jennifer sat up and turned to the ladybugs. “You didn’t?!” Jennifer gasped, and both ladybugs had small impish smiles. “Beth had to go to the hospital!”

Dropping the smile, “Skank,” Carrie snarled.

“She’d better be glad she stayed away,” Allie added with a serious nod.

With her mouth hanging open, Jennifer turned to Ian who just held up his hands. “Don’t look at me, we didn’t do it,” he said.

“Ian, they really hurt Beth!” Jennifer said.

“You beat her up last summer!” Carrie shouted. “You told Daddy that whore was wearing that bikini just to jump Ian’s bones!”

With her face turning red, Jennifer stared at Carrie. “You were listening?” Jennifer mumbled in shock.

“Yeah, and you made Daddy mad because he had to pick you up at the police station,” Carrie said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I wanted to know why you were stomping Beth’s face at the mall.”

“Whoa,” Ian said, turning to Jennifer with a crooked grin. “You’re an angel and bad girl.”

Clearing her throat, “Um, what’s that?” Jennifer asked, pointing at the box. Settling back on the couch, she wanted to change the subject.

Setting down Satan’s urine, Ian picked up another mason jar that held powder. “Don’t open this unless you are wearing a respirator and…,” he stopped and looked over at Jennifer. “Just don’t open it,” he finally said, shaking the jar. The powder was the consistency of talcum powder.

Holding up the jar, “Trust me, Lance and I found out when this shit gets in your lungs, it burns like gasoline on fire,” Ian said with a shiver. “You don’t care about your eyes and skin burning. This is dried ground reaper.”

“Put it back in the box, please,” Jennifer whispered with wide eyes, looking at the jar and praying Ian wouldn’t drop it. Ian put it back in the box and noticed Lilly was still staring at the ladybugs with fear. The ladybugs were just staring back with innocent grins.

Pulling another jar out, Jennifer saw Ian shake it and she almost took off running. The jar was filled with a thicker powder, but Jennifer saw when Ian shook it, the powder was larger like ground pepper and was moist. “This is ground reaper, but we put just a tad of vegetable oil in it, so it would coat whatever we put it on,” Ian said.

“Have you used any of them before?” Jennifer asked hesitantly.

Shaking his head, “No,” Ian grunted, putting the jar back in the box. “After Beth,” he snapped, looking at the ladybugs and they turned to him, dropping their smiles and scowling. “We moved what we made out here, so the parents wouldn’t find it.”

“Your parents thought you did it?” Jennifer asked.

“No,” Ian chuckled.

“Oh, yeah,” Allie said, standing up on the couch. “When Dad asked you, you just laughed and said why would you or Lance want to hurt Beth? She had hooters!”

Ian’s face paled and he avoided turning to Jennifer. “You and Carrie just crawled up in Dad’s lap acting innocent because he knew both of you helped us in the greenhouse. When Mom came in and started asking questions, you two curled up to Dad and he yelled at Mom to leave you alone!” Ian shouted.

Staring at Ian with narrowed eyes, Jennifer turned to the ladybugs. “Allie, Carrie, thank you so much for putting the beat down on that skank,” Jennifer replied with a satisfied shiver, giving them a smile and turned back to Ian.

“Hey, I’m a boy and she flaunted it!” Ian cried out, throwing up his hands. “Besides, Beth was after Lance.”

“Beth fell from the top of the whore tree and banged every guy on the way down,” Jennifer snapped.

Lilly jerked her head over to Jennifer, grinning. “Meow,” Lilly hissed. “Let’s find the bitch.”

“Oh, I’m sure Beth was one of the first stinkers,” Jennifer replied, glaring at Ian. “Nobody wants to be with somebody who’s been with everybody.”

“Hey, she wasn’t with me!” Ian shouted.

Thinking for a second, “You’re right, I’m sorry,” Jennifer said, then smiled. “Can I ask why?”

“Um,” Ian said, blushing and looking off.

“Shut your damn mouth!” Lance shouted, coming up the basement stairs. “Jesus, I wasn’t gone that long!”

“Lance, shut your mouth!” Jennifer snapped as she jumped up.

Giving Jennifer a look of indifference, Lance walked over to the projector and plugged in a thumb drive. “They tripped every trap we had under cameras, and at least one in the barracks’ bathroom,” Lance said, grabbing the remote.

“Push play and we go outside,” Jennifer warned, walking over and standing in front of Lance.

Tossing the remote on the couch, “Fine, let’s go,” Lance said, bobbing his head.

“Why didn’t you and Ian take Beth up on her offer?” Jennifer said tensely. “Because she damn sure would’ve screwed both of you at the same time.”

“Please,” Lance chuckled. “Beth never really offered, not like Ginger,” Lance replied, then cringed.

Crossing her arms with a fake smile, “Oh, please, do tell,” Jennifer snarled.

Giving a sigh, Lance turned to look at Ian wanting him to intervene. “Dude, you dug this hole, so you fill it back up and don’t look at me,” Ian told him flatly.

“Jennifer, nothing ever happened with Beth and that’s all you need to know,” Lance said, turning back to Jennifer. “Take it out on Ian, and I will make your life a living hell.”

Stumbling back as she gasped, Jennifer glanced at Ian expecting help. “Like I told Lance, you dug this hole and Lance is following the man rules. I would drop it,” Ian advised her.

Looking from Ian to Lance, Jennifer nodded. “Fine, I’ll drop it,” Jennifer said. She knew Lance wouldn’t really hurt her but he would damn sure make her miserable.

Picking up the remote, Lance saw Lilly staring at him. “It’s dropped,” Lance said.

“For now,” Lilly agreed, pulling Lance down beside her. Before Lance could raise the remote, Allie and Carrie jumped in their laps. They hugged both and Lilly smiled at them uneasily as Lance raised the remote.

“Cafeteria. I skipped till you see the first deed,” Lance said, pressing play.

The screen showed the large cafeteria at the Nazi compound, complete with sound. There were hundreds sitting at tables and the overlaid voices sounded loud. Then off to the side, a man fell down screaming.

Everyone in the cafeteria became silent while the man rolled on the floor, wiping his tongue with his hands and screaming. Then, another man screamed, and he pushed through the crowd to a water fountain, holding his mouth open and running water into his mouth.

Several moved to the man on the floor when a woman started screaming and dropped her coffee cup. She clutched her throat and fell down as several ran to her. A man with silver hair stood up. “Shut up!” he shouted, but the man on the floor continued to scream.

Walking across the room, the silver-haired man went to the man screaming and then the woman. “Call the medics!” he shouted, and Lance paused the playback.

“That’s the Commandant,” Lance wooed sarcastically, then pushed play.

The Commandant looked around and then moved, picking up the dropped coffee cup. As he sniffed it, four more people started screaming around the room and everyone turned to the closest person to them. “Don’t drink the coffee!” the Commandant bellowed.

The woman on the floor at the Commandant’s feet was grabbing her throat. Having already seen this, Lilly shook her head at seeing the woman’s swollen face. The woman’s hands looked like marshmallows, they were so swollen.

Three men ran in carrying a stretcher and started working on the woman while the Commandant moved to the coffee pot. “If someone is playing games, I will remove your ass!” the Commandant shouted.

“She’s in anaphylactic shock!” one of the medics yelled as they put the woman on the stretcher and carried her out in a run.

“I will find those responsible!” the Commandant bellowed, and Lance scoffed. “Replace the coffee and I want all captains to report to me now!”

Several cooks ran out, grabbing the large coffee dispenser and carrying it back to the kitchen. “Amateur,” Ian chuckled as the Commandant headed for the door with a line of men following him.

Lance stopped the playback before going to the menu and selected the next video. “This is thirty minutes later,” he chuckled. Lilly and Jennifer both sucked in breaths to see the cafeteria again but now, there were kids and families in the group.

“You didn’t?” Lilly gasped. Neither she nor Jennifer had watched any more after the first one.

“Hey, everyone there is our enemy,” Lance snorted. “Fuck with us and we fuck right back, age, race or gender means nothing when a deed is called for.”

“Lance!” Jennifer cried, looking at the wooden box. Now she knew what they’d put in the sugar dispensers around the room. “Those are kids!”

“Yeah, so? Nobody there is innocent in our eyes,” Lance shrugged as a woman screamed, dropping a glass. When the glass shattered on the floor, it looked like it had been tea. As several ran to her another woman and man started screaming, making everyone in the room freeze.

Then, six kids started screaming and one knocked over a bowl of cereal as he fell to the floor. A man picked the boy up and ran for the door. Like a tidal wave, everyone ran from the possessed cafeteria. When the screen was empty, Lance stopped the playback. The ease that the boys showed dealing out pain even to the kids of their enemy did concern Jennifer. The fact Lance and Ian laughed, watching the torment is what concerned Lilly.

“The first woman died, two of the kids had to be sedated. The others just had burning for several hours,” Lance chuckled, moving to the next video.

“That was cool,” Ian snickered as Allie and Carrie held up their hands to Lance. He gave each a high five and then pressed play. “That is the power house,” Lance grinned when a camera showed the front of the building that held all the batteries.

A man walked into the scene, heading to the building. Stopping before he reached the door, he turned to look out of the camera’s field of view. “This was when the medics were running for the cafeteria,” Lance explained.

Unlike the cafeteria there was no sound, but the man could be seen calling out. For several seconds, the man looked out of the camera’s view, then turned back to the building. Reaching out, the man grabbed the doorknob. Even though she knew what the boys had done, Jennifer jumped with Lilly when the man gave a jerk and flew back several yards before crashing to the ground.

“Told you fifty amps wouldn’t lock their hand on the doorknob,” Ian said with a huge grin.

“Okay, you were right,” Lance chuckled, pressing the stop button and moving to the next scene.

“Did he die?” Lilly asked.

Slapping his thigh, “That man was dead before he landed,” Ian laughed.

Pressing play, “That man laid there for fifteen minutes before someone in the security shack noticed him,” Lance said, and the screen showed the dead man in front of the building.

“Don’t they record?” Jennifer asked.

“They can, but only the cafeteria,” Lance snorted. “All their cameras are wireless. That’s how I was able to hack into their network.”

A group ran up to the figure on the ground. One checked his pulse while another held an AR to his shoulder, looking around. Watching the screen, they saw one man kneeling beside the dead man pull an ice pick out and shove it into the skull. “I was really hoping that would put one stinker inside,” Ian moaned.

“Can’t have everything,” Lance sighed as one of the men walked over to the building. Lilly and Jennifer still jumped when the man grabbed the doorknob and was thrown back. The flying dead man crashed into three of the others, knocking them down.

The man holding the AR to his shoulder aimed at the door and they saw the AR flash several times and holes getting punched into the door. One of the others punched the shooter in the side of the head, knocking him down. He moved over to stand over the shooter, and they could tell he was screaming.

“Man, I wish we had sound,” Ian laughed with his eyes glued to the screen.

“He didn’t hurt anything,” Lance said, pushing stop and moving to the next scene. “They crawled in through a window and disarmed the door.”

Leaning back and looking down the couch at Ian, Lance grinned. “You will fucking love this,” he said, then sat back and raised the remote dramatically and pressed play. “This is an hour after the woman was taken out, or 0830.”

The screen showed the cafeteria and it was packed. All the tables were full, and others stood in ranks around the room. In front of the assembled Nazis was the Commandant and beside him, standing at attention were seven men. Lilly reached over and pressed pause. “Is that all of them?” she asked, looking at the mass of bodies.

“Yep, counting kids, there are eight hundred and sixteen,” Lance nodded, then smacked his forehead. “Sorry, eight hundred and twelve now. We took out four so far. You’ll hear about the next one.”

“Who are the ones beside the Commandant?” Jennifer asked.

“Those are the captains,” Ian answered, staring at the screen.

“Why can we hear them in the cafeteria?” Carrie asked.

Pulling Carrie to his chest, “Because the Commandant makes speeches there, and everyone has to watch them,” Lance answered, with Carrie’s back to his chest. “That’s why these cameras are so good, all are HD.”

“You said they don’t record,” Jennifer said, not really wanting the video to play.

“They can record on all of them, but only record when punk boy gives a speech,” Lance corrected.

Ian huffed, “Which is almost every day.”

When Lance pressed play, Jennifer sighed and looked at all the people with a little remorse. After seeing the mason jars, she had a good idea what was about to happen. “Watch the back corner,” Lance snickered as the Commandant started talking.

“We have been attacked!” he shouted, clasping his hands behind his back. “This morning, many of you witnessed the juvenile prank,” the Commandant snapped, and then started pacing in front of the crowd.

“I’ll show you juvenile, pecker jockey,” Ian growled.

“Somehow, pepper was placed in sugar dispensers in the mess hall,” the Commandant said in a booming voice. “The inferior races can’t combat us on the field, so they resort to these childish pranks. We are chosen above all to cleanse this world and spread the true form that God intended to walk this Earth.”

“Oh, we are so going back,” Ian snapped as the Commandant stopped his pacing, staring at the crowded room.

“We are each pure and because of this, others fear us. As many of you have heard, Captain Darren was killed and so was his second in command, Lieutenant Everest,” the Commandant said with a tense face. “They were training several others to monitor the power station, so do not fear.”

Ian leaned over everyone to grab the remote and pause the video. “You mean, we got the ones who knew how to run the power?” Ian asked with a huge grin.

Nodding with a Cheshire Cat smile, “Seems that way,” Lance chuckled. As Ian sat back laughing, Lance pushed play and the Commandant continued.

“Our new Reich cannot be put off with these actions!” the Commandant shouted. “Teams are searching the compound now for more pranks and we have found several.”

“No, you didn’t,” Lance laughed.

“Two platoons will be going out today because the perpetrators can’t be far,” the Commandant said, then motioned to a large man off to the side. “Sergeant Major Clanton assures me it would take a large group several days to set up what we’ve found-”

Jennifer busted out laughing. “You haven’t met Ian and Lance,” she giggled out.

“- in the compound. Until the search is complete, don’t touch anything unusual,” the Commandant warned. “I would advise everyone to throw away your toothpaste because it seems several were contaminated with pepper like the sugar. Corporal Plaster suffered an anaphylactic reaction like Ms. Delmont. Despite the medical staff’s best efforts, we weren’t able to save them.”

The Commandant moved over to a man holding two kids. “Don’t worry, Sergeant Delmont, you will have revenge on the inferior race responsible,” the Commandant said, and Delmont nodded.

“There he goes,” Lance said as a man got up and moved through the crowd to the far corner while the Commandant started pacing again.

“We don’t think it was the Devil Lords but haven’t ruled them out, since we did wipe out four of their patrols. Sergeant Major suspects the group we hit last week, since most were young and mixed races-”

The man reached the corner and flipped a switch, turning on ten ceiling fans over the group. Four small explosions like shotgun blasts sounded above the crowd from four of the fans. The group cried out, looking up as fine powder puffed out and rained down.

As the fans picked up speed blowing the powder down, dozens of people started screaming and coughing. The Commandant tried to yell, but fell down in a coughing scream. Many tried moving to the doors, but there were too many bodies in the way.

Lilly and Jennifer’s mouths fell open, watching the entire room collapse with coughing and screaming. “Shit monkey,” Jennifer moaned, watching the chaos. There wasn’t anyone in the cafeteria who wasn’t coughing and clawing at their chest.

Lifting the remote, Lance stopped the playback. “Since Jennifer and Lilly don’t like watching everyone get hurt, I’ll move on,” Lance said, and Carrie reached up, grabbing his hand.

“They need to grow hairy balls!” Carrie shouted, trying to press play, but Lance covered the remote buttons with his hands.

As Carrie tried to pry the remote free, “Carrie, they just have to get used to war,” Lance said, and Allie moved over to help Carrie.

“Lilly, don’t be a pussy,” Allie grunted, trying to pry Lance’s fingers up. “I want to watch the granny panty sniffers crying! A deed was called for and delivered, we want to watch!”

Hearing the last remark, because it’d sounded just like Lance and Ian, Lilly gave a shiver and just watched the girls fighting Lance for the remote. It never crossed her mind once to stop the ladybugs. “Hey!” Lance snapped, and they quit. “It gets better.”

“Really?” they both cried out with glee.

“Oh, yeah,” Lance said, moving to the next scene. “This is just over an hour later. You can still see some are affected by the pepper cloud. Three died in the cafeteria from the powder.”

The screen showed a large group of men standing in front of one of the barracks. There was no sound, but one man in front of the group was talking and they could see several in the group coughing, and all of them had red faces and watery eyes. “Oh,” Jennifer gasped, remembering that area, and her eyes moved to a trash can beside the building.

“They’re outside. Don’t you think you wasted another pepper cloud?” Jennifer asked, looking at a large brown paper bag beside the trash can.

“Never duplicate a deed on the same objective,” Lance and Ian said together.

Ian leaned closer to Jennifer. “You can’t do them back-to-back because they know what to look for. You never set up two of the same thing when you do a deed,” Ian explained. “That’s why we did the coffee and sugar. They smelled the coffee, but didn’t connect it to the sugar.”

“But the beads in the engines,” Jennifer said, watching the screen.

“No, that’s one deed just on twenty engines, like the thirty-two sugar containers,” Ian shrugged, turning back to the screen. “It will take time for the metal to work.”

Seeing a man move to the trashcan, Jennifer tensed up. “So, what did you do?” she asked, cringing as the man lifted the lid.

The large paper bag exploded with a puff and they saw over a dozen men drop down. Jennifer was thankful for no sound because she could see everyone close was on the ground and screaming. “Holy shit, their clothes are smoking!” Lilly shouted.

“Cool, huh?” Lance grinned, and Lilly jumped back when she saw one of the men screaming on the ground, and could clearly see his face was melting.

In stunned silence, Lilly and Jennifer looked at the men and saw several stripping off smoking clothes while others ran over. Several others stopped them from getting closer. In full color, they watched the group beat at spots on their bodies that appeared to be melting with black ooze.

“What did you do?” Jennifer mumbled.

Clearing his throat and puffing out his chest, “Fluoroantimonic acid bomb,” Ian said proudly.

Almost throwing Allie to the floor when she jumped off the couch, Lilly spun toward Ian. “That’s one of the strongest superacids known! How did you get some?” she screamed in shock.

Blinking as his smile fell off his face, “Um, I made it?” Ian answered in shock.

“You know how dangerous that stuff is?” Lilly cried out. “If you throw water on it, you get a violent reaction!”

“Yeah, they’re about to find out,” Lance chuckled, looking at the screen. Lilly spun around as a man ran over with a water hose.

“Oh, shit,” Lilly said as the man squeezed the trigger, wetting everyone who was screaming. Those who were standing and screaming fell down with the others, and everyone saw several were passed out as smoke boiled off the bodies.

“Yes Lilly, I know,” Ian chuckled. “That’s why I picked that one.”

Not looking away from the screen, “Ian, that stuff is more dangerous than the explosives. Please be beyond careful,” Lilly begged, watching the horror of the deed playing out.

“Trust me, making that shit, I’m in a rubber hazmat suit behind a shield,” Ian said, and Lance pushed stop.

“Don’t know how many died there,” Lance admitted, moving to another scene. “This was an hour after that. You can still see their faces are red and swollen,” Lance said, pressing play.

The screen showed a dirt ATV trail through the woods and Jennifer, now numb, just watched. From the top of the screen, two side by sides were following the trail. They heard the engines groan while the front side by side’s tires followed the ruts in the trail. When it reached the center of the screen, an explosion shook the camera and shut off the microphone. They watched the men sitting in the front side by side get torn apart when ball bearings from the claymore mine erupted on the trail.

Following too close, the second side by side slammed into the first one as the wounded and dead fell out of both vehicles. “That was cool,” Lilly admitted.

Like he had been injured, Lance looked up at her. “So, a crude mine is cool, but a thought-out deed seems barbaric?” Lance huffed, feeling he was being insulted.

“Sorry, but how did you rig it so a stinker didn’t set it off?” Lilly asked, watching the chaos.

“Had two triggers in the ruts. Both had to be pushed down to set the claymore off,” Lance told her.

Clearly impressed, when the microphone cut back on, Lilly heard the wails of pain from the wounded. “Never would’ve thought of that,” Lilly admitted. “Did you set up a secondary?”

Surprised, Lance stared at the side of her face. “How do you know about secondaries?”

“Duh, I watch the same training videos you do,” Lilly answered. Then on the far left side of the screen, there was a loud screeching sound followed by a whoosh as a rocket took off. When the rocket took off, a shrill whistling scream rose up in the air with the rocket.

“What did that do to them?” Allie asked, curling into Lance’s side since Lilly was still standing.

“Rang the dinner bell,” Lance chuckled.

After watching two more videos, a part of Jennifer was kind of sorry that was all the Nazis had tripped so far. She didn’t mind the killing, but was having trouble with the misery from the deeds. Granted, after the deeds done to the Devil Lords, Jennifer was slowly warming up to them.

Then Lance showed them videos taken from the Nazis computer. The videos had been taken by handheld cameras and showed groups killing survivors. In one, a black family was tied out for stinkers. After that one alone, Jennifer was ready for Ian and Lance to deliver more deeds.

“Okay, time for Ian and me to get to work in the shop,” Lance said, pressing stop. “Back to our routine tomorrow.”

“So, the Commandant called everyone back?” Jennifer asked, getting up.

“Yeah, punk ass,” Lance snarled, getting up. “Don’t know yet how many we’ve taken down.”

Lilly hugged him. “Well, I can tell you for certain, they are terrified to even walk around inside their compound,” she said.

“Just what we want,” Lance grinned, hugging her back. With the dogs in tow, everyone headed for the shop.

Chapter 3

Northwest of Centralia, Oklahoma

Looking out over the swollen Verdigris River, Johnathan sighed still thinking about Bill. “Stop it,” he told himself again. Try as he might, Johnathan couldn’t think of a way to protect them from bites without stopping for several days or even a week. Even if they did find what he needed, Johnathan knew it wouldn’t protect them long from stinkers. Shaking his head, Johnathan mumbled for the hundredth time, “Just have to get home.”

The night before last they had traveled ninety miles, pushing the horses very hard but they had wanted away from that area. Reaching the Verdigris River, they’d found a large island and crossed over. The horses only had to swim in short stints. Johnathan was glad because neither of the wives had ever ridden a horse while it swam.

Nobody had wanted to take a night of travel off, but the horses and dogs were exhausted, so they had stayed on the island. Out of every place they had camped, nothing beat the island. During their trip, Johnathan had noticed stinkers wouldn’t go near water when they couldn’t see the bottom. Stinkers avoided it like the plague they were.

For the first time since they had made landfall from Hawaii, everyone got rest and some good, deep sleep. It seemed harsh, since they had just lost Bill, that everyone passed out, but the human body would only tolerate so much abuse. In truth, Johnathan admitted they drove themselves to exhaustion to drive the sorrow from their minds, but it didn’t work.

Stepping back from the riverbank and into the trees, Johnathan looked across the river to see a stinker walking through a field. A cold hate filled his heart, almost making Johnathan lift his AR up and pop the stinker. Then, reason settled in. “He died from a stinker, but only because of humans,” Johnathan exhaled, turning around. “In the end, we will all be a stinker, I guess.”

Walking back into camp with Dan beside him, he looked over at Mary on top of her sleeping bag with Ann curled up beside her. Looking at the watch on his AR’s sling, Johnathan saw the wives had some more time to sleep. With Bill gone, they had moved to one person on watch. Each person took three-hour shifts.

The day they had arrived on the island, nobody had fallen asleep until the late afternoon. That was another reason Johnathan wanted to take a night of travel off. If they hadn’t, there was no doubt in his mind, they would’ve made mistakes.

From three that afternoon, the only time anyone had been awake was if they were on watch. When they got off watch, they would crash down, going back to sleep. Other than his heart hurting so much from the loss of Bill, Johnathan was feeling much better physically with the deep sleep.

Sitting down on his sleeping bag, Johnathan made room for Dan as he pulled out the atlas and topo book. They would cross over into Missouri tonight, staying well south of Joplin and they didn’t have topo books for the states ahead. Laying the atlas down, Johnathan contemplated making a stop to look for one.

“Not worth it,” he mumbled, picking up the atlas and placing it beside the topo book of Kansas. They had skirted the Kansas-Oklahoma border and were now eight miles into Oklahoma. The edges of Oklahoma were in the Kansas topo book.

Hearing Johnathan mumble, Sandy sat up yawning. “You say something, honey?”

“No, go back to sleep,” Johnathan said, and Sandy looked at her watch and saw Johnathan had taken her guard duty.

Crawling over to Johnathan’s sleeping bag, “You took my turn,” she said, sitting beside him.

“Believe it or not, I wasn’t tired,” Johnathan replied, looking at the atlas and then the topo book.

Wiping her eyes, Sandy looked over at Mary with Ann curled up beside her. “I still can’t believe he’s gone,” she sighed.

Closing his eyes, Johnathan reached over to squeeze Sandy’s hand. “Sweetheart, don’t,” Johnathan told her. “We have to move on and keep our heads in the game, or none of us will make it.”

Returning the squeeze, Sandy forced her tears away. “This new world is bullshit,” she moaned.

“When we get home, we will pay our respects,” Johnathan reminded her.

“What are you studying so hard?” Sandy asked, leaning over. “You had our route planned this morning.”

“Looking for rivers or lakes,” Johnathan told her. “Stinkers won’t come near them. I think if we find islands or even a peninsula, we could get sleep like we did here. On a peninsula, one person could keep watch easy.”

Sandy leaned closer to the maps. “Are you sure? I mean, we saw stinkers in that stream in Utah,” she said.

Giving a curt laugh, “Sandy, that stream was ankle-deep,” Johnathan said. “But thinking back, I’ve never seen a stinker get near water when they couldn’t see the bottom. Remember in Colorado, those stinkers wouldn’t cross that river after us? The water was dark-colored and was only four or five feet deep. Yet, they stood on the bank watching us go up the mountain.”

Lifting her head up, Sandy looked off, thinking. “When we ran out on the dock to get in the boat in Hawaii, now that you mention it, the few stinkers that came out onto the dock never got near the edge,” she said, then turned to him. “You said they don’t breathe, so why would they be afraid of water?”

Shrugging his shoulders, “Beats me,” Johnathan admitted. “But I’ve been standing out on the river bank and have seen bodies floating past.”

Johnathan raised his eyes, waiting to see if Sandy caught what he’d said. Sandy’s eyes grew big and she sucked in a breath. “They can drown!” she almost cried out.

“Yes, somehow, they can,” Johnathan said, patting her leg. “Even if those bodies were humans who’d drowned, they should’ve turned to stinkers. So, either they couldn’t, which doesn’t make any sense, or stinkers can drown.”

Grabbing the atlas, “How many fucking rivers do we cross going home?” she asked.

“Sweetheart, we aren’t out west anymore,” Johnathan said. “We are getting to the part of the journey I don’t like. We will have to find and cross bridges.”

“The horses can swim,” Sandy stated, running her finger over the page.

“Sandy, not big rivers,” Johnathan said. “Remember, we lose our rides, we are walking.”

Nodding with a shrug, “So we will only make them swim across small rivers,” Sandy offered. “Where are you planning on stopping tonight?”

Leaning over, Johnathan pointed. “There. See how the river forms a sharp bend? That’s called an oxbow. I’m sure we can find a peninsula around there.”

Looking at where they were and then over to where Johnathan was pointing, “That’s only forty miles,” Sandy said.

Patting Sandy’s leg, very proud of her, “Yes, it’s forty-two miles,” Johnathan grinned. “You didn’t even have to measure with a piece of paper.”

“Please,” Sandy scoffed. “I stopped doing that before we reached Kansas.”

Putting his arm over her shoulders, “Okay, I want you to plot our route from tomorrow’s spot to the next one. Keep the forty-mile rule because we are in hills again and we can’t wear the horses down,” Johnathan said. “Aim for water and avoid any population centers over ten thousand by thirty miles.”

Studying the map, Sandy ran her finger east. “Can I stay on the unimproved roads?” she asked.

“Yes, but always have a backup route on your main route,” Johnathan told her, watching her finger move across the map.

“Here, above Cassville. There’s a river forming an oxbow,” Sandy said, then traced her route back.

Pulling her into his side, “Very good. Now, make alternate routes to the north and south of your planned route with different stopping points,” he told her. “Don’t get near Chain-O-Lakes because there were a lot of people there.”

After Sandy had alternate routes planned out, she looked up at Johnathan. “I make one above and one below, in case we have to leave the planned route?” she clarified, and Johnathan nodded.

As she looked at Johnathan smiling at her, a cold hand gripped her heart, realizing what Johnathan was doing. Johnathan saw the change in Sandy’s face and knew she had figured it out. “Sandy, you have to learn this and so does Mary. Like you said, this new world sucks,” Johnathan told her in a low voice.

Nodding her head and blinking her eyes dry, Sandy looked back at the map. “What else do I do?”

For the next hour, Johnathan showed her how to plan her routes from far away to avoid population, and judge the terrain by the roads and streams. Even without topo maps, Sandy saw what Johnathan was explaining. When he closed the book, Johnathan had her recite the route home.

Now, starting at two hundred miles away from the cabin, Sandy recited the route from the western edge of Kentucky. When she was almost done, Mary sat up stretching. Before Mary got up, Sandy was done. Getting to her feet, Mary looked down when Ann leaned against her leg.

“Thank you, girl,” Mary said, wiping her eyes. She looked back to where Bill should be lying beside her. Seeing the empty ground, Mary bit her lip to stop the tears before they started again.

Sandy jumped up and ran over to hug Mary. Hugging Sandy back, “I’m okay. It just hurts,” Mary whimpered, fighting not to cry. “I have to be strong. I promised to get to the kids.”

“And we will. We just have to be strong,” Sandy repeated, fighting her own tears.

After a few minutes they released each other, and Johnathan patted the sleeping bag beside him. “Sandy had her lesson, now it’s your turn,” he said with a soft smile.

“Uhhhg,” Mary moaned, walking over and sitting down beside Johnathan. As Mary recited the route, Sandy started coffee and food. Looking over at Sandy as she worked, Johnathan chuckled to see her mouth moving silently along while Mary recited it.

Both Johnathan and Bill had worked with the wives on maps and planning routes, but after losing Bill, Johnathan wanted them ready if they lost him too.

When Sandy brought coffee over, Mary was planning her alternate routes. “This is what Ian and Lance had to pass to get that merit badge?” Mary asked, looking up.

“No,” Johnathan chuckled, and Mary sighed with relief. “What they had to pass was much harder,” Johnathan told her, and Mary’s eyes got big. “They had to use a map, protractor, and compass to find a fence post in different areas of a forest.”

“I knew I should’ve been more active in Ian’s scouting,” Mary groaned, leaning back over the atlas. “I just put on ten pounds, trying to sell those damn cookies Allie and Carrie brought home.”

“You weren’t the only one,” Johnathan grinned.

“I had the cookie weight off two months later,” Sandy said, standing behind them and watching Mary.

“Took me a little longer,” Johnathan admitted.

After eating, they checked gear. Now, Mary was wearing the tool belt with Bill’s gear. She gave the magazine holsters she’d worn for the AR to Sandy. Now Sandy had so much hanging on her belt, her pants were being tugged down. So during guard duty, everyone had taken turns weaving suspenders for Sandy.

While Johnathan and Mary saddled the horses, Sandy sat down and had to re-fletch a dozen arrows. They were now down to eighty arrows. Crossing the eastern side of Colorado, they had lost several dozen. A stinker’s head was a small target and didn’t stay still when the stinker walked. Nobody ever looked for an arrow at night if they missed.

When she was done, Sandy packed up the bow repair kit and stuck the repaired arrows on her pack horse, so the glue could dry. Checking her AR, “Johnathan, I want to lead some tonight,” Sandy said.

Happy to hear that, Johnathan looked over at her somewhat shocked. “Um, sure, sweetheart,” he replied. “Just tell me when.”

“Starting off,” Sandy said, press checking her AR. Seeing brass, she let the bolt go and tapped the forward assist, then closed the dust cover.

“I’ll take the back,” Mary said, closing the dust cover on her AR. “Sandy, how about we swap every few hours?”

Thinking for a second, Sandy nodded. “Okay,” she agreed. “Johnathan, you stay in the middle and tell us what we aren’t doing.”

With a genuine smile, Johnathan nodded. “Very well,” he said, very proud of them. “Keep Dan with you then.”

As the sun started dropping below the horizon, they walked around one last time, making sure they had everything. Climbing up on her horse, “Think they will have to swim again?” Sandy asked.

“Yeah, the east side looks deeper than the west side, but the current isn’t that fast,” Johnathan advised. “Just make sure you look across the river and guide them to where they can get out.”

“It’s flat on the other side,” Sandy said, turning her ball cap around backward.

Laughing, “It’s not always like that,” Johnathan assured her.

Taking a deep breath, Sandy guided her horse through the trees to the river. Her horse just walked right in, heading for the other bank. Feeling her guide rope for her pack horse pulling, Sandy reached back yanking it. “Get your butt in the water,” she snapped over her shoulder.

Johnathan had Bill’s horse leading his pack horse and Mary had Bill’s pack horse trailing hers. When they stopped in the morning, Johnathan made up his mind to talk about swapping out on Bill’s horse. This way, the horses would get a break.

When her horse walked up the opposite bank, Sandy took off her sunglasses as the light faded and pulled her bow from her saddle. Resting the bow across her saddle, she cradled her AR and guided her horse across the field.

Hearing hoof beats, she turned to see Johnathan pull up beside her. “Sandy, when you cross a boundary like that, look back and make sure everyone has crossed before moving on,” he told her.

“Shit, forgot,” she groaned. “I’ve seen you and Bill do that like a hundred times, I should’ve known.”

“Sweetheart, it’s okay,” Johnathan assured her. “Keep scanning and every few minutes, glance back to make sure you have everyone.”

“Okay,” she nodded with determination. “My horse is doing a four-mile-an-hour walk now, right?”

“Yeah, about that. Remember your route and the points you cross, then you can figure out if you have to speed up to reach the stopping point. Now, we really want to be bedded down before sunrise,” Johnathan explained, pulling back.

Glancing back, he saw Mary looking around behind them. Pulling back more, Johnathan fell in beside her. “Every ten minutes, turn back and watch for a good minute. This way, you can tell if anyone is sneaking up on us. On roads, look back longer,” Johnathan instructed, and Mary nodded. “Look for breaks in bushes or unnatural outlines in the trees around us.”

Very tense and with her head constantly swiveling side-to-side, Sandy kept a southeast heading and they only ran into a few stinkers. Most were near Interstate 44. At midnight, Sandy and Mary swapped places and they swung onto Hwy 60 to cross the upper Lake O’ the Cherokee.

Mary stayed on the median as they approached the bridge when Johnathan pulled up beside her. “Hold and watch,” he said, pulling his horse to a stop.

“Stinkers are close,” she whispered, seeing several had noticed them and were closing.

“We will take care of them,” Johnathan said, lifting his bow. “Look ahead for glints of light or noise that could be people watching the bridge.”

Gritting her teeth hard, Mary nodded. “Got it,” she almost growled.

“Mary, don’t get sidetracked. If you see something you don’t like, we change routes,” Johnathan reminded her as he pulled his bow back, releasing the arrow. The arrow streaked over the road to hit a stinker thirty yards away. “We can deal retribution later. We don’t have the ammo right now.”

Taking a deep breath as she stared ahead at the bridge a mile away, “I understand, I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

“Hey, don’t be sorry,” Johnathan huffed, climbing off his horse. “I almost told you two to head on, so I could go back for the cocksuckers.”

Hearing the anger in Johnathan’s voice, Mary smiled, hardly blinking as she scanned for anything near the bridge. “Glad you didn’t. Don’t know if we can make it without you,” she confessed.

Pulling his arrow out of the stinker, Johnathan saw Sandy shooting one coming out of the woods. “That’s why I’m here,” Johnathan admitted, putting the same arrow back in his bow. Pulling his bow back, he aimed at a stinker to their front.

Sandy climbed off her horse and retrieved her arrow, hearing Johnathan shoot. She turned to see a stinker in front of Mary drop. Yanking her arrow out of the young boy stinker, Sandy reached down and patted Dan who was looking around. “Good boy,” she praised, moving toward her horse.

After ten minutes, Johnathan let Mary lead them to the bridge. Sandy cringed when she led her horse onto the road so they could cross the bridge. The clatter of hooves made all the stinkers on the bridge turn toward them.

Leading his horse by the reins, Johnathan moved up beside Mary and passed over his reins, so she could lead his horse. Stepping in front of Mary, Johnathan pulled his bow back to shoot a stinker that was charging them. Releasing the arrow, Johnathan reloaded and pulled back his bow, shooting another one.

Looking down the mile they had to go to cross the bridge, Sandy could see fifty to sixty shadows of stinkers on the bridge. “Honey, that’s an awful lot,” Sandy whispered, glancing back and seeing the stinkers behind them still following, but not getting closer.

Continuously shooting, Johnathan’s arm was getting tired by the time they were halfway across. That’s when Sandy pulled up and climbed off her horse. “I’ll clear,” she said, tucking the reins in her suspenders.

“Just need a breather,” Johnathan admitted, shaking his arm and then moving up to pull his arrows out of two stinkers.

“Honey, you’ve shot fifty-one in thirty minutes,” Sandy informed him, pulling her bow back and releasing an arrow.

“Yeah, I emptied my quiver back there and had to run ahead to get my ammo back before we reached this pack,” he said, wiping his arrows off and putting them in his quiver.

As Johnathan turned and walked backward to watch behind them, Mary cleared her throat. “Johnathan, when should I help?” she asked.

“Shit, Mary, I’m sorry,” Johnathan said. “You should have your .22 pistol out covering us. Just shoot if you think we are in danger. Because if you shoot, we will have to move fast. That Mark 3 is quiet, but will still bring attention.”

Pulling the pistol out of the shoulder holster, Mary nodded. “Moving fast that’s not planned, always leads to mistakes,” she recited, looking ahead as Sandy dropped a stinker and quickly reloaded to shoot another one.

Shaking his tired arm, Johnathan nodded. “Bill, they committed what we talked about to memory,” he mumbled under his breath, and was filled with pride for the wives and his friend.

Leaving over a hundred stinkers toes up on the bridge in their wake, they reached the other side and Mary led them onto a dirt road. “That was a workout,” Sandy gasped, shaking her tired arms as she looked behind them.

“And we didn’t even lose an arrow,” Johnathan said.

“I want that machinegun crossbow we saw on Mythbusters,” Sandy declared with a nod.

Laughing, “Remember, they didn’t have much accuracy,” Johnathan said as the dirt road passed between two large fields. Only seeing deer out in the fields and nothing ahead, Johnathan relaxed in his saddle.

“Johnathan,” Sandy called softly, pulling up beside him. “Did Mary and I do right, leaving our spot and running for the horses at the barn?” Sandy asked, terrified of the answer.

Never expecting that, Johnathan’s body gave a jerk at the question, and Mary heard the question, slowing down to get closer. “Sandy, if you and Mary hadn’t left right then, we would all be dead,” Johnathan answered in a normal voice which sounded really loud.

“I was the last out of the barn, remember?” Johnathan told them with wide eyes, waving his arm across his body. “The stinkers never beat on that back bay door. One second it was standing and the next, it was knocked down and a tidal wave of stinkers filled the barn. I barely had time to get on my horse and get out. Those stinkers were literally within arm’s reach of me. If you and Mary had waited just ten more seconds, none of us would have made it.”

Both Mary and Sandy sighed with relief. “Sorry, but I thought…” Sandy started and stopped.

“Sandy, the only fault lies with those who led those stinkers there,” Johnathan asserted. “I’ve played it over in my mind a hundred times. Should we have left during the day-,” Johnathan sighed. “I could go on, but I can’t see a way we could’ve left without fighting the stinkers or that group. To be honest and I’m not being an ass, I’m shocked you and Mary knew to haul ass.”

Looking ahead, a shiver ran down Sandy’s spine. “Johnathan, the stinkers came out of those trees like a tidal wave. They were knocking down trees bigger than my leg. Mary and I used every magazine for our ARs and the .22s. We didn’t even make a dent. There were thousands!” Sandy gasped, reliving the scene in her mind’s eye.

“You two did great, and you remember that,” Johnathan stated in slower than normal speech, but very clearly wanting the wives to know they did nothing wrong and everything right. “Because of you two, we are still heading home.”

“Just what he wanted us to do,” Mary breathed out, forcing a smile.

“Hey, we heard the shots. Bill stopped them from coming after us,” Johnathan reminded them, feeling pride again in his friend. “And I’m willing to bet anything, that explosion was Bill’s way of taking the war to the enemy.”

Pulling her reins back and slowing her horse, Sandy turned around to look behind them for several minutes. “I’m making it to my baby boy,” Sandy vowed softly.

Chapter 4

At the cabin, Kentucky

Stifling a yawn, Lance brushed Allie’s hair gently. “You’re going to start doing my hair,” Lilly informed Lance, sitting beside him on the couch. Glancing over, Lance saw Lilly go to work braiding Carrie’s hair.

“You women are wearing me out,” Lance grumbled, putting the brush down and started braiding.

Walking over while carrying two cups of coffee, Jennifer smirked at the two. “How are your kids this morning?” Jennifer chuckled.

“About to get beat,” Lance answered, and Carrie stuck her tongue out at her sister.

Setting the cups down for Lance and Lilly, Jennifer turned around when Ian handed her a cup. “Man, two kids already,” Ian snorted.

Arching his right eyebrow, Lance cut his eyes over at Ian. “Yeah, what of it?” Lance popped off.

Sitting down on the sectional, “Just making an observation,” Ian grinned, and Jennifer sat down beside him.

Grumbling as he braided Allie’s hair, Lance looked over and saw Lilly was almost done. Feeling like a sissy, Lance sighed and continued braiding. “All done,” Lilly announced, sitting back and Carrie turned around and fell on Lilly, hugging her.

Jennifer couldn’t help but grin when Lilly hugged Carrie back, but still had a worried look on her face. Blowing on her coffee, Jennifer took a sip as Carrie let Lilly go and ran to the kitchen. “Done,” Lance said in a tone of accomplishment.

Spinning around, Allie hugged him and then leaned her head back, looking at Lance’s now long hair. Taking the brush from Lance’s hand, she climbed on the sectional and stood behind him. “Your hair is long,” Allie declared as she started brushing his hair.

“I can keep it out of my eyes,” Lance grunted as Allie brushed his hair back. Lilly looked over and saw Lance’s black hair was between his shoulder blades.

Moving over, “I didn’t know your hair was that long,” Lilly chuckled.

“Mom never let my hair touch the back of my neck,” Lance laughed. “I’m sure when she gets here, she will find some scissors.”

Pulling a rubber band off the handle of the hairbrush, Allie pulled all of Lance’s hair back and tied it up in a ponytail. Feeling the rubber band being put on, Lance’s eyes got wide. “Allie, what the hell are you doing?”

Looking down at her work, “Wow, you look like Ponytail,” Allie grinned in awe.

Turning back to look at Allie in awe, “Segal?!” Lance cried out and Allie nodded.

Jumping up, Lance spun around, leaping up on the sectional and ran over the sectional jumping off the back, almost making it to the men’s bathroom with the leap. Flipping on the light, Lance skidded on the floor and looked in the mirror. “This is cool as shit!” he shouted, turning his head side-to-side to see the long black ponytail.

Putting her coffee cup down, Jennifer snapped her fingers. “Allie, give me the brush,” Jennifer said. Allie turned to Jennifer like she was about to unleash. “Don’t,” Jennifer warned. “Give me the brush because you know I can say stuff to Lance.”

With a long brooding sigh, Allie walked along the sectional, stepping over Lilly’s lap. “Here,” Allie moaned, thrusting the brush out.

“Thank you, ladybug,” Jennifer smiled, and Allie grinned and jumped off the sectional, running to the kitchen. Turning to Ian, “I’m not as little as Allie to stand behind you on the couch, so sit on the floor,” Jennifer said pushing Ian.

Trying not to spill his coffee, “All right, chill,” Ian groaned, sitting on the floor.

Putting her legs on each side of Ian, Jennifer started brushing as Lance strutted back in. Lilly winked at him, “I like it,” she said slyly.

“Dude!” Ian cried out, grinning. “Hell, yeah!” Ian shouted and rolled his head back. “Are you doing that to me?”

Pushing Ian’s head until he was looking ahead, “Duh,” Jennifer droned. “You know, if Lance wasn’t my best friend, I would be jealous.”

Turning around on purpose, very quickly, so his ponytail whipped around his neck, “Really?” Lance asked.

Nodding, “Yeah, even my mom and dad said so,” Jennifer admitted, brushing Ian’s hair as the ladybugs came back carrying coffee mugs.

Leaning over, Lance sniffed the air when they walked past. “Hot cocoa? You didn’t want coffee?” Lance asked, then saw all the coffee mugs on the table. “Is there not any left because I’ll make some more,” Lance offered, turning to head to the kitchen.

“No, there’s some left, but we wanted cocoa,” Carrie said.

Setting her mug on the coffee table, Allie turned to Lance while holding her left hand sideways beside her mouth, shielding it. “Coffee makes us have to poop real bad after we drink it,” Allie whispered.

Lilly snorted while she was taking a sip and had coffee come out her nose, spilling some on her shorts and legs. Jumping up, she put her mug down and holding a hand over her nose, took off running to the bathroom.

Walking over, Lance hugged Allie and then reached back to grab his ponytail. “Thanks,” he grinned, and she hugged him again.

After coffee the group headed outside, and all three dogs charged out, knocking Lance over. “Damn it, Dino!” Lance bellowed, getting up and brushing the dirt off. He looked over and saw George and Judy playing chase with Dino. “That Dino is even able to run that fast is a miracle of science.”

They headed into the gym and started working out. Ten minutes in, everyone’s cellphone went off and Ian was the first to grab his. Tapping the screen, he saw the tigers on a camera on the west side. The male was carrying a deer in his mouth and the female was following him to the treehouse.

“Pussies got that other doe,” Ian said, tapping the screen and turning the alarm off.

“Damn doe woke me up twice last night tripping sensors,” Lance grumbled, grabbing the sixty-pound dumbbells.

Moving to the head of the bench, Ian spotted Lance as he pressed the dumbbells out in wide flies. “I was going to hunt that doe down this Sunday,” Ian chuckled.

After the workout, everyone moved to the mats and started practicing Krav Maga while the video played. Walking outside, Ian and Lance pulled their tank tops off, wiping the sweat off their faces. They stopped and waited while the ladybugs ran to the chicken house collecting eggs.

Hearing pounding feet, they turned to see the dogs chasing the goats. “I have to give it to goats,” Ian said, panting hard. “Since this started, all the animals know, keep your mouth shut or shit comes to eat you.”

“Yep,” Lance nodded. “I’m glad the ladybugs believe that damn loud rooster ran away.”

“Hell, I don’t know why we had to hide the fact we chopped his head off and cooked his ass,” Ian huffed. “We have four more roosters that don’t have to keep crowing.”

Seeing the ladybugs running back with the egg basket, “They liked that one because he would follow them around the yard,” Lance said.

“All the chickens follow them,” Ian pointed out as the ladybugs reached them. Lilly and Jennifer stepped out of the gym and stopped, staring at Ian and Lance standing half-naked in shorts. Their muscles were engorged with blood, showing every defined muscle they had. Their thighs were so pumped, their shorts looked way too small now.

“They have got to stop doing that shit,” Jennifer panted.

Giving a groan, “I’m a cradle-robbing cougar,” Lilly moaned, feeling guilty.

“Please,” Jennifer scoffed, punching her arm. “Lance has fallen for you, and you back out now, we stay outside for a week, so I can kick your ass ten times a day.”

Shaking her head, “No,” Lilly said, turning to Jennifer. “I can live with it.”

Weaving an arm around Lilly’s, Jennifer grinned as they walked over, and everyone headed inside. With some showering and others starting breakfast, they swapped out while keeping breakfast going. After breakfast, Lilly walked upstairs and saw Lance’s gear he would wear laid out on his bed neatly.

“When the hell did he do that?” Lilly mumbled. Moving over to her bed, she laid out her gear and sighed. Pulling on the silk long john pants with the plastic disks they called the stinker suit, Lilly picked up her combat pants. After pulling them on she adjusted the knee pads, then grabbed the 3D scent proof pants. Pulling them up to her knees, Lilly grabbed the top of the stinker suit and pulled it on. Thankful she didn’t have to wear the camouflaged combat BDU jacket anymore, Lilly pulled her suspenders over her shoulders to keep her pants up.

Pulling up the 3D pants with suspenders, Lilly put on the 3D jacket and then lifted the tactical vest with a grunt. “Fucking thing weighs more than me,” she mumbled, pulling it over her head. Strapping the sides down, Lilly bent over to buckle the drop platforms on each leg.

Walking over to her gun rack, Lilly pulled out the 22/45 pistol with a suppressor, shoving it in the holster under her left arm. Grabbing the XDM, she shoved it in her right thigh holster. Grabbing her AR, she walked over to the bed and shoved her feet into her boots.

Stomping her foot in frustration, “Fuck!” Lilly shouted as Lance came up the stairs. Lance froze when he reached the top of the stairs and saw Lilly storming toward him. “I have to fucking pee now!” Lilly screamed as she walked past him.

When Lilly was at the bottom of the stairs running for the bathroom, Lance raised his eyebrows. “Glad I’m a boy,” Lance mumbled and moved over to his gear.

After he dressed, Lance looked over and saw Lilly’s helmet, gloves, and mask on her bed. Grabbing them, Lance grabbed his AR and jogged down the stairs. Lance put Lilly’s stuff on the table and tightened his gear up.

Sitting at the table, Jennifer looked over at Ian who was smiling. “It’s not funny,” Jennifer snapped. “You know how many times I’ve put all that shit on and had to pee?”

The smile dropped off Ian’s face. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Be glad it happens here.”

“I’ve pissed on myself outside the fence, buddy,” Jennifer snapped. “Be damned, if I pull my pants down outside so a stinker can bite my ass and I can’t run.”

“I peed in my pants last time,” Allie admitted.

Jennifer looked over with a knowing nod. “You are very smart, ladybug,” Jennifer confessed.

When Lilly stomped into the kitchen, she saw more of her gear on the table. “I’m pissing my pants from now on after I gear up,” she vowed.

Ian gave a snort, looking over at Lance. “You ready to talk to them?” Ian asked, and everyone looked at Lance.

“Talk about what?” Jennifer asked, getting up and buckling Lilly’s left drop platform with six more magazines for the AR.

“I want to let the bear trap people know they aren’t alone,” Lance replied, and everyone froze looking at him in terror. “Hey, we aren’t telling them where we are, just that they aren’t alone. It would be nice if we had some help patrolling. Even if they only patrolled one section, it would help us a lot.”

“You promise they aren’t coming here?” Allie asked with fearful eyes.

“Ladybug, they aren’t coming here unless we ask them and if they try, we will shoot their asses,” Lance proclaimed, and Allie sighed with relief.

Giving the drop platform a tug, “I like the idea we would have help patrolling,” Jennifer admitted, getting up and moving back to her chair. “When do you want to contact them?”

“Tonight, on patrol,” Lance replied, and Jennifer gave a sigh as she came to a stop.

“How long have you two been talking about this?” Jennifer asked, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Since we got here,” Lance admitted, and Jennifer dropped her hand, looking at Lance in shock. “We can’t fight this war alone, but we don’t have to let others in here. We can help each other and not live together. But the bear trap people are the only ones who have half a brain and they aren’t collaborators. If the few other survivors we’ve found continue to hang on, we’ll talk to them but so far, they all look stupid.”

Grabbing her gloves and putting them on, “So, where do we meet them to talk about it?” Lilly asked.

“In that trailer we saw them ransacking when we were emptying Bones’ house,” Ian answered.

“Who meets and who covers?” Lilly asked, putting her mask on.

“I was thinking you and I could cover,” Lance answered, then waved over at Jennifer and Ian. “And they do the meet.”

Picking up her helmet, “Don’t like that,” Lilly replied curtly, putting her helmet on. “How about Jennifer and I cover while you and Ian meet them.”

Seeing Lance’s face, Jennifer knew he was about to argue. “Whoa, I like that!” she snapped. “We are big girls and can take care of ourselves. I don’t want them to see girls at our first meeting. Not that we are scared, but it might make them think we are stretched in manpower.”

Pulling out a round can, Lance opened it to spread black face paint around his eyes. “That’s sound reasoning,” Lance admitted, looking over at Ian.

“Shit. Jennifer has been begging to shoot someone with the M14,” Ian laughed.

“Okay, we make contact tonight and tell them we’ll meet tomorrow night,” Lance said, pulling on his face mask. Jennifer gave a shiver, looking at the very detailed grey skull painted on the mask. Only Lance and Ian had painted their masks.

Putting on his helmet, “If we get the relays up before shop time, want us to come back and get Allie and work on putting up more barbed wire?” Lance asked, looking over at Ian.

“Nah, we need to get the other bots put together,” Ian answered, getting up.

Ian and Jennifer headed to the front door as Lance and Lilly walked out the back. After letting Lance and Lilly out with Dino to do a sweep and set up relays, they closed the gates and headed to the greenhouse to start work. Walking around the cabin, Jennifer reached over to hold Ian’s hand.

“Can I ask you something?” Jennifer asked, looking up at Ian.

“Sure,” Ian grinned, squeezing her hand.

“When did you and Lance go to the Nazi compound?”

Giving a long sigh, “The first night we patrolled,” Ian answered.

“How many times?”

Shrugging, “Three times,” Ian admitted. “After reading what Uncle Doug had on them, we had to check them out.”

“Ian, I’m only disappointed you didn’t tell me,” Jennifer said, and she saw Ian perk up. “How many times have you two been to Pineville?”

“Four,” Ian finally admitted as they walked into the construction area for the greenhouse. “It was before the mass of stinkers showed up.”

“I figured,” Jennifer laughed, putting her AR and tote bag on a sawhorse. “Please tell me before you do something like that again.”

Putting his AR beside Jennifer’s, Ian nodded. “Okay, but don’t freak out when we do,” Ian bargained, pulling on a tool belt and checking the battery on the impact drill.

“Sorry, but I have to worry about you,” Jennifer protested, slapping his arm.

Ian grinned, moving to the back wall that was only boarded up three feet. Grabbing a board, Ian carried it over before setting it on the others. Jennifer held the board while Ian pulled out long wood screws. The drill wound up, driving the screw through the board and into the twelve-inch square columns.

When the board was tacked up, Jennifer moved back and grabbing another board with a grunt, carried it over. Setting it on the wall, she waited as Ian moved down the board sinking screws. When she grabbed another board, she looked at the stack of cut boards and shook her head.

Carrying another board over, Jennifer was amazed Ian and Lance were cutting batches of boards at one time. When her dad had started a deck on the back of the house, Jennifer had helped. Watching her dad measure each spot for the next board six times, then measure the board six times before he cut, Jennifer had wanted to take the saw and the other tools away from her dad.

Even with that much measuring, her dad cut every fourth or fifth board too short and would toss it across the yard. Halfway through the project, her dad was called into work and Jennifer ran over to Ian’s. Lance, Ian, and Jason came over and had the deck done in two hours. When Jennifer’s dad got home, he found her staining the deck with her mom. Lance and Ian had measured the area and then moved over, cutting half a dozen boards at a time.

Carrying another 2x12 over that was ten feet long, Jennifer liked this much better than the deck. Each strip of boards they put up was a foot wide, so she could see the wall growing upwards quickly. After using up the stack of cut boards, Ian pulled out his tape measure, measured between each column and nodded.

When he headed for the shop, Jennifer got the hybrid side by side and drove it over, hearing the skill saw going. Walking in, Jennifer started loading the boards Ian had cut. Looking inside the secret shop, Jennifer saw the R/C bot with the SAW mounted on it sitting in the doorway. For some reason, it just unnerved her to arm robots.

“Dead people are walking, and I have a problem arming robots? Something is wrong with that,” Jennifer mumbled, carrying out another board.

When Lance and Lilly returned three hours later from the sweep around the cabin and setting up relays, the back wall was up and Jennifer and Ian were working on the east wall. They stopped after Lance and Lilly changed. Grabbing the ladybugs, everyone headed to the shop to work on two more massive Battle Bots.

With Ian and Lance watching them closely, they helped weld the rows of shredding teeth on long drums, which was just ten-inch metal pipe. Only stopping to eat a quick lunch, the bots were coming together much faster than the first one.

It was 1500 when the work stopped, and they headed inside. Ian, Lance, Jennifer, and Lilly put on their gear. Ian and Lance were both relieved when the girls didn’t have to pee after they’d dressed.

Walking out, Ian looked over at Lance. “You still want to grab barbed wire?” Ian asked, and Jennifer and Lilly groaned silently under their masks.

“Hell, yeah. I want an eight-foot-tall wall of barbed wire around us with only four inches between each strand,” Lance declared, and that made the girls feel better. When Jennifer and Lilly walked over to the buggy, they saw a pressure washer strapped to the front.

“Ah, what are we doing with that?” Jennifer asked.

“Battle Bot has to be washed to keep working,” Lance informed them, tossing empty barbed wire spools in the back.

“Lance, where are we going to get water?” Jennifer asked.

“Jennifer, you helped set the site up. You know there’s a creek at the edge of the field,” Lance answered, tossing the last empty spool in.

Moving over and standing in front of Lance, “That stream is over two hundred yards from Battle Bot’s playground. I’m telling you right now, that damn thing comes at me, I’m dumping a mag in it,” Jennifer swore.

Looking at the black mask covering Jennifer’s face, Lance moved his eyes to hers. “Jennifer, that damn thing even acts funny and I’ll blow it up,” Lance told her, and Jennifer didn’t know if that was supposed to make her feel better because it didn’t. The fact Lance and Ian were scared of their creation terrified her.

Loading up, they drove around to the front and found the ladybugs waiting. Allie had a leash on George as she opened the inner gate. When Carrie opened the outer gate, Allie cradled her AR and looked around while Dino and Judy led the buggy out.

Lilly stopped outside the gates and waited until the ladybugs were heading back to the cabin. “When will the remote bot be ready?” Lilly asked, seeing Carrie opening the front door. When the ladybugs were inside, Lilly pulled off.

“Tomorrow,” Lance answered. “And remember, it’s set up on short range remote, so nobody will be able to pick it up unless they are close. That’s why we had to put up so many relays on our sweep.”

“I know. You told me like fifty times,” Lilly moaned, glancing over as she headed east up the slope to the ridge.

“That was for Jennifer,” Lance joked.

“Oh,” Lilly said. “I’ll feel better with that here when we leave the ladybugs.”

“We can be back long before anyone gets near the cabin,” Lance assured her.

“I know, but they will be able to kill them before we get back,” Lilly said rather cheerfully.

Leaning up from the backseat, “Lance, just use the .22 today,” Ian sighed. “I’m not in the mood to stop and retrieve arrows.”

“Sounds good to me,” Lance said, pulling the 10/22 off the dash and setting it in his lap.

When they reached the east chute, Lance raised the 10/22 to shoot three stinkers walking along the fence. “Want me to stop, so we can burn them?” Lilly asked.

“We haven’t noticed stinkers coming in for dead bodies anymore, and we’ve left some out just for that reason,” Lance said.

Looking over at the side of Lance’s mask, “I was thinking about having to smell the damn things when we pass by every day,” Lilly replied.

As Lilly navigated the chute, Lance nodded. “Yes, there is that,” he admitted, looking at the trees. “If we burn them, we will have to pull them down to the logging road. It’s too dry now.”

“I’ll tie them up, so someone can drag them with the buggy,” Lilly told him.

Laughing, “We will pull them off when we come back,” Lance said.

Leaning up behind Lance’s head, “It will be dark, and that will definitely bring in stinkers,” Jennifer said.

“We will leave them and light them tomorrow,” Lance suggested over his shoulder.

Sitting back, Jennifer nodded as Lance lifted the 10/22, shooting a stinker that couldn’t have been more than five. Even though she had killed stinkers smaller than that, it still bothered her. Jennifer looked down at the body with remorse when Lilly drove past.

“You up for a game?” Lance asked over his shoulder.

“Hell, yeah. I won the last one,” Ian sang out, hitting his chest with his fist. As Lilly headed out of the patrol area, the game started. It was almost 1700 when they reached the Battle Bot area a mile outside of the patrol area and Ian was leading Lance by thirty-one stinkers.

Steering around a boulder, Lilly pulled above the ridge overlooking the field and stopped suddenly. All four gasped, looking down in the field. The five-thousand-square-foot area the Battle Bot roamed was saturated in blood, covered in gore and body parts. All along the edge, a mound was formed of grisly remains.

In the far corner, the Battle Bot was sitting in its recharging station. The once shiny bot was an off-red. “Holy shit,” Lilly mumbled. They were over four hundred yards away and Lilly wasn’t sure she wanted to get closer. Even that far away, the smell washed over them.

“Well, let’s head down,” Lance said, opening a laptop.

“That fucking thing leaves that square and I’m killing it,” Ian declared, looking around the small valley and not seeing any stinkers.

Agreeing with Ian, Lilly pulled down the slope and into the field, stopping by the solar dish and recharging battery. Now thirty yards away, they could see the mound of gore around the perimeter was over three feet high and more than four feet wide in most places. The mound was chunks of flesh and bone.

Tapping the screen, Lance leaned back. “Whoa,” he mumbled, and everyone snapped.

“What?!” afraid the Battle Bot was coming for them.

“The station is reporting it has killed over eight thousand!” Lance gasped, looking up at the bot.

“It’s only been here three days!” Lilly cried out.

Nodding and still staring at the gore-covered Battle Bot, “Yeah, the last one was an hour ago. It’s in recharge mode,” Lance said in awe. “The first two days, it had to recharge with stinkers in the kill area.”

“Lance, let’s wash the damn thing and go,” Jennifer told him, gripping her AR tight.

“Okay, the battery is over eighty percent,” Lance said, tapping the keyboard. When the Battle Bot moved, even the dogs jumped back. Jennifer was happy to see Ian aiming his AR as the Battle Bot left the recharging station and plowed through the mound of gore that surrounded its playground.

With guns trained on it, the Battle Bot drove across the field and stopped at the tree line where the creek was. “Guys, the shredder wasn’t even on,” Lance sighed, tapping the keyboard.

“Don’t care,” Ian replied, lowering his AR but keeping the stock on his shoulder.

“Ian, you and Jennifer light the playground, and Lilly and I will wash it,” Lance offered, closing his laptop.

“Fine with me,” Ian grunted, and Lilly almost asked to trade jobs with Ian as Jennifer climbed out.

Handing Jennifer the 10/22, “Use this if stinkers show up,” Lance said. Jennifer took the .22, but slung it over her shoulder, having no intention of letting her AR go as long as she could see the Battle Bot.

Giving a groan while he shook his head, “Lilly, pull over so we can wash it,” Lance sighed, and noticed Lilly was driving with her left hand. Her right hand held the pistol grip of her AR resting across her lap. “I shut it down!” Lance cried out.

Pulling over to the Battle Bot, Lilly nodded. “And I’m sure you did, but that thing scares the shit out of me,” she confessed with no shame whatsoever.

“It killed over eight thousand stinkers and we didn’t have to do anything,” Lance moaned as she stopped twenty yards away.

“On the inside, I love it, but on the outside, I’m terrified of the Battle Bot.”

Climbing out and mumbling, Lance pulled the pressure washer off the front while Lilly climbed out, gripping her AR and waiting for the Battle Bot to move. “Lilly,” Lance snapped, making her jump. “Watch for stinkers and other trouble. You can be scared of Battle Bot when I turn it back on.”

Always keeping the bot in her peripheral vision, Lilly looked around while Ian tossed a flaming ball toward the mound. Before the ball landed a whoosh sounded as the hydrogen sulfide the stinkers put off ignited, and Lilly felt the air rush past her as the colorless flame shot around the playground and then over the blood-soaked center. “Now I know why the markers and recharging station were made from thick metal,” she mumbled in awe as Ian and Jennifer ran back, getting away from the heat.

There was very little smoke or visible flame for the first few seconds since the fire was burning so hot, then greenish blue flames covered the area with just a trace of smoke. Hearing a suppressed shot, Lilly turned to see Jennifer shooting a stinker on the road beside the playground.

“I told her to use the .22,” Lance fumed behind Lilly. Lilly turned to see Lance plugging the pressure washer up to the buggy. “Crank the buggy. We haven’t used the batteries running the outlets by themselves.”

Moving over, Lilly turned the buggy on and heard the soft hum of the diesel engine. When Lance turned the pressure washer on, Lilly jumped at hearing a humming and brought her AR to her shoulder, swinging the barrel toward the bot. Seeing Lance was just testing the sprayer wand, Lilly lowered her AR.

While Lance started washing the bot off, Lilly raised her AR to shoot a stinker on the road and heard Dino growl behind her. Turning around, she saw a stinker on the other side of the creek. It was stopped, grasping at them in the air.

Putting her crosshairs on the stinker’s forehead, Lilly squeezed the trigger. She smiled, watching the head pop like a grape. Patting Dino, Lilly kept scanning but never really took her eyes off the bot unless she was shooting.

In thirty minutes, Lance turned the pressure washer off and Lilly nodded, very impressed. The Battle Bot was clean again. Watching Lance walk toward the front of the Battle Bot, Lilly raised her rifle to aim at the back where she knew the electric motors were.

Leaning over, Lance inspected the rows of metal teeth. “I was expecting more wear,” Lance called out, picking out something and Lilly saw it was a finger wearing a gold wedding band. Taking the ring off, Lance tossed the finger away.

Ian and Lance collected any precious metal and Lilly understood they used them in circuits and such, but it still felt wrong to watch Lance toss the ring in the back of the buggy. “Two points,” Lance sang out.

Watching Lance reach in the rows of metal teeth up to his shoulder, Lilly almost flipped her safety off. When Lance stood up holding a foot connected to an ankle, Lilly felt nauseous. Lance tossed the appendage away with indifference. “You are a messy eater, but that’s okay,” Lance told the Battle Bot, patting the teeth on the drums.

When Lance walked from the front of the bot, Lilly sighed with relief, lowering her AR. They both looked over at the playground and saw it was almost out. “Grind ‘em up and they do burn better,” Lance rejoiced, and Lilly could tell by his voice he was smiling.

“Load the washer, I’ll cover,” Lilly told him.

Grabbing the washer, Lance saw Lilly staring at the bot again. “Lilly, stinkers first,” Lance reminded her, carrying the washer over and strapping it to the front. Nodding but keeping one eye on the Battle Bot, Lilly kept her AR stock to her shoulder.

When the washer was loaded, Lance moved to the passenger side and before he climbed in Lilly ran over, letting her AR hang under her arm. Jumping behind the steering wheel, Lilly was waiting for Lance to get in.

Sitting down, Lance noticed Lilly already in and still staring at the bot. Giving up, Lance opened the laptop. “Lance, you turn that fucking thing on with us this close, you and I will be stepping outside when we get back,” Lilly informed him, looking at the Battle Bot.

Now all shiny, the Battle Bot seemed more sinister, like it wanted to be covered in blood, to Lilly’s mind. “Pull over and pick them up,” Lance chuckled.

Stomping the accelerator, the tires threw up dirt getting the buggy away from the bot. Neither Ian nor Jennifer moved toward the buggy, and just waited for Lilly to reach them. “Pull up and out to the road,” Lance said, shocking everyone. “Let’s take a peek at Girdler and see how many stinkers are there.”

None of them liked the idea, but wanted the hell away from the Battle Bot. Lilly drove out to the road and stopped as Lance tapped the keyboard. Again, everyone jumped when the bot moved, spinning around and driving back to the playground.

When it reached the playground, Lance tapped more keys and the Battle Bot pulled over to the recharging point, throwing the ashes of its victims into the air. After it backed up and shut down, everyone breathed easier.

Closing the laptop, “Onward, James,” Lance sang out, putting the laptop under his seat.

Not arguing or saying anything, Lilly sped off down the road. “Lilly, the dogs can’t run that fast,” Lance said calmly, and Lilly slowed, looking out until the dogs caught up. The last light left the sky while they rode down the road, and everyone pulled on NVGs.

Fifteen minutes later, they neared the town of Girdler and Lance laughed. “Now, I like this,” he said, only seeing half a dozen stinkers. “I don’t know how many were here, the last time we looked.”

“Several thousand?” Ian offered from the backseat.

“Ian, can the buggy pull a trailer?” Lance asked.

“Yeah, I designed it to haul loads up to fifteen hundred pounds, but I don’t want to pull one through the woods because electric motors don’t like that shit,” Ian answered.

Motioning for Lilly to stop, “How about we load a trailer and haul it to the load up spot we use east of the cabin? We can leave it there and pick it up with the four-wheeler,” Lance suggested.

“That’s good,” Ian nodded.

“Lance, we don’t have a trailer,” Lilly informed him.

Pointing off the road at a co-op, “They do,” Lance grinned, looking at a row of trailers.

“You two shop, Jennifer and I will watch the area,” Lilly said, pulling into the parking lot. In reality, she wanted to make sure Battle Bot wasn’t following them. There was no doubt in her mind, she and Jennifer would shoot the machine.

After hooking up to a twelve-foot trailer, Lilly moved to the door. “Lilly, pick the lock,” Lance said, getting out and raising his AR, snapping off five quick shots and dropping five stinkers.

“Show off,” Lilly mumbled, getting out. Since she was still getting the hang of it, Lilly didn’t get the door open for ten minutes.

Lance grabbed her arm when she opened the door. “You will clear with me,” Lance told her, pulling his .22 pistol out.

Nodding, Lilly moved her AR under her arm and pulled her .22 pistol out. It didn’t take them long and Lance told Lilly to head out. Lance and Ian grabbed every roll of barbed wire the store had. Then, they started loading other stuff.

Stacking rolls of electrical wire on, Ian looked at the trailer riding low. “Lance, this trailer won’t hold much more,” Ian said when Lance put an armload on the trailer.

Glancing at the trailer Lance nodded, then turned to the parking lot. “How many have you killed?” Lance asked.

Lilly and Jennifer talked for a second and Jennifer looked back as Lilly shot two more stinkers. “One hundred and seventy-four now,” Jennifer called out.

“Let’s drop the trailer off and deliver the invitation to the bear trap people,” Lance said, and Ian nodded before patting the stacks of barbed wire.

“I really don’t like rolling this shit up by hand,” Ian admitted.

Climbing in the buggy, “Why the hell do you think I asked if this thing could pull a trailer?” Lance confessed as Ian closed the doors to the building and relocked them.

Everyone loaded up and Lilly started driving out of the parking lot when Lance told her to stop. When she stopped, Lance climbed out and moved over to a stinker in full battle gear. Watching Lance strip the corpse, “Told you he would,” Lilly said with a grunt, climbing out.

“Shit,” Jennifer grumbled, getting out. “Ian, there are four more. Strip them and we’ll cover.”

Two of the stinkers had rucksacks and Lance strapped them to the roof, the rest of the gear they tossed in the back. “Lance, we aren’t putting any more shit in the buggy,” Ian told him with a snarl. “You put anything else in here, and I’m slashing the Hummer’s tires.”

Stumbling back, “Dude, that’s not even funny!” Lance snapped while Lilly and Jennifer shot stinkers coming at them.

“You break my buggy, and I break your Hummer,” Ian vowed, crossing his arms.

“Fine!” Lance shouted, climbing in the buggy.

When Lilly turned to climb in the buggy, she grinned at the stripped-down stinkers. “Damn, they even emptied the pockets,” Lilly laughed, climbing in. Before Lilly took off, Ian and Jennifer called the dogs to jump in the backseat with them. When Lilly pulled out, she could definitely tell she was pulling a full trailer.

Driving along the road, a real blacktop road, just felt wrong after so long weaving around trees. But after listening to Ian, nobody asked if they could get off the road. The one thing they did like about moving on the road, it only took them fifteen minutes to drive the eight miles back, instead of an hour.

Driving up the long driveway to the house behind the ridge of the cabin, the buggy seemed slower and Ian made Lilly stop before he put the front and rear wheels in low. After that, the buggy acted like it wasn’t pulling anything.

Pulling to a stop where they’d loaded the Battle Bot, Lilly climbed out as Lance walked around and started unhooking the trailer. “Let’s unload the buggy,” Ian said, grabbing the stuff they’d taken off the soldiers.

“Why? We are just going a mile,” Jennifer asked, but started unloading the back. Ian just looked at her for a second, then continued unloading. “Ian, you have a mask on, I can’t read your face.”

“Trust me, we want it unloaded,” Ian replied, moving to the front and grabbing the pressure washer.

After the buggy was unloaded, everyone climbed back in and Lilly drove into the woods, feeling much better. “You could’ve driven back down to the road and looped around the ridge,” Lance said, scanning around.

“Driving on the road makes me feel naked,” Lilly admitted.

Giving a curt laugh, “Lilly, you have on enough gear for two people,” Lance said.

“You know what I mean,” Lilly laughed. “But I’m going to agree about how much gear we wear.”

Driving over the ridge and down the slope, Lilly could see the road snaking through the valley below. Just to the northwest tucked back off the road, she saw the trailer the bear trap people had been ransacking when she’d seen them.

Pulling across the road, Lilly gave a startle when Ian and Jennifer shot stinkers on both sides of the buggy. Passing the trailer, Lilly moved up the slope. “Slower,” Lance said, then looked back. “Let Dino out,” he told Jennifer.

Jennifer motioned for Dino to get out and Dino moved to the front of the buggy. When Dino started up the hill, Lilly looked over at Lance. “When was the last time you and Ian were here?”

“Two weeks ago,” Lance answered, looking around.

When they reached the ridge, “Stop here,” Lance whispered, getting out and turning on the thermal scope before clipping it on his AR. “You and Jennifer wait here. If stinkers come, use your bows. If the guard is out, he will hear a suppressed shot this close.”

Jennifer nodded, grabbing her bow and climbing out. As Lilly climbed out, Lance reached back inside, grabbing a large manila envelope. “Damn, you send letters,” Lilly mumbled.

Moving around the buggy, Ian followed when Lance took the lead easing down the slope. Flipping up his NVGs, Lance glanced down the hill with his AR, but didn’t see any hotspots and continued down. Halfway, they found barbed wire strung through the trees, but it was only one strand.

Ducking under it, they moved to the bottom of the slope and found the guard area. It was now camouflaged much better and held two chairs. Placing the envelope in one of the chairs, Lance and Ian headed back up the slope.

Lilly and Jennifer gave a sigh of relief, seeing them come back up and climbed in the buggy. After they’d climbed in, Lance turned to everyone. “Let’s go get another trailerful,” he said enthusiastically.

Looking out her side as Lilly backed up, “Now, I see why you wanted the buggy empty,” Jennifer chuckled.

Chapter 5

East of Powell, Missouri

Pulling back the compound bow, Sandy slowly exhaled while concentrating on the stinker’s nose. When her aim centered, Sandy released the arrow and watched the arrow sail through the air. Forty yards away, the arrow hit just below the stinker’s nose, jerking its head back.

Sandy grinned as the stinker collapsed in a heap. “I like shooting them further away,” she confessed, leaning over and patting Dan.

With Dan beside her, Sandy walked up the peninsula they were camped on and stood over the stinker. Not even seeing that at one time the stinker had been a young girl, Sandy put her foot on the forehead and pulled her arrow out.

Glancing around and not seeing anything, Sandy put her arrow back in the quiver clipped to her waist and grabbed the stinker by the arm, pulling the body to the small river they were camped by. Using her foot, Sandy rolled the body down the bank and into the water.

The body rolled in the water and bobbed to the surface as it slowly floated downstream. Spinning around, Sandy walked back to the spot where she’d shot the stinker and took one big step. Dragging her foot to make a mark in the sand, Sandy looked down at Dan. “Let’s try forty-one yards,” she said, and Dan bounced around in excitement.

Holding up the compound bow, “You make more noise than the recurve, but I love your range,” Sandy cheerfully told her bow. As she walked past a continuous row of marks she had made in the sand in one-yard increments, Sandy saw Johnathan sitting up and watching her.

“How far out was that one?” Johnathan asked with a yawn.

“Forty yards,” Sandy beamed. “Thank you for adjusting your bow for me.”

Getting to his feet chuckling, “Sorry, sweetheart, but thirty-yard kill shots were the limit for your recurve bow,” Johnathan said.

“I don’t remember my compound bow being this easy to pull back,” Sandy said, turning around and watching the narrow path to the peninsula.

“Babe, you’ve been pulling back a fifty-pound recurve bow for months. A sixty-five-pound compound should feel like a feather,” Johnathan boasted.

“Why haven’t you been using it?” Sandy asked over her shoulder.

“I can load my recurve faster and it’s quieter,” Johnathan answered, rolling his sleeping bag up. “The recurve, I can get off ten aimed shots in a minute. With the compound, the best I’ve done was six.”

Hearing Dan growl, Sandy scanned the trees and saw a shape moving between the tree trunks. Pulling an arrow out, Sandy waited patiently. When the stinker walked past the peninsula never looking at them, Sandy stomped her foot with a scowl.

“Chicken shit,” Sandy snapped, and the stinker stopped and slowly turned around. When it saw Sandy, it raised its arms and stumbled toward her, moaning.

“Oh, good!” Sandy grinned, pulling back the bow. Resting her forty-yard pin between the stinker’s eyes, Sandy slowed her breathing and waited. When the stinker’s foot hit her new mark, Sandy released the arrow. While she watched the arrow sail the forty-one yards, Sandy reached for another one.

The arrow sunk in the stinker’s right cheek just below the eye and it crashed down on Sandy’s new mark. Almost skipping, Sandy walked up the peninsula and yanked her arrow out. Seeing how big this stinker was, Sandy glanced around and then laid her bow down.

As she pulled the stinker to the bank, Dan bit down on the stinker’s shoulder to help her pull. Stopping at the bank, Sandy saw Dan still clamped down on the stinker’s shoulder. “Dan, heel up,” she commanded, and Dan let go and moved to her side. Bending down, Sandy loved on Dan as he panted with his tongue hanging out.

“I wish you could retrieve arrows,” Sandy chuckled, scratching behind his ears.

Getting up, Sandy grunted as she used her foot to roll the body down the bank. As the body floated away, Sandy walked back over and picked up her bow. Standing at her mark, Sandy took one step and made a new mark in the sand.

Walking back, she saw Johnathan chuckling softly while he packed his gear up. “What?” Sandy asked, stopping at her shooting spot and turning around to face the woods.

“You say Lance gets the type A personality from me, but he gets that from you,” Johnathan told her, saddling his horse. “How many have you got on your shift?”

“Thirty-six,” Sandy answered, and Johnathan left his saddle on the horse and walked over, stopping beside Sandy.

“You shot thirty-six and didn’t wake anyone up?” Johnathan asked with a frown.

Shrugging her right shoulder, “I only had one group, and it was only eight,” Sandy admitted never taking her eyes from the trees.

Looking at the side of Sandy’s face, Johnathan saw intensity when she scanned the trees. “Sandy, I got eight, and Mary got eleven on her shift,” Johnathan reminded her.

A smile sprang to Sandy’s face when her eyes locked on movement. Johnathan turned to see two stinkers walking through the trees. When they passed the end of the peninsula well over a hundred yards away, never turning to look, he sighed.

“Pussies,” Sandy snapped rather loudly, and Johnathan jumped when both stinkers turned around and started back, raising their arms. “Oh, goodie,” Sandy smiled, raising her bow.

When the first stinker’s foot hit the new mark, Sandy released the arrow and Johnathan watched the arrow hit the left eye, dropping the stinker. Never taking her eyes off the other stinker, Sandy grabbed another arrow and nocked it before raising her bow.

Sandy released the arrow when the stinker reached his friend. The arrow hit between the eyes and the stinker fell back like a rag doll. Pulling another arrow, Sandy walked happily down the peninsula with Dan.

Shaking his head, “She’s verbally baiting stinkers, so they don’t get away and she can have target practice,” Johnathan mumbled. “There is no denying she is Lance’s mother.”

After retrieving her arrows, Sandy pulled the bodies to the bank with Dan helping. Sandy moved back to where she’d killed them, took one step, and made a new mark. Johnathan grinned when Sandy walked back. “How many have you lured onto your shooting range?” he asked.

Stopping beside Johnathan, Sandy turned back to the trees. “Most of them,” Sandy confessed. “They just wanted to walk past.”

Leaning over and kissing Sandy’s cheek, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew,” Johnathan warned her, and then left to finish saddling his horse. “Start the route,” he said, buckling his saddle on.

With a sigh, Sandy started reciting while Johnathan saddled her horse. Hearing Sandy raising her voice slightly, Johnathan looked over the horse to see a stinker turning around and coming back to the peninsula after Sandy had baited him. Johnathan didn’t even watch as Sandy released the arrow when the stinker reached the new mark.

Pulling another arrow out, Sandy didn’t leave to retrieve her arrow while she continued reciting the route, killing three more stinkers. Johnathan was proud of her for not shouting at the last one because it seemed the stinker didn’t want to walk out on the peninsula. When she finished reciting, Sandy left to get her arrows and move the bodies.

Starting some coffee and food, Johnathan woke Mary up. When Mary stood up, Ann jumped up, and Johnathan looked up the peninsula to see Sandy at full draw. Before he could search for her target, Sandy released and Johnathan followed the arrow.

Seeing three stinkers deep in the trees, Johnathan watched the first one drop and when he turned back to Sandy, she was releasing another arrow. Not following the arrow, Johnathan watched Sandy never take her eyes off the last stinker, pulling an arrow out of her quiver and nocking it really fast.

Pulling the bow back and resting the pin on the stinker’s nose, Sandy released and Johnathan followed the arrow dropping the last one. “Girl is getting good,” Mary giggled beside him.

“Yeah, if they try to walk past, Sandy calls them names and they come back, so she can shoot them,” Johnathan told her.

“I should’ve thought of that,” Mary groaned, watching Sandy yank her arrows out and leaving the bodies in the trees. Moving back to the five bodies on the peninsula, Sandy pulled them to the bank and kicked them in.

Not able to help it, Johnathan started laughing when Sandy walked over, stopping at the last mark and took one step. Dragging her boot through the sand, Sandy made a new mark and headed back. “Mary, ready to recite?” Johnathan asked, grabbing the coffee mugs.

Walking over to her spot, Mary started reciting while she put her gear on. Sandy had another three down when Mary had finished. “How far out can that compound bow kill stinkers?” Mary asked.

“Glad you used ‘kill’ and not ‘hit’,” Johnathan said, handing her a bowl of food. “I think it should have enough power to punch through a skull at fifty, but I wouldn’t go any further.”

Taking a bite, “You tell that to Sandy?” Mary asked.

“Yeah, that’s what the marks are for. That’s why she hasn’t made any new marks, she’s at the fifty yards,” Johnathan said. “Notice how the arrows don’t sink but a few inches in the skull? I think any further is wasting effort.”

Looking up at Johnathan, “Can you make Bill’s compound bow, so I can pull it back?” Mary asked.

“Sure,” Johnathan nodded. “See if you can pull Sandy’s back and if you can, I’ll drop Bill’s to sixty-five pounds.”

After finishing her food, Mary left and headed to Sandy. Johnathan wasn’t shocked when Mary easily pulled the bow back. Walking over to the pack horses, he pulled out Bill’s compound bow and grabbed the small tool kit.

Pulling the bow back several times after he’d finished, Johnathan carried the bow over to Mary who was talking quietly to Sandy. “Here you go,” Johnathan said, handing her the bow.

Mary smiled, taking the bow, “Thank you,” she said, pulling an arrow from the quiver hanging off her tool belt. Johnathan turned and chuckled to see dead stinkers propped up against a pile of drift wood.

It took Mary a few shots and Johnathan showed her how to adjust the three different sighting pins. After six shots, Mary was hitting the corpses in the faces at twenty yards. “Sandy, eat and I’ll finish packing up,” Johnathan told her, grabbing her hand.

“You were right, fifty is the limit,” Sandy acknowledged, hugging his arm while holding the bow in her right hand. When the bow hit the AR hanging off her back, Sandy adjusted the AR. “I’m happy with that.”

“Any further than that, you need to be on a gun,” Johnathan told her, letting her hand go and handing her a bowl of food.

When the sun reached the horizon, everyone loaded up. “How far out did you get?” Sandy asked Mary.

“Forty-two yards,” Mary answered, guiding her horse into the river. Walking across, Mary was glad the horses didn’t have to swim. She didn’t like hanging onto the saddle when the horse swam.

Coming out the other side, Mary guided her horse off the bank and slowed until Johnathan and Sandy were across. Blinking a tear from her eye, Mary sighed at seeing Johnathan on Bill’s horse.

Stopping that train of thought, Mary spun around to look ahead and gave her horse a soft kick, guiding it through the trees. Turning her cap around and taking off her sunglasses, Mary was again impressed with the human body.

The only time they’d had trouble seeing at night was with dark, cloudy skies. Even then, they could see well enough to move, but could run into stinkers fast. On cloudy nights, Bill had said they traveled by nose, because they could usually smell the stinkers before seeing them.

With only a few small clouds in the sky tonight, Mary could see pretty far, even in the woods she was guiding the horses through. Remembering in Utah when Bill had pressed the light for his watch, he had lost his night vision for three hours. Mary had to guide his horse after just that little bit of light.

Jerking her horse to stop, Mary gripped her AR when hearing an engine to the south. “That’s close,” Johnathan whispered, moving up beside her.

“I don’t think it’s on the dirt road we pulled off of last night,” Mary concluded, looking down at Ann who was looking around and panting.

“Mary, that road is only a hundred yards away,” Johnathan told her. “That noise sounds about a mile away, so I’m thinking it’s on Hwy 86.”

“It’s loud,” Sandy said, moving up beside them.

Nodding, “It’s a semi-truck,” Johnathan declared.

“Okay, why drive something like that?” Sandy asked, looking around.

“Sandy, it’s big and heavy, so it can push through stuff and better yet, fill it up and you can go a thousand miles,” Johnathan told her as the noise faded to the southeast.

Giving a sigh, “If we only had to worry about stinkers, I would risk taking one of those,” Sandy mumbled.

“Sandy, if we only had to worry about stinkers, we would’ve gotten one in California,” Johnathan told her.

“Think they are trouble?” Mary asked.

“Don’t know and don’t care because we will avoid them. We hear people, we leave,” Johnathan insisted. “Head toward the road since we are heading more northeast. We shouldn’t have a problem making distance on these back roads.”

Kicking her horse, Mary guided the horse through the trees and soon saw the dirt road glaring ahead in the starlight. Holding her AR with one hand, Mary climbed off and grabbed the bolt cutters. Cutting the three strands of barbed wire, Mary climbed back up on her horse. “I’m tired of barbed wire,” she mumbled, shoving the bolt cutters back in her saddle.

The dirt road headed up the side of a hill and then ran along the ridge. After three hours of riding, Mary looked around. “Where the hell are the stinkers?”

Hearing Johnathan riding up, Mary slowed down. “Hold up,” Johnathan said, stopping his horse. When Sandy was beside them, Johnathan pointed to the southeast. In the distance, they could see light radiating from the earth. “That’s close to Branson.”

“That’s a lot of light,” Sandy mumbled, then looked around them. There was no other artificial light across the dark landscape.

“Not as much as you’d think. With all the lights out and our eyes used to the dark, it seems very bright,” Johnathan told her. “You two ready to switch?”

Mary looked over at him. “You told us to keep our distance thirty to forty miles, yet tonight we are shooting for seventy.”

“If we can,” Johnathan corrected. “We will stay on dirt roads and the horses like those much better than cross-country.”

“I’ll take the lead,” Sandy said, moving off. Johnathan followed her while Mary fell in behind him.

Following the dirt road through the hills, Sandy, like Mary, was unnerved with the lack of stinkers. More than once, Sandy had slowed just to sniff the air. One time she stopped, smelling a skunk but soon moved on, and the miles and hours passed to the soft hoof beats of the horses.

A few miles away, Sandy saw Hwy 65 snaking through the valleys. She stopped when she saw a group of lights heading south. “I see them,” Johnathan said behind her.

“They seem to be going fast,” Sandy noticed, watching the lights disappear behind a hill and then reappear.

“Over seventy easy,” Johnathan huffed. “Let me lead,” Johnathan added, passing her.

Not arguing, Sandy followed Johnathan and was shocked when he moved off the road and down the slope. Following Johnathan down the slope, Sandy thought she heard faint gunfire way off in the distance as they passed under the highway.

Reaching a small valley, Johnathan led them across a little river. “We moved faster than I thought,” Sandy said, guiding her horse into the water.

Seeing a peninsula on the opposite bank, Sandy was surprised when Johnathan didn’t head to it. Instead, Johnathan rode out of the river and headed up the hill that ran along the river. When they reached the ridge, Johnathan stopped and Sandy rode up beside him and saw him sighing contently.

Turning away from Johnathan, Sandy looked down into a small valley and saw a collection of buildings laid out neatly. “What’s that?” Sandy asked, searching hard for stinkers.

“That is the first camp Lance and Ian attended as Boy Scouts,” Johnathan said with relief.

Sandy looked back to Johnathan as Mary rode up to them. “That’s the camp where you and Bill had to be chaperones?” Sandy asked.

“Yeah, we can resupply here and then pull back to the river,” Johnathan replied, kicking his horse and riding down into the valley.

“I knew he was aiming for a spot,” Sandy grumbled.

Before Sandy followed, Mary spoke up, “He didn’t want us to get our hopes up.”

Kicking her horse, Sandy just nodded and followed Johnathan down the hill. Looking down, Sandy saw Dan beside her. “Dan, go to Johnathan,” she whispered, waving Dan forward. Looking up at Sandy, Dan turned to Johnathan and then trotted up beside him.

When Johnathan exited the trees, Sandy looked around the cleared valley floor for any movement. Besides deer, the field was empty. Moving up closer to Johnathan, “Where to first?” she whispered.

“There,” Johnathan said, pointing at a brick building that stood alone. “That’s a store, a Boy Scout store.”

“Out here?” Sandy asked.

“What better place for a Boy Scout store than a scout camp?” Johnathan grinned. “This camp isn’t part of the local council, or any council. A doctor from Springfield owns the land and started it. I met him when I was here.”

“Yeah, you doctors tend to seek each other out,” Sandy snickered.

“Seems that way,” Johnathan grinned. “Anyway, the doctor started this camp for scouts around the country. It’s over a thousand acres and very nice.”

“I’m sure his boys loved it,” Sandy said, looking around.

“Boy,” Johnathan corrected, “and he never saw it. Died of cancer when he was five and all he’d wanted to do was be a Boy Scout, so his dad built this camp after his son died.”

Giving a startle at the story, Sandy let out a long sigh. “Life sucks ass,” she moaned.

“Especially now,” Johnathan admitted, stopping beside the building. He stood up in his saddle. “Hold my horse,” he told Sandy.

Wondering what the hell Johnathan was doing, Sandy rode over and took the reins of his horse while Johnathan stood up on his saddle and reached up, catching the edge of the awning. Pulling his body up, Johnathan felt his arms giving out. Throwing his right leg up and catching the lip of the awning, Johnathan rolled onto the awning, panting. “Dumbass,” he huffed, getting up and taking his backpack off.

Leaning over the edge, “Watch out,” he warned, dropping the backpack.

“I was wondering why you were taking your pack,” Sandy said, moving to get off her horse.

“Leave it there. You and Mary take your packs off and hang them on your pack horses,” Johnathan instructed, moving to the building. Sandy looked up at the awning, knowing she would have to jump up while standing in her saddle to grab the lip.

“Honey, you will have to grab my wrist, so I can reach the edge,” Sandy said, and Johnathan jumped up off the awning, catching the edge of the roof. Much easier this time, Johnathan pulled his body up.

He turned around and looked down at Sandy and Mary taking their packs off. “Meet me at the front door,” he called out softly.

Mary looked at Sandy as they tied the horses to the guard rail. “Sandy, I’ll keep watch. You go in with Johnathan and let him show you where everything is. Then I’ll go in with you,” Mary offered, cradling her AR.

“Okay, seems he really knows this place,” Sandy said, looking in the glass double doors. In the very back, she saw a small light on the roof.

“That’s why you can show me,” Mary nodded, glancing around and saw Sandy jump back from the door. Spinning around, Mary saw a soft green glow from a chemlight. Then she saw Johnathan walking toward the door, holding the chemlight behind him.

Mary had to squint her eyes and look away from the chemlight. Blinking her eyes, Mary sighed with relief that she still had her night vision. “Damn light is blinding me,” she heard Sandy say. Turning around, Mary saw Sandy was looking away from the light.

Johnathan opened the door. “Yeah, don’t go to the light,” he sang out.

“You said no lights,” Sandy said, moving to the door.

“Sandy, the only window in this building is the front doors. I almost broke my neck trying to find these chemlights. Lucky for me I found the green, so we won’t lose our night vison. Now come on, we have to move,” Johnathan said, letting Sandy in. When she was in, Johnathan put a box at the base of the door to hold it open.

Stopping at the first rack that held Boy Scout button-down dress shirts, Sandy smiled, rubbing them. “I’m coming, baby boy,” Sandy mumbled. Out of instinct, Sandy pulled the price tag up. “Johnathan,” she snapped, and he moved beside her.

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t we get Lance’s uniforms from here? His scouting uniforms cost more than my designer clothes,” Sandy gawked, letting the tag go. “This shirt is brand-new, but costs half of what I paid.”

“Like I said, the doctor, Sam started this for his son. The gear in this store, he sold at cost. There is no website, sweetheart. Remember that construction job Bill took in Missouri?” Johnathan asked, and Sandy nodded. “You’re standing in it. Bill built this building for Sam at cost. And for the past three years, I’ve sent Sam a donation check for five thousand dollars.”

“Whoa!” Sandy gasped, looking at Johnathan. Johnathan was a penny pincher bordering on being a miser.

“Yeah, Sam didn’t charge any troop when they came. He provided everything; they just had to get here. Sam even paid for several troops to come here from the poorer areas of the country. That’s why Bill and I had to pitch in,” Johnathan confided with a sigh.

Looking at another rack of clothes, “If I would’ve known about this, I would’ve driven Lance and Ian here to get their uniforms,” Sandy said.

Quickly walking around the store, Johnathan showed her where everything was and then grabbed duffel bags. “Make sure you get two pairs of boots, so we can rotate each day,” Johnathan said, and Sandy sighed when Johnathan cracked a chemlight for her.

She looked down at her hiking boots that had a large hole over her toe on her right boot, and a large gash on her left. Moving back to the boots, Sandy wanted to cheer at seeing Merrell, North Face, Timberland, and other high-quality boots.  Seeing her size, Sandy grabbed the box and kicked her torn boots off. Since they had started, Sandy was on her second pair, but both had been cheap brands.

Making sure they fit, Sandy pulled another pair down and tried them on when Johnathan walked over, handing her a large duffel bag. Taking the bag, Sandy tossed the boots she’d had on inside, then tried on two more pairs until she found more that fit.

Leaving those on, she moved around the store and grabbed clothes. She passed Johnathan stuffing a duffel bag with freeze-dried packages of food. Walking down the aisles, she shoved stuff in her bag and then came to a display case.

Walking around, she opened the back and pulled out a tomahawk. Liking the feel, she put it in the bag. Looking at the rows of knives, Sandy grabbed a multi-tool like Lance had. Further down, she saw the same brand but bigger. Taking that one as well, Sandy tossed them in the bag.

Johnathan was the only one who had a multi-tool, and he had taken it off a stinker he’d killed. Seeing sharpening stones, Sandy looked up for Johnathan, but saw he was shoving stuff in another duffel bag. They had knives, but nothing to sharpen them with.

Grabbing several, Sandy tossed them in and stopped. “Holy cow,” she gasped, pulling out the biggest Swiss Army knife she had ever seen.

Walking over, Johnathan laughed. “Yeah, that’s the biggest one I’ve ever seen.”

“Why doesn’t Lance have one?”

Tapping the glass case, “Look at the price,” Johnathan answered, and Sandy looked down and her eyes got big. “Four hundred for a knife is a bit much. But I did offer to buy Lance one and he said no.”

Setting the box holding the Swiss Army knife down, “I got knife sharpeners,” Sandy said, then turned around to grab stuff behind the counter off the wall.

“I’m loaded. I’m taking over for Mary,” Johnathan said, pulling three duffel bags to the door. “I grabbed a small scanner, so don’t get another. I know an extra would be nice, but we need to start thinking hard on weight for the horses. I also got one of those solar rechargers, so leave the others.”

When Mary came in, she stopped at the counter and noticed the battery display case was empty, then saw the large Swiss Army knife. “I didn’t know they came that big,” she said, looking at the knife in the box.

Like she would get in trouble, Sandy turned around, looking at the door and saw Johnathan standing outside. “Shh, I’m getting two for Lance and Ian,” she whispered, tossing the display knife and box in her bag and then grabbed another one out of the case. “Come on, Johnathan said to get two pairs of boots, so we can alternate.”

“I’m loving that,” Mary sighed, walking over and saw Sandy’s old boots on the floor. Kicking hers off, Mary started pulling down boxes. Leaving her chemlight with Mary, Sandy pulled her bags across the floor to the front door.

“Can you put these on my pack horse?” she asked Johnathan.

Taking Johnathan’s place guarding them, Sandy purposely didn’t look over when Johnathan grunted, picking the first duffel bag up. “I saw dog food. Did you get some?” she asked.

Strapping the duffel bag down, Johnathan turned around while shaking his head at the weight of the bag. “Yeah, I grabbed a fifty-pound bag.”

“Why do they have dog food here?”

Loading the next duffel bag, “Sandy, the Boy Scouts had to become compliant with the laws and have supplies for service animals,” Johnathan answered, moving back beside her.

“Where else are we heading? The cafeteria?” she asked.

“Maybe, if we have room,” Johnathan said shaking his head, then pointed at a building on the other side of the valley. “That’s the equipment building, and that’s our next stop.”

“How did you know about the roof?” Sandy asked.

“I couldn’t be a chaperone last year when Lance and Ian came here with Bill, but I was able to visit one day. Sam smoked cigars and that’s where he would go to smoke,” Johnathan told her. “He wanted a store for the scouts and that’s how Bill found out, and the rest is history.”

Hearing grunting behind them, they saw Mary dragging two duffel bags across the floor. “Ladies, the horses can only carry so much,” Johnathan said, taking her chemlight and putting it in his pocket.

“Oh, I’m throwing away what I’m replacing,” Mary declared sternly as Johnathan took the bags and carried them to Mary’s pack horse.

Closing the door, “If we had any more thread, I could repair some of my clothes,” Sandy said, turning around. “Now I don’t have to, I can get rid of them.”

Leaning over to Sandy, “I got three sewing kits,” Mary whispered.

“I got two,” Sandy grinned as they walked over and led the horses across the valley.

Reaching the long building, Johnathan pulled out the bolt cutters and cut two locks off the door. Walking in, Johnathan pulled the chemlight from his pocket and saw Sandy pull hers out. “Tie the horses up, we won’t be in here long,” Johnathan told them, walking in.

After they’d tied the horses up, Mary and Sandy walked in and saw Johnathan setting three compound bows on a table. Then they looked on the wall and saw racks of them. “Look how small they are!” Mary exclaimed with a longing smile.

“The bows you are using are ancient compared to these,” Johnathan called out from the back of the building. “Not only are those smaller, they are much lighter.”

Tapping Mary’s shoulder, Sandy pointed at the boxes of arrows. Not small boxes that held a dozen. Three-foot-tall boxes, two feet wide and deep with a hundred arrows standing up and packed tight. “We’re taking one. Those are the lengths we shoot,” Sandy whispered, moving to the row of boxes.

Mary carried the bows and Sandy pulled the box to the door, then they moved back to see Johnathan grabbing stuff from the other wall. Walking over, they saw the wall was lined with saddles and Johnathan was grabbing saddle bags that rode on the fronts of the saddles, and rifle scabbards.

As Johnathan put the stuff on the table, Sandy turned to the back wall and saw a long metal closet. Inspecting it, Sandy saw it wasn’t sheet metal. It was thick with large welds at the corners. Looking at the two doors with a thick hasp, Sandy ran her finger over the biggest padlock she had seen. “Johnathan, your bolt cutters aren’t cutting this lock,” Sandy proclaimed.

Walking over to the right side and reaching behind the cabinet, “Don’t have to. Remember, I was a chaperone here,” he said, pulling out a key.

Smiling as Johnathan moved to the lock, when he opened the door, Sandy shoved him aside to look at rows of guns. Then she looked closer at the guns. “These are only 10/22s. Aren’t there any M4s or ARs?” she asked.

“Sweetheart,” Johnathan laughed. “This is a Boy Scout camp, not a military armory.”

Passing back two 10/22s, “You didn’t see these,” Johnathan said, holding up a 22/45. Sandy smiled and then noticed the barrel.

Looking from the pistol to the 10/22 she was holding, “Those are suppressors,” she gasped.

“Yep. Sam wouldn’t let the kids shoot guns that weren’t suppressed. He didn’t want to be responsible for hearing damage,” Johnathan explained, taking the suppressors off three 10/22s. “Doug got these for Sam. All Sam had to pay was the tax stamp for the pistols. Doug covered the stamps for the ones on the rifles.”

“Why the hell weren’t Mary and I introduced to Sam?” Sandy snapped. “He sounds like a person I would’ve liked to have known.”

Passing the suppressors back, Johnathan knelt down to the bottom of the cabinet. “He never came to us, we always came here. Remember, Doug took my place last time,” Johnathan said, pulling out metal boxes of ammo. “I talked to Sam a few times every year, as did Bill and I’m sorry, we should’ve talked him in to coming for a visit.”

“No,” Sandy said as she and Mary looked around.

“He was keeping a dream alive,” Mary finished.

“Start toting this to the door,” Johnathan said, pulling out more ammo cans. When Mary reached over and grabbed another 10/22, Johnathan looked at her. “Why another one?”

“So you can keep it on Bill’s saddle, and when you change horses during the night, you don’t have to move your Ruger,” Mary said while Sandy snuck back in, grabbing more boxes of arrows.

Nodding, “That’s smart,” Johnathan said. “Grab another scabbard.”

Thirty minutes later, Johnathan was leading them back toward the river. When he didn’t turn to the peninsula, Mary and Sandy just shrugged and followed. Half a mile away, Johnathan led them into an oxbow. The opening was only ten yards across and opened up to a three-acre wooded area.

“Bill and I fished with the boys here that first year,” Johnathan explained, climbing off his horse. He looked around the area, remembering the laughter of the boys echoing off the forest. “Doug and Bill fished with them here the last time.”

Climbing off her horse, “I love it,” Sandy smiled. “My baby boy was here.”

“I love it, too,” Mary said softly.

Chapter 6

Kentucky

Hearing the alarm clock while sprawled out on her belly in the bed, Lilly blindly slapped at the nightstand until the demonic sound stopped. When Lilly rolled over and sat up rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she glanced over at Lance’s bed and wasn’t surprised to find it empty and already made. Already knowing the answer, Lilly turned anyway to see Ian’s bed was empty and made also.

Leaning over, Lilly tapped Jennifer. “Jennifer, it’s 0530,” Lilly croaked out.

With one eye open and the other struggling to crack open, Jennifer lifted her head up while smacking her lips. “I’m up,” she moaned, looking around.

They hadn’t returned until after midnight last night. Ian and Lance had found a small machine shop and had loaded a trailer with metal. Dropping that trailer off, they’d returned and filled another one with aluminum. They’d had everything from bars, square stock, sheets, and angle iron on those trailers. Truth be told, the only reason they didn’t return again was the girls told them it was time to go home.

Grabbing her workout clothes, Lilly stumbled over to the ladybugs’ beds and stopped. Her eyes went wide to see they were made too. Turning around and looking at the dresser, Lilly saw the clothes she’d laid out last night for the ladybugs were gone.

Pulling her sleep shirt off, she ran over to Jennifer’s bed and found she had laid back down. “Jennifer, get up! The ladybugs are already up and dressed!” Lilly cried urgently.

Throwing the covers off, Jennifer leapt from the bed and slammed her head into the bunk bed over her. Grabbing her head, she fell back onto her bed. “Fuck!” Jennifer screamed.

Lilly ran over to drop on the bed and heard stomping feet flying up the stairs before she turned to see who it was. Ian ran over followed by Lance. “What happened?” Ian asked, leaning over the bed and patting Jennifer’s back.

“She hit her head,” Lilly answered, rubbing Jennifer’s back along with Ian. Then it occurred to her, Jennifer had hit her head and they were rubbing her back?

“You okay, Jennifer?” Ian asked, leaning down to her head.

“I will be,” Jennifer moaned, cradling her forehead.

Moving her hands to Jennifer’s, “Jennifer, move your hands so I can see,” Lilly said, prying Jennifer’s hands apart. Not seeing any blood, Lilly carefully ran her fingers through Jennifer’s hair and felt a large lump. “Yeah, that hurt,” Lilly mumbled, removing her fingers.

Sitting up, Jennifer rolled her eyes up to look at the top bunk with an evil glare. “Don’t break the bed,” Lance said, walking off and heading to the stairs.

“It attacked me!” Jennifer snapped.

Laughing as he walked down the stairs, “Yeah, and it won. But don’t think you’re the first.”

Turning to Ian, “So this bed has assaulted others?” Jennifer asked.

Leaning back and standing beside the bed with a grin, Ian shook his head. “No, but its predecessor did. Jason broke it last hunting season when he did that,” Ian explained, and started chuckling.

Climbing off the bed, Jennifer lightly rubbed the knot on her head. “My helmet is going to give me a headache today,” she moaned.

Kissing Jennifer on the cheek, Ian headed for the stairs. “I can ask Lance to push back the meeting a day.”

“No,” Jennifer said. “I’ll be fine,” she added, forcing a smile.

When Ian was gone, Jennifer curled back up into a ball before falling on her bed, holding her head. “I’d better not do that again because I know how to use a plasma cutter and a blow torch now,” she growled.

Dressing and then making her bed, Lilly moved over and helped Jennifer get dressed, then made her bed. When they walked downstairs, they saw Allie standing in front of Lance, getting her hair brushed. “You two couldn’t wait on me?” Lilly asked, heading for the couch.

“They woke up when we did,” Lance answered, then stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth as he braided Allie’s hair with intense concentration.

“What woke you up?” Lilly asked and seeing Carrie’s hair already done, she pulled Carrie closer.

“Sensor alarm sixty-two on the south side at 0410,” Lance replied, finally pulling his tongue back into his mouth. “The tigers were getting a drink of water.”

“Lance, when did you learn this braid?” Lilly asked, looking at Carrie’s hair.

“This morning,” Lance confessed, working his fingers through Allie’s hair.

Leaning over, Carrie picked up a 10x12 hardcover book off the coffee table. “Fifty Braids to Dazzle Your Friends,” Lilly read off the cover. Taking the book, Lilly flipped it open. “Pictures are helpful.”

“No shit,” Lance snapped, grabbing a rubber band and putting it in Allie’s hair. When he was done, Lance spun her around. “No more new braids till next week,” he said sternly.

“Okay,” Allie cheered, and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek. When she let Lance go, Allie and Carrie ran for the kitchen.

Sitting down beside Lance, Lilly put the book back on the coffee table. Afraid to say anything because of Lance’s reaction and the ladybugs’ potential actions, Lilly just grabbed his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Allie and Carrie brought them coffee and then ran back to the kitchen, passing Ian and Jennifer. Both had coffee, but Jennifer was holding a bag of frozen peas on her head. When they sat down, Lance squeezed Lilly’s hand. “The little-Devil-dick Lords attacked the Nazis last night,” he said, and Lilly lifted her head up and looked at him.

“How did it go?” she asked.

Shrugging, “Don’t know, they are still fighting,” Lance smirked.

“How long have they been fighting?” Jennifer asked.

“Since 0200,” Ian said. “Just like we thought, the little dicks have the numbers, but the Nazis have discipline.”

“Who’s going to win?” Jennifer asked, and Ian shrugged.

“Don’t know, but we are rooting for them to wipe each other out,” Ian told her.

Giving a grunt, “Fat chance,” Lilly seethed.

“Aw, little lady, don’t lose faith,” Lance chided with a grin as he squeezed her hand.

Looking into Lance’s eyes, Lilly saw that mischievous gleam. “Lance, please don’t go down there and deliver deeds,” Lilly moaned.

With a very fake gasp, “Why, Ian and I would never do such a thing,” Lance protested.

Lilly looked at him with sincere apprehension as her thumb caressed the hand she was holding. “Lance, please. There are stinkers everywhere around Pineville, and too many people inside those walls for you and Ian to move around,” Lilly begged.

Leaning forward, Lance kissed her on the lips. Nose to nose, Lance smiled at her. “I give you my word, Ian and I won’t go back down there unless the little dicks pose a danger to us,” he told her.

Lilly hugged him tight. “Thank you,” she sighed.

“Lilly,” Jennifer said, taking a sip of coffee and then looking over when Lilly released the hug. “They’ve already been down there four times, not counting when I went with them.”

Cutting her eyes at Lance, he sighed and sat back. “Hey! You weren’t even here the first three times we went down there!” Lance snapped.

“Okay,” Lilly said, holding up one hand. “But no more, unless you are attacking them.”

“Lilly, think about it,” Lance said, getting serious and Lilly didn’t like that. “If we attack in the open, they can retaliate. That’s the beauty of a deed. It delivers the message: ghosts are attacking, and you can’t do anything to anyone to stop it.”

Nodding, “I know, but I can worry about you,” Lilly snapped, and Lance laughed, reaching up and rubbing her cheek.

“Yes. But worry about something helpful, like two little girls driving me crazy,” Lance groaned, turning to Allie and Carrie who were walking in from the kitchen carrying mugs of cocoa.

Looking at the two innocent faces and knowing what they could do, Lilly shook her head. “Nope. You’re on your own,” Lilly replied without a hint of guilt.

Grabbing his coffee, Lance headed to the back door. “I’m not braiding hair tomorrow!” he shouted over his shoulder as he walked out.

The ladybugs turned to Lilly in shock and Lilly smiled at them, giving them a wink. “Yes, he will,” she told them.

Everyone followed Lance to get the first part of the day out of the way. After the workout, they cleaned up, ate, and then moved outside.

“You sure you don’t want to set up the R/C bot?” Lance asked Ian.

“Nope, it has a gun,” Ian said quickly. “After you work the bugs out, I’ll play with it.”

“So, we are calling it ‘R/C’?” Jennifer asked, pulling on her gloves.

“No, I was thinking of Rover,” Lance offered, climbing into the hybrid UTV. “This one will be Rover One.”

“I like that,” Ian said, and everyone nodded.

Ian and Jennifer opened the front gates and let Lance and Lilly drive out with only Dino accompanying them. The tigers were roaming, and Lilly didn’t want their attention on her dogs.

Lilly drove along the fence, stopping on the east side. As they climbed out, they could see Ian and Jennifer working on the greenhouse. “Allie, have you found the tigers?” Lilly called over the radio.

“Yes, they are in the field and laying down in the sun,” Allie answered.

“Okay, call us if the tigers leave,” Lilly said, relaxing.

Lance was waiting at the trailer when Lilly came over. Pushing their ARs across their backs, Lance and Lilly picked up a large metal box. It was seven-foot-long, five-foot-tall and five-foot-wide. Since it was made of sheet metal, the box wasn’t that heavy. Plus, it didn’t have a bottom and one end was open. This was the garage for the Rover.

Setting it down, they grabbed a smaller box, but had to bear down since this was a three-hundred-pound battery. Next, they grabbed a smaller parabolic mirror with a Sterling engine and unloaded it. Lance grabbed a shovel and leveled an area for the garage.

When he was done, Lance put the metal garage over the leveled area and then used two-foot-long spikes at each corner to hold it to the ground. With Lilly’s help, he put the battery behind the garage and put the recharging coil inside the garage.

Grabbing the two-handed drill, Lance set up the parabolic mirror. He wasn’t even finished driving the three-foot-long screws into the dirt when the Sterling engine started up. Hooking up the recharging station to the battery, Lance looked over at Lilly as she picked up the shovel.

“You take me on the nicest dates,” Lilly crooned.

Lance laughed as Lilly tossed the shovel in the back of the UTV and they both climbed back in. “Hey, look at it from my point of view,” Lance said, turning to Lilly. “I can’t even see your face now with your mask on. My girlfriend is a super hottie and I can’t even tell you’re a girl on our dates.”

Turning around, Lilly grabbed her PTT. “Coming home,” she called out, and saw Ian and Jennifer running for the front gate.

“Ian and Jennifer are coming,” Allie called back.

Lilly didn’t answer right away as she drove along the fence but glanced around. “Lance, you’re one to talk. You have the body of a Greek god, the face of an angel, and the mind of a genius. And you think I should feel sorry for you because you can’t see a hottie?” Lilly grunted, as she rounded the fence.

“Please, girls don’t look at guys like guys look at girls,” Lance laughed, and Lilly stomped on the brakes. Dino stopped in front of them and turned around, coming back and wondering what was going on.

Turning her upper body to face Lance, “You really think girls don’t look at some guys as hotties?” Lilly asked.

“I know they don’t,” Lance laughed. “I never saw Jennifer one single time drooling over Ian.”

“You weren’t looking then,” Lilly said, turning back to the steering wheel and easing forward. Seeing the UTV moving, Dino spun around to lead them to the gate. “I’ve seen Jennifer looking at Ian like he was on the menu.”

As Lilly pulled up to the gate, Ian opened it while Jennifer covered. Lilly pulled in and Lance shook his head. “Sorry, girls don’t look at guys like we look at girls,” Lance said as Lilly stopped.

Staring straight ahead, Lilly didn’t say anything until Jennifer and Ian had climbed in the back. “Jennifer, have you ever looked at Ian like he was a hottie?” Lilly asked.

“You know I have,” Jennifer snapped. “When he walks around without his damn shirt, I forget my name.”

With his ego inflating to the size of the planet, Ian perked up in the backseat, blushing hard when he heard that. Leaning forward, Ian slapped Lance’s helmet. “Damn dude. She said that shit out loud,” Ian chuckled.

Pulling up to the shop, Lilly turned the buggy off and looked over at Lance. “I rest my case,” Lilly said, climbing out.

“What the hell was that about?” Jennifer asked, grabbing Lance’s arm.

“I told Lilly, girls don’t look at guys like they are hotties, and I know they don’t,” Lance replied, then pulled his arm away from Jennifer. He got out and saw Jennifer rounding the front of the UTV. “How the hell?” Lance gasped, turning back to the UTV to make sure there weren’t two Jennifer’s.

“Drop your shit,” Jennifer snapped, putting her AR on the hood of the UTV. “I’m kicking your ass for thinking something that stupid. So, girls are too stupid to think a guy is hot and drool over him?”

Seeing she was serious, Lance backed up and made no move to take his gear off. “I didn’t say that or imply that. Let’s agree to disagree,” Lance offered.

Narrowing her eyes and making him nervous, Lance turned and lowered his body, getting ready for the attack. “We will talk later. You’re lucky we have so much shit to do,” Jennifer advised, then spun on her heel. As she grabbed her AR before heading to the greenhouse, Ian passed by Lance and punched his shoulder.

“I’m a hottie,” Ian chuckled.

Taking his helmet and facemask off, Lance wiped the sweat off his face. “Girls don’t get wood, so don’t tell me they look at guys the same,” Lance grumbled, heading to the shop. He found Lilly standing beside Rover.

With her mask and helmet off, Lilly looked at Rover. A SAW with a fourteen-inch suppressor was mounted on the top with a large camera. The camera was four feet off the ground. Rover was four-foot-wide with three-inch-wide tracks on each side and altogether, six-foot-long. The fully-loaded Rover tipped the scales at four hundred pounds.

“What now?” Lilly asked, and Lance stopped because there was no hostility in her voice.

“Run it through its paces,” Lance grinned, grabbing his radio. “Allie, you ready?”

“Ready,” Allie sang out.

“Turn Rover on,” Lance said, and Rover gave a jerk, making Lilly jump a foot in the air. “Lilly, the gun is empty.”

“Lance, the stuff you and Ian make kills shit!” Lilly cried out but relaxed, seeing with her own eyes there was no ammo in the SAW and then mumbled, “The stuff you two make kills shit on a scale that nears nuclear weapons.”

“Can you see me, Allie?” Lance asked in the radio.

“Yep,” Allie said.

“Follow me,” Lance said, walking out and Rover followed, almost running into Lance. “Allie, if Rover hits me, it will break bones.”

“Sorry,” Allie called back meekly.

Walking around Rover, Lilly grabbed Lance’s arm and yanked him out of the way. Grabbing her PTT, “Allie, drive Rover to the back door and then come back,” Lilly called over the radio.

Pivoting, Rover sped off and Dino took off after it. When Rover was on the way back, Lance called over the radio, “Allie, chase Dino.”

Rover skidded to a stop and turned toward Dino. Dino crouched down, keeping his butt in the air. When Rover lunged toward him, Dino spun around and took off running. Even Lance was shocked at how fast Rover was. On a straight away, Rover could catch Dino.

Lance stopped her and called Rover back over and had Allie turn on different things on the small bot. Lilly watched a servo flip the safety off and watched the arm move the SAW side-to-side and up and down. When another servo pulled the trigger, Lilly gave a startle to hear the firing pin click.

After an hour, Lance walked into the shop, opened one of the storage areas, and came back with a two hundred round belt. Lance had Allie drive Rover to the front gate. When Lance loaded the SAW, Lilly fought the urge to aim her AR at it.

Opening the gates, Lance let Allie drive it out and shoot a tree. Lilly was impressed, watching the bullets hit the tree fifty yards away when Allie squeezed off a three round burst.

“Allie, put it on safe,” Lance called over the radio as he closed the gates.

Lilly followed Lance inside and down to the bunker. She found Allie sitting to the side of the control area at a small desk with two monitors. One view was from a lower mounted camera for driving Rover. The other was the gun sight mounted a foot higher and complete with crosshairs.

Lifting Allie up in his lap and pulling Carrie beside them, Lance drove Rover down the road and through the cedar trees. When Rover popped out into the field, the tigers jumped up and Lance stopped Rover. The tigers looked at the machine, wondering what it was. When the larger male stepped toward Rover, Lance raced toward him. The male jumped back and took off running with the female following.

Grinning, Lance pointed at the displays at the bottom of the driving screen. Lilly saw the battery was at ninety-percent as Lance headed up into the trees. After showing the ladybugs how to change to thermal, Lance drove Rover to the garage they’d put out.

When Lance stopped at the small garage, he pushed a green button and Rover spun around and backed itself into the garage. Not liking even that little bit of autonomy, Lilly saw charging appear on the driving screen. Then Lance turned Rover off. Lilly did love the fact you had to turn a real key to work the safety.

Lilly and Lance headed upstairs and changed, then headed outside and found Jennifer and Ian already working on the other Battle Bots. They joined them and had one done before they quit and headed over to the pile of gear they were going to give the bear trap people. If they seemed agreeable to help, that would be the only way Lance and Ian had agreed to hand over the gear.

“Lilly and I are taking the real UTV, right?” Jennifer asked.

“Yeah, heavy loads strain the electric motors too hard,” Ian answered, and Jennifer clapped before running for the ATV shed.

With a huge smile, Jennifer drove over the big side by side. Like the others it was quiet but couldn’t hold a candle to the electric ATVs. Pulling over a twelve-foot empty trailer, Lance and Ian hooked it up. “You two are sure you will be fine providing sniper coverage?” Lance asked, dragging his forearm across his forehead. Loading the gear onto the trailer connected to the buggy, Lance and Ian strapped it down.

“Yeah, I’m on the gun and Lilly will be covering my ass,” Jennifer grinned.

“Okay, let’s get ready because I want to run something by everybody when we get to the storage house,” Lance said.

“What?” Ian asked, and Jennifer’s mouth fell open.

“You don’t know?” Jennifer asked, and Ian shook his head. Looking at Lance, Jennifer grinned. “I’m so proud you are asking all of us at once! I forgo kicking your ass,” she sang out and almost skipped to the back door.

“Dude, she was ready to stomp your ass,” Ian hissed as they walked to the cabin.

“Yeah, for a minute there, I was actually worried,” Lance chuckled.

Chapter 7

“Why are you and Lance changing weapons?” Jennifer asked Ian as they walked out the back door.

“To impress,” Ian said, cradling the M4 with a M203 grenade launcher. “It’s not like we haven’t taken them out before.”

Glancing over at Ian as they headed to the buggy, “This is ‘man card’ shit, isn’t it?” Jennifer asked rolling her eyes.

“Big time,” Ian grinned.

Grabbing Ian’s hand, “Sorry, no kisses with the mask on,” Jennifer said, looking at Ian’s mask. Like Lilly, she didn’t like the painted skulls.

Letting Jennifer’s hand go, “Let’s see what Lance wants to talk about,” Ian said, heading to the buggy. Lance was already in the passenger seat and Dino was sitting in the backseat behind Lance.

Jennifer ran over, climbing in the gasoline side by side and Lilly was in the driver’s seat. Jumping in, Jennifer turned to George in the backseat. “George, you’d better not growl at a raccoon again,” Jennifer warned.

“I’m just glad he didn’t take off,” Lilly said, starting the engine.

As Lilly followed Ian to the front, Jennifer reached up to pat the M14 on the dash. “I’m shooting something with this,” Jennifer giggled.

“I’m getting you a ‘man card’,” Lilly chuckled as Ian stopped. Lance got out and helped Carrie open the gates.

“Lance and Ian hardly ever let me shoot the M14. When you hit a stinker in the head, it pops like a grape,” Jennifer giggled as Lilly followed Ian out the gates.

Glancing around when she stopped, “Jennifer, you have ten magazines for the M14. That’s two hundred rounds,” Lilly said as Carrie closed the outer gate. Everyone was looking around, covering Carrie.

“Ian wouldn’t let me bring any more,” Jennifer pouted.

Lance jogged past them while Carrie ran for the cabin, and Lilly gripped the steering wheel. “I’m not getting in that one,” Lilly chuckled.

Following Ian around the fence, Lilly missed the power of a real engine as she followed Ian up the ridge behind the cabin. “I can’t believe the Devil Lords actually breached the Nazi compound,” Jennifer said as Lilly followed Ian along the diversion fence.

“It took them six hours and from what little we saw from the Nazi security cameras, the Devil Lords paid dearly for it,” Lilly empathized as she slowed. She watched Ian ease into the chute, carefully following the twist and turns. The trailer Ian was pulling only hit a few trees before Ian cleared the chute. When Lilly pulled through, she was proud she’d only hit the same trees Ian had.

Driving down the hill to the second house and barn that sat over the ridge behind the cabin, Lilly slowed while watching Ian weave around a hole. They always tried to take different paths, so they didn’t leave ruts, but there were only so many places their rides could go. When they were hauling full loads, they took the easiest routes.

“Seems like forever ago when Lance and Ian cleared this place the first time,” Jennifer said, gripping her AR. “I never told them, but me and the ladybugs never left the bunker when they went on that first patrol.”

Slowing so she wouldn’t hit Ian’s trailer, “I wish I would’ve made it to you sooner,” Lilly sighed.

“I don’t,” Jennifer snapped, and Lilly hit the brakes and looked over at Jennifer. “Lilly, if you had moved faster, we wouldn’t have been on that ridge and the Devil Lords would’ve got you.”

A cold fear gripped Lilly, realizing it was luck that intervened in changing her fate. Taking her foot off the brake, “No, I meant, I wish I could’ve joined you sooner. I feel bad not being there with all of you in the beginning,” Lilly explained as Ian pulled out of the trees.

As Lilly pulled out of the trees, Jennifer snorted. “The boys would’ve died seeing your hooters,” Jennifer chuckled softly.

“What?” Lilly asked, following Ian to the barn and stopping.

“Nothing,” Jennifer said, getting out.

Everyone moved over to Lance as he looked around. “Guys, I want to propose that we set this house up to use, putting our weapons together. I want anyone who sees it, to think it’s occupied.”

Ian groaned, “We aren’t even finished with the cabin or our research area, and you want to start something that big?”

“Ian, some of the gear we have planned can’t be taken from the cabin; our road out isn’t big enough,” Lance explained. Instantly, Lilly and Jennifer started getting worried about what they were planning to build. “I’m not talking about fortifying, just appearing to. Like surrounding it with diversion fences, putting up some of the parabolic power stations for electricity, and running a line over the ridge for cameras.”

Waving his hand out at the ridge they’d just come down, “Lance, that’s over a mile to the cabin,” Ian snapped.

“Hold on, Ian,” Lilly said, moving in front of Lance. “Besides putting together these creations from hell, what’s your real reason? I know your research area is for testing. What, we don’t know and to be honest, I don’t really want to,” Lilly admitted. The fact neither talked much about work done at the research area terrified her.

Taking a deep breath, “We are contacting people. Sooner or later, one of them will get curious. If they see some activity here, they will believe they have found us,” Lance said. “I want to trust them, but trust is earned, not given. Lilly, we are testing bigger weapons, traps and seeing just how much hydrogen sulfide the stinkers put out in our research area. I really don’t want that anywhere but outside the diversion fence.”

Only able to see Lance’s eyes, Lilly saw the uneasiness Lance felt when he spoke of the research area. “I’ll help, and if you need help in your research area, I’ll chip in,” Lilly offered with a shiver, really not wanting anywhere near the research area. “I’m not a member, so I can’t vote.”

“I’m a member,” Jennifer said, hitting Ian’s arm. “I vote yes on working this area. It will keep us safer. I’ll help in the research area but only if you really need it.”

Ian looked over at Lance and nodded. “We always back each other, brother. I vote yes,” Ian said then turned to Jennifer. “If we need help I’ll come and get you but with other bodies there someone might get hurt. Lance and I can watch out for each other,” Ian told her. Just hearing that, Jennifer didn’t want to go anywhere near the research area. They were scared of their own research area.

“The barn has a welder and other stuff. We don’t have to bust ass, just do a little bit at a time,” Lance pointed out, heading to the house. It was a nice brick house and unlike the first house they’d cleared, this one was untouched. They had been back to take anything they needed, but the structure was in good condition.

“Can I ask, what the hell is so big, you can’t get it down the road from the cabin?” Jennifer asked. Like Lilly, she really didn’t want to know what was done in the research area.

“A super stinker killer, but that one is further down the line,” Lance answered as they walked around.

“Oh, shit,” Jennifer mumbled, following Lance while Ian pulled out a notepad, making notes. “I’m scared of your research area because you made killer robots inside our fence. Lord only knows what you two do down there.”

Lilly nodded, watching Lance and Ian walk off talking. “A part of me wants to know, but another part really doesn’t want to know what they are doing in that research area,” Lilly confessed. “I know in my heart, the only reason they set that up was to protect us from what they were doing.”

Scoffing, “Yeah, they aren’t worried about getting hurt,” Jennifer pointed out. They both knew where the research area was located. It was just outside the diversion fence, sitting on the crest of the ridge that overlooked the valley, the trail was a mile from the field below the cabin just past the diversion fence gate. The boys went there a lot. The fact they told the girls about it and warned them to never get near the ridge, but never asked the girls to go with them was what scared them. Lance and Ian were concerned about the stuff they were doing there possibly hurting Lilly and Jennifer.

“Have you even asked what they are doing?” Lilly asked, glancing over at Jennifer.

Shaking her head, “Not after they told me they were putting stinkers in metal coffins to collect hydrogen sulfide,” Jennifer answered. “I did ask Ian that night, how certain he was I might get hurt there, and he told me he was almost certain I would. That really scared the shit out of me and I stopped asking after that. Only one works while the other watches, not keeping guard but to make sure the one working doesn’t make a mistake. If we go that person would have to watch us and the person working.”

Watching Lance and Ian point at the barn, “What scares me is Lance didn’t offer to put the research area here,” Lilly confessed. “You and I know they have hauled gear up there, but they don’t want anyone near the area or I should say, any from our group.”

“Damn, didn’t think about that,” Jennifer admitted. “This would be a good place for the research area. It’s away from the cabin, but we come through here. The spot they have it at, none of us ever have to go there.” Staring at Lance and Ian with wide eyes, “Now I’m really terrified about what they do there,” Jennifer shivered.

The sun was close to the horizon when Lance and Ian walked back over, and they gathered at the buggies. “We will call when we are set up,” Lilly said, starting the engine.

“And we’ll make sure they haven’t gotten there early,” Jennifer said.

“Of course, they are already there,” Lance snapped. “If they aren’t, we aren’t talking to them.”

Jennifer shook her head, “Lilly, just go before I kill him with his ‘man card’.”

Laughing, Lilly drove up the opposite hill they’d driven down. Lilly and Jennifer only had to go half a mile to the top of the hill that overlooked the valley the trailer sat in. Lance and Ian had to drive down to the road and circle the hill. They would travel two and a half miles to reach the same spot the girls would be overlooking five hundred yards away.

A doe jumped out from some bushes as Lilly reached the ridge. “Yeah, it’s still quiet,” Lilly mumbled, steering toward a larger gap between the trees, so the trailer wouldn’t get wedged in. She stopped just back from the crest and turned off the engine.

Almost vibrating, Jennifer shoved her AR across her back and yanked out the M14. Grabbing the tote bag with the magazines, Jennifer slung it on her shoulder as Lilly grabbed two ghillie blankets. Lilly looked at the shiny heat shield Lance and Ian had sewn in. “What are the odds the bear trap people have thermal?” Lilly asked, patting her leg for George to follow.

“Who cares? I can’t see Lance or Ian under those blankets with thermal,” Jennifer chuckled, grabbing one and throwing it over her head like a shroud.

“You lead,” Lilly said, gripping her AR. Following Jennifer through the woods, Lilly had to admit, Jennifer was good. When they reached the crest, Jennifer turned on the thermal scope as she knelt down and waited for it to warm up.

Slowly, she raised the heavy rifle up and looked across the valley to the ridge behind the trailer. On the other side of that ridge was where the bear trap people lived. “Got two,” Jennifer said, feeling her arms shaking from holding the rifle up.

Swinging the rifle along the ridge and then down to the trailer, “Four behind the trailer, and they have two four-wheelers,” Jennifer added, lowering the rifle.

Pulling the bipod legs out, Jennifer lay prone and moved up behind the rifle. Setting down her gear, Lilly went prone beside her, “George, lay,” Lilly said softly. When George lay beside her, Lilly grabbed her PTT. “Four with rides near meeting area and two peeking from ridge behind meeting area,” Lilly called out softly.

“Copy, rolling,” Lance called back.

“Nobody moved when you were on the radio,” Jennifer observed, looking through the thermal.

Grabbing the spotting scope, Lilly set up fast as the light started fading. Looking at the far ridge, “Where are the watchers?” Lilly asked.

“See that bare spot near the ridge? Move thirty yards north and you will see an opening in the trees under the ridge. They are next to that big tree,” Jennifer replied, and Lilly quickly found them.

“Okay, I have two. Both are female, one has red hair and is using binoculars. The other is a teen with blonde hair,” Lilly said, then moved her scope to the trailer. “Are the ones behind the trailer in the trees?”

“Yeah, but they peek out,” Jennifer answered. “Look to the far right at the tree line and you will see the four-wheelers.”

“Got ‘em,” Lilly said. “Looks like they made improvement to the four-wheelers since the last time I saw them.”

“Yeah, Ian said Lance gave them some pointers in the letter. To build trust was his reason,” Jennifer scoffed, never taking her eye off the scope. “That’s just the nice way Lance says, ‘you’re an idiot’.”

Putting the spotting scope up, Lilly pulled out the thermal binoculars and scanned all the way around them. “Have stinkers on the road coming in from the east, heading for the trailer,” Lilly said.

Swinging the rifle around, “Got ‘em,” Jennifer reported. “Lilly, set up the scanner and then watch those two at the top.”

Pulling out the scanner, Lilly took her hunter’s ear out and put the earbud to the scanner in. Turning it on, Lilly lifted the thermal binoculars. Zooming in on the two figures nine hundred yards away on the ridge, “Got ‘em,” Lilly said.

Jennifer reached up, dialing in the scope and let out a slow breath but then stopped, holding half of it. Resting the crosshairs on the lead stinker’s head, Jennifer slowly squeezed the trigger. When the rifle bucked against her, Jennifer gave a startle as the suppressed cough rang out and the sonic crack of the bullet broke the quiet. In her scope, Jennifer grinned from watching the stinker’s head vanish.

“That’s so fucking cool,” Jennifer grinned, moving the crosshairs to the next stinker.

“Okay, red is looking,” Lilly reported, staring at the two and seeing them turn to the road. Because of the size difference, Lilly knew who red was in the thermal binoculars.

Jennifer slowly squeezed the trigger and was again, startled by the cough and buck of the rifle. “I shot his fucking head off,” Jennifer giggled, watching the body drop and the head roll around on the road.

“She’s got a radio,” Lilly said as the earbud to the scanner came to life.

“Two stinkers just got shot up the road,” a very country female voice said.

“How far away?” a male voice asked.

“It looks like they are down just past the Edwards’ house,” the female answered. “I’m losing light fast and can’t see with my binoculars.”

“Rhonda, you see anything on the ridge across from us?” the male asked.

“No, and Lori and I have been watching. Those shots had to come from down in the valley,” Rhonda answered. “Heath, they have to be using a silencer because we woulda seen someone shooting a bow.”

“Okay, let us know when you see someone coming,” Heath told her.

“They saw you shoot the stinkers, but not where from. The redhead’s name is Rhonda and the man she’s talking to at the trailer is Heath,” Lilly reported, pulling the scanner bud out and letting it rest beside her ear canal. She really wanted to hear around her.

“Call the boys and tell them,” Jennifer said, now aiming back near the trailer.

Lilly updated the boys and then Lance called back, “At the road and heading to trailer.”

“They see you,” Lilly said, hearing Rhonda radio Heath. “They are confused about the evil-looking buggy pulling a trailer.”

“I’m surprised they can see us if they don’t have NVGs,” Lance called back.

“They must have good optics but even with those, they won’t see anything in a few more minutes,” Lilly told him.

“Copy. We see the trailer and Ian is switching to alternate channel,” Lance called out.

“I have them covered,” Jennifer said softly. “And I’m changing to alternate channel.”

“You are covered and be careful,” Lilly said as Ian slowed down.

Pulling off the road, Ian just drove through the ditch to stop in the front yard. “Wonder how long we have to wait until they come out?” Ian asked, climbing out. Turning the channel on his radio, Ian left it keyed, so Jennifer could hear what was said.

Looking around with his NVGs down, “We have shit to do,” Lance grumbled, walking to the end of the trailer. He stepped out from the trailer and looked at the backyard to the tree line. “Hey! We know you four are back there, come on! We have shit to do and don’t have all night!”

Keeping her eye on the scope, Jennifer snickered and relayed for Lilly as Lance walked back to the trailer. Ian grabbed a duffel bag and headed for the front door while Lance just opened the door and walked in. “Dude, if they would’ve booby-trapped that door, you would’ve been toast,” Ian pointed out, walking up on the deck as Dino jumped out and ran into the house. He saw two men walk around the corner of the trailer. Giving a wave, Ian stepped inside.

“A blast would’ve hurt them,” Lance shrugged, looking around. He could tell the bear trap people had ransacked the trailer, but other than that, it was in good shape. Moving around the living room, Lance started covering windows.

Walking over to a counter, Ian set the duffle bag down and pulled out a battery-operated light. A man in his mid-thirties stuck his head in, watching the two cover windows. “We showed up,” he said in a low voice.

“Want to help cover the windows, so stinkers won’t see the light?” Lance asked. “My sniper teams don’t like rushing their shots, and a stinker trotting makes them rush. Don’t mind the dog and leave him alone because he attacks.”

The man turned around and waved behind him, then came inside while staying far away from Dino and helped pull curtains and blinds. Lance turned to the door as two more men and a young boy came inside. “Close the door, please,” Lance said, and the young boy closed the door. “Ian, turn the light on.”

Ian turned on the small battery lamp, filling the living room and kitchen with soft light. The three men and boy jumped back, looking at Lance and Ian. The gray skulls on their black masks looked medieval. Then they saw them flip up the four tube NVGs connected to their helmets. The group’s eyes ran down to their chests, seeing the tactical vests with gear and magazines galore. Across each ones’ chest was the M4 with the grenade launcher, but Lance insisted on overkill.

Along with the ACOG scope, a thermal was mounted in front of it. A laser flashlight combo was mounted beside the fore grip and topped off with a suppressor on the muzzle. To be honest, the M4 looked like it would take out a tank. Then the four noticed the 3D scent suit.

“That scent-proof suit work?” asked the first man with light brown hair.

“Wouldn’t be wearing the hot fucker if it didn’t,” Lance answered, taking off his helmet. The four relaxed, seeing Ian take off his also and then they both took off their masks. “I’m Lance, my partner is Ian.”

“Glad to meet you, I’m Heath,” Heath said, slowly realizing they were teenagers.

“Lights are on, are we visible?” Lance called over the radio.

“No,” Lilly called back.

Nodding around the room, Lance walked into the kitchen and pulled out a chair before sitting down. “Teams say they don’t see the light.”

Heath looked from Lance to Ian in wonder. He could tell they were teenagers, but not how old. With the equipment they had on, it was hard to tell how big they were, but Heath knew that gear was heavy, yet the two moved gracefully. One thing he could tell was both boys had thick necks with bulges of muscles on each side. But it was the confidence that seemed to ooze into the air around them that confused him.

Looking at Heath, Lance shook his head and then spoke slowly, “It’s customary for you to introduce your group after I introduced mine.”

“Apologies,” Heath said, then pointed at the boy. “This is my boy, Denny. Next is my brother, Dwain,” Heath said, pointing to a man with brown hair who looked a few years younger.

“Last is my cousin’s husband, Grady,” Heath said, pointing to the last man who looked the same age as Heath but had black hair.

“Pleased to meet you,” Lance said, waving at the chairs around the table and pulled off his small backpack. Opening his pack, Lance pulled out a map, his tablet, and a few other things. “Glad to see your group has made it.”

Sitting down across from Lance, “I was wantin’ to know, how long have you known about us?” Heath asked.

“Second or third week when this started?” Lance asked, looking at Ian as he sat down.

Thinking for a second, “I want to say third,” Ian said. “We found your bear traps and that’s what we call your group.”

The three men’s mouths fell open, looking from Lance to Ian. Denny was just staring in awestruck wonder at them. “Yeah, the Devil Lords found you a few weeks later,” Lance lied, but all of them jumped at hearing the name. “Don’t worry, we killed the group staying in the house before they told the others.”

All three visibly paled, staring at Lance. “Bones was a little bitch,” Ian laughed.

“They found us?” Heath asked.

“Duh,” Lance said. “That’s why we went ahead and hit them early. We thought you knew something and then we saw you at this trailer, ransacking it with stinkers swarming you. Why in the hell were you driving a side by side that wasn’t dampened? Stinkers love noise.”

“You saw that?” Dwain asked.

Leaning over the table, “Okay, guys,” Ian said, looking around at the four. “If we say something, believe it. Yes, we saw you and I want to be the first to say, that redhead can shoot a fucking crossbow,” he said proudly.

“That’s our younger sister, Rhonda,” Heath proclaimed, smiling with pride.

“Oh, the one on the ridge?” Lance asked, and Heath’s smile fell off. “Heath, if we wanted to hurt you, you would be dead. We’ve gone through great pains to make sure the bad ones we are watching haven’t found you.”

“Soldiers of the New Dawn were heading here, but we killed them,” Ian told them.

“That white supremacist group?” Grady asked, and Ian nodded. “We’re white.”

“We’ve watched them rape white men, dude. They want fuckers to bow to them,” Lance huffed. “Now, I’m glad you read my letter and baffled your four-wheelers.”

“Thank you for the instructions,” Heath said, nodding.

“Oh,” Lance sang out, lifting his hand up and pointing at the ceiling. “Why in the hell do you pull your guard in at night?”

“I have to go to bed,” Denny replied, looking down.

“You’re the only one that pulls guard?!” Ian cried out.

“Lance, tell Ian to stop yelling, it hurts Jennifer’s ears,” Lilly called over the radio.

Reaching over and grabbing Ian’s arm before he continued yelling, “Dude, you’re yelling in your girl’s ear and she said stop,” Lance told him.

“You’re transmitting this?” Grady snapped.

Rolling his eyes, Lance looked over at Heath. “I take it, Grady came from the shallow end of the family gene pool?” Lance professed.

Heath snorted, trying not to laugh as Lance turned to Grady. “Yes, the teams outside need to know what’s going on and if you try something,” Lance said slowly, then turned to Heath. “You don’t have any night vision devices, do you?”

“Um, no,” Heath said as Grady groaned.

“You don’t tell them stuff like that,” Grady snapped, and Dino let out a low growl from the living room.

Holding his hand to his ear, “Grady, shut the fuck up,” Lance snapped, listening to Lilly on his earbud. “Heath, Rhonda has three stinkers a hundred yards to the west of them moving east,” Lance said, looking up at Heath. “One team has a shot but will lose it soon. Do you want me to tell them to take the shot?”

Lifting his radio to his mouth, “Rhonda, you have stinkers coming in from the west, a hundred yards away,” Heath called over his radio and Lance motioned with his hand for Heath to speed up.

“We had some deer run by, but I don’t see any stinkers,” Rhonda’s voice said over the radio.

Looking at Lance, “Rhonda, don’t move,” Heath said over the radio and released the button. “Tell your snipers to take ‘em.”

“Take ‘em,” Lance called out.

“Heath, someone just shot a stinker. I can’t see it, but I heard its head pop a…” Rhonda stopped, and Heath’s face broke out in sweat. “They just killed two more, I heard them moaning and then popping heads.”

“Heath, can you tell them to come down, so my snipers can just cover us? The trees are too thick there to watch them closely,” Lance more instructed than asked.

“No,” Grady snapped. “They could be planning something.”

“Grady, shut your trap,” Dwain said as Heath radioed Rhonda to come to the trailer.

Unplugging his earbud from the radio, “Spotters coming down,” Lance called over the radio.

“About time. We were getting worried about them,” Lilly’s voice sounded out of the speaker. “The smaller one just fell down hard, but Rhonda is picking her up.”

“Thank you,” Heath said. “The smaller one is my daughter, Lori.”

Waiting on Rhonda, Lance unfolded the map and turned on the tablet. Denny leaned over with wide eyes, looking at the tablet. “I miss mine,” Denny said with remorse.

Lance turned to Heath. “Can I ask why Denny is the only one pulling guard? You don’t have that many traps and fences around you,” Lance said.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Grady snapped.

Leaning back in his chair, Lance turned to Grady. “I’m being polite, but that’s about to end. If you want some just let me know, and I’ll give you more than you could ever handle. I will monkey-stomp a mudhole in your ass and walk it dry.”

“You’re just a kid. For all we know, you are setting us up to take the girls!” Grady shouted.

“Bitch! My woman is twenty-four, a veterinarian and so fine, she can make a blind man see!” Lance stood up and shouted, and the room was deathly quiet.

“Oh, buddy, we are curling up on the couch when we get home,” Lilly’s voice said over the radio as Lance stared into Grady’s face. “Lance, Jennifer says she can hear me, do you have your radio out?”

Reaching to his PTT slowly and never taking his eyes off Grady, “Yeah, wanted them to know our snipers were taking care of their watchers,” Lance almost growled.

“Lance, don’t kill the one who pissed you off. We have shit to do. If they are assholes, just come on and we can get done and curl up on the couch,” Lilly told him.

“Hold on!” Heath cried out in horror, standing up and holding out his hands. “Grady, shut up or leave. But if you leave, pack your shit and get out of the house. Brenda can stay.”

Grady looked at Heath in shock. “I’m trying to help,” Grady mumbled.

“Jennifer says Grady sounds like a bitch,” Lilly called over the radio and everyone except Grady busted out laughing.

“Lance, I’m sorry. You’ve been nothing but honest and I’m grateful,” Heath said, and Dwain interrupted.

“No, we are grateful,” Dwain corrected.

“Thank you,” Lance said, sitting back down as he stopped laughing.

“Watchers are almost to you. Open the door, so Rhonda doesn’t have to put the little one down,” Lilly called out.

Denny ran to the door and opened it. Rhonda was five-seven and robust, with a rack that would make Dolly Parton blush. In her arms was a skinny, blonde teenage girl holding her left knee. “You okay, Lori?” Heath asked.

“Yeah, Dad. Rhonda wouldn’t let me walk, but I can,” Lori groaned.

Rhonda put Lori on the couch and walked into the kitchen, and Heath looked at Lance. “So, your letter said something about helping each other,” Heath said, getting comfortable in his chair.

“Yes,” Lance nodded, grabbing a grease pencil and drawing a one-mile half circle to the north of Heath’s house. “You patrol that area and we will patrol this,” Lance said and drew a three-mile circle behind Heath’s.

Feeling lightheaded, Heath looked up at him in shock, “We haven’t been that far. We’ve only managed to get some food from a few houses close by. Only Rhonda has been far from the house when she hunts.”

“Yeah, we know, and it’s wearing us out,” Lance said. “You have to keep the area around you pacified. We aren’t saying to take on big groups, but taking out singles and doubles wears the stinker population down.”

“You also need to fortify your house. More specifically, the area around it,” Ian added.

Nodding, “We started that today after reading your letter on how the stinkers follow the contour of the land,” Heath said. “It’s slow-going because we don’t have power and have to do everything by hand.”

“You have solar panels,” Lance said. Before Grady could say something, Heath stopped him.

“Yes,” Heath said, glaring at Grady and then turned back to Lance. “They barely supply enough to keep the water going.”

“Shit, if I was you, I would move one ridge over to this house,” Lance said, pointing at the map.

Everyone leaned over to look where he pointed. “That’s Mr. Marcelo’s house,” Rhonda gasped in awe.

“I don’t know whose it is,” Lance shrugged.

“It ain’t ours,” Heath pointed out.

Flopping back in his chair, “Heath, dead fuckers are walking. The old world is dead. You are taking stuff from houses that aren’t yours,” Lance said. “That house is brick. I can’t remember how many bedrooms, but it’s a bunch. You would be at the top of a wide draw and have ten acres of flat land around the house for your animals and a greenhouse. There is already a fence around it. But most important, there is a stream running beside the house you can use for power.”

“Um, do you know how?” Heath asked timidly.

Giving a long sigh, Lance leaned over the table, grabbing a notepad and pen. “Okay, if, and I mean if, you are willing to work on patrolling, we will help set you up some power,” Lance offered very reluctantly as he made a list. “This is going to set us back, but our group needs help patrolling, so we can kill off the gangs first and then the stinkers around here.”

“We will help,” Dwain said quickly. It amazed him how Lance and Ian looked at them as a hindrance they really didn’t want. The fact they were adults didn’t impress Lance or Ian, and they made no qualms to hide that fact. Under no illusions, Dwain knew his group needed Lance and Ian more than they needed his group.

Giving a long sigh, Lance tore off one sheet and then started writing again. “Have those supplies in four days, and we will set you up with a 10-kilowatt power station. This next list will take longer, and it will be for hydro-power,” Lance said, and Ian reached over to slide the first list to Heath.

Heath read the list and furrowed his brow. “Don’t ask,” Ian warned. “Lance isn’t in the mood to explain the Sterling engine.”

“You’re sure it works?” Heath asked.

“Yeah,” Ian laughed. “We have a robot down the road from you that uses it to recharge.”

Denny stood up, leaning over the table. “What does the robot do?”

“Kills stinkers,” Ian grinned, and Denny looked from Ian to Lance. In Denny’s eyes, the two just moved from awestruck to god-like status.

“How many stinkers has this robot killed?” Rhonda asked.

Still writing, “Eight thousand, six hundred and twenty-two, as of yesterday,” Lance informed them. “We haven’t checked today.”

They all stared at Lance writing and then as one, they all turned to Ian. “If you see a machine surrounded by blood and guts, don’t get near it. They chase movement, but we have them set up in perimeters that they don’t leave. And whatever you do, don’t touch the power station or you will die when it shocks the shit out of you.”

Lance tore the page off and passed it to Heath. “That will give you all the power you need, if you move to where there’s water,” Lance said. “If you don’t, the other will supply you.”

Looking over at Dwain and then to Rhonda, Heath turned to Lance. “What happens if Mr. Marcelo comes home?” Heath asked.

“That’s his loss. If you don’t kill him, call us and we’ll cap his ass,” Ian chuckled. “If you move in, it’s yours. Now, if you run a family out of a house, we will come looking for you.”

Leaning over the table, Heath held out his hand. “We’ll help,” he said.

“Heath, lower your hand because we aren’t finished,” Lance told him. “You can’t go south because we have the woods and several roads booby-trapped in this war with the Devil Lords and the Soldiers of the New Dawn, or as we call them ‘little dicks’ and ‘Nazis’. Yes, our compound is south, but you will die long before you find it,” Lance told him, tapping his tablet.

Turning it around, Heath and the others stared at the screen showing the claymore explosion. They all jumped, seeing the dead and wounded. “I’m telling you this for your own good. When you get good enough to fight gangs like that, we will show you where to go,” Lance said, turning the tablet back toward him.

Even though he was the oldest in the room, Heath felt intimidated on every level compared to Lance and Ian. Neither of them considered anyone in his group even a remote threat. He could see it on their faces. Both knew they were good enough to kill all of them before they were in danger. At one time, every teen acted like they were invincible, but Heath could tell it was no act with Ian and Lance. They knew they were badasses and didn’t have a problem showing it.

“Heath,” Ian said, and they all turned to Ian. “That’s why we need help patrolling. We want you to start with a small area until you learn. But that one small area will help us greatly.”

“Why aren’t your parents here?” Grady asked. “How do we know they will honor what you promise?”

“We speak for our group,” Lance answered, staring at Grady with uncaring eyes.

“Let us hear this from them,” Grady said, seeing Heath wasn’t objecting. “Bring your parents here.”

“Why?” Lance snapped. “You want my dad to fuck you and get you pregnant?”

Throwing his head back, Denny fell out of his chair, laughing hysterically. “Grady, your best bet is to shut up before we just leave. Worst case scenario is Lance caps your ass before we leave,” Ian said, grinning as he watched Denny rolling on the floor and laughing.

“We are in,” Heath said, holding his hand out. “Through thick or thin.”

“‘Man card’ rules,” Lance replied, holding out his hand and shaking Heath’s. Then Heath shook Ian’s hand. “There’s a house at the top of the draw from this trailer. From now on, that is the clubhouse where we meet.”

“We know it,” Dwain said, shaking their hands. “It was for sale before all this.”

Ian moved around the table. “Dwain, Denny, come help me carry some stuff in we want to donate to the bear trap team,” Ian said, and walked outside.

“Heath, they are unloading two rolls of wire to run to your house, so we can talk; like to call us for help,” Lance said, and Heath sighed with relief. “I said help, not support.”

“Understood,” Heath nodded.

“Everyone who joins this coalition will connect to the clubhouse. I’m sure you know why we aren’t telling you where we are,” Lance said.

“Trust is earned, not given,” Heath answered with a nod.

Chapter 8

Gathering his stuff, Lance was glad they’d taken the chance. “Exactly, and you won’t tell others we let in where you are until their trust is earned,” Lance instructed as Ian and the others came back in.

Ian handed Lance one of the duffel bags and opened the other one. Lance opened his and pulled out five M4s and one AR. None were from their collection. These had been collected from stinkers and cleaned up. One was the M4 Lilly had arrived with but Lance had to work on it to clean it and get it functioning again.

Each weapon had a suppressor Lance had made and a scope. Lance picked the M4 Lilly had brought in and held it out to Rhonda. “Rhonda, this one is yours,” Lance said, and she smiled, taking it.

“Thank you,” she smiled, cradling the weapon. “It’s right nice.”

“Yours and two others have night vision scopes,” Lance told her, and she gasped.

“We could only spare six NVGs and one thermal monocular,” Ian said, laying them on the table. Like the rifles, none of the gear had come from their supplies. It was stinker-donated, but had been cleaned very well.

“We could only spare five thousand rounds of 5.56. If we run into more, we’ll save it for you,” Lance said, and Heath had tears on his face as he held an M4. He stared at the suppressor and then looked around at the other gear.

“Just let us know what we have to do,” Heath said in a broken voice.

“Get your home secured first, then slowly push out,” Lance replied, packing his stuff.

Looking at the others putting on the gear, “I want to talk to the wife, but I’m thinking we are about to move,” Heath admitted.

“That’s sound reasoning,” Lance nodded, grabbing his mask and putting it on.

“Why are you wearing the mask?” Denny asked.

“Protects my face from stinker bites,” Lance answered, and everyone became quiet. “We wear suits under our gear that will protect us from one bite, but we have to deal with the stinker before they bite again.”

“Lance,” Heath said, shouldering the M4. “Did you and Ian think of all the stuff you are talking about or did your parents?”

“We did, but they back us,” Lance answered, and Heath nodded.

“So, you heading home to curl up on the couch?” Heath asked, grinning.

Buckling his helmet on, “No, we have business in Girdler,” Lance replied, and the group froze again.

“You can’t go there!” Heath cried out. “That’s the last place we went to, just a week after this started, and almost didn’t make it home.”

“Chill, dude,” Lance said. “Our robot is to the north of town and drew the stinkers out. There are a few still there, we only killed like a few hundred the last time we were there, but that’s nothing to get excited about.”

“Can we come with you, please? We need food bad,” Heath begged. Just hearing Lance casually reply that a few hundred stinkers weren’t anything, filled him with hope.

Lance groaned, looking at all the pleading faces, including Grady. “Lance, we vote yes,” Lilly called over the radio and the group smiled hopefully. “But if Grady pisses you off, we get to feed him to the Battle Bot.”

“Deal,” Heath sang out and Grady turned to Heath, ready to attack. “Grady, I’ve kicked your ass every time we’ve fought. I’m more than happy to do it again.”

“No cars, and I want to see just how quiet your rides are before I agree,” Lance snarled, then pressed his PTT. “Lilly, if Jennifer has had her fill of shooting stinkers, can you two head down?”

“Yeah, Jennifer got thirty-four,” Lilly answered, and the others nodded impressed.

“Dwain, Denny, bring the four-wheelers up, so Lance can hear them,” Heath said, trying to mount a monocular to one of the helmets they’d given them. Ian took the helmet and attached the NVG. “Thank you,” Heath said, buckling it on.

“Lance, if their stuff is quiet, I say let them come,” Ian chimed in, heading for the bar.

Rolling his eyes as Ian turned off the lamp and Lance cracked a chemlight. “Stinkers don’t see green very well,” Lance explained, heading for the door. They had discovered many secrets about stinkers in the research area. Walking outside, Lance heard the four-wheelers pull up. They were much quieter, but nowhere in the neighborhood of his and Ian’s work.

“So, what do you think?” Heath asked.

“Don’t rev the engine high because to us they are loud, but you made some good improvements,” Lance admitted as Dino walked out, shoving people aside with his girth.

“You get me power, and I can make them quiet,” Heath vowed, jumping back when Dino walked past.

Lance looked over the six and they had on the NVGs. None compared to what they had, but the group could see in the dark. “Tell your group to listen,” Lance sighed.

“Listen up,” Heath called out, and his group moved close.

“You haven’t done this, and we have. Watch us and follow our lead. The first one to panic will get shot by me. If any of you shoot one of my team, retribution will be swift. I don’t care if it was an accident,” Lance told them, looking around at each face. The bear trap team shivered to look at the grey skull talking to them, and none had any doubts.

“Denny, you’re with us,” Lance said, pointing to the buggy. “Dino sits in the back behind me on the passenger side. You will not shoot until Ian or I say. Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Denny beamed.

“It’s Lance, not ‘sir’,” Lance replied, tossing the chemlight in the trailer and closing the door.

“Lance, we need to stop and get our trailer,” Dwain said.

“A trailer?” Lance stressed with no emotion, flipping his NVGs down.

“Uh, yeah. That’s all we got,” Dwain replied.

“There are some at the co-op, you can take two of those,” Lance said.

“Hell, we took three,” Ian chuckled as Dino jumped in the buggy. “Here they come.”

Everyone turned as Lilly drove toward them at fifteen miles an hour, so the tires wouldn’t hum. “Is that an electric buggy?” Heath asked.

“Nope, gas,” Lance replied as Lilly pulled into the yard. “Our electric rides are much quieter.”

“Shit,” Heath moaned, walking off the deck.

“Lori, Rhonda,” Lance called out and they turned to him. “You’re riding with them and you listen to what they say.”

Rhonda nodded, with her monocular over her left eye. “Sure thang, Lance,” Rhonda smiled.

“Rhonda, you can bring your crossbow,” Lance said, and Rhonda ran to one of the four-wheelers to grab her crossbow.

“Lance, we are leaving the weapons we brought in the trailer and will come and get them tomorrow,” Dwain told him.

Nodding since only Dwain was carrying an AK clone and the others had hunting rifles and shotguns. “I hope everyone knows how to shoot the rifles we gave you,” Lance said, walking off the deck.

“Yeah, I had an AR and Heath has one at home, but doesn’t have any ammo for it,” Dwain grinned.

“Stay behind Ian and we will keep your group in the middle,” Lance instructed, and Dwain nodded. “Load up.”

As Dwain ran to one of the four-wheelers, Lilly and Jennifer were standing beside the UTV. “Hi, I’m Rhonda and this here is Lori. Lance said we had to ride with ya,” Rhonda said with a smile.

Jennifer turned, looking at Rhonda’s chest and grinned. “Yep, they weren’t lying,” she chuckled, looking at Rhonda’s body.

“Huh?” Lori asked.

“Nothing,” Jennifer said, and noticed everyone loading up. “Lori, you sit in the middle of the backseat. Rhonda, you sit behind Lilly who’s driving.”

They both smiled as they walked past, climbing in the UTV. “Shit, I thought Lilly had some knockers,” Jennifer mumbled as she turned to get in the UTV. Watching Lilly climb in behind the steering wheel, Jennifer noticed Lilly staring at the two.

“Lilly, keep the four-wheelers in the middle and if anyone acts like an ass, they walk,” Lance called over the radio.

“Copy,” Lilly barked, then arranged her AR until it was resting across her lap. “Don’t bother George,” she said over her shoulder. “He’s our early warning system, but he’s still young and being trained.”

“Sure thang,” Rhonda said cheerfully. “I need to buckle Lori in?”

“No,” Lori snapped.

“If she can’t hang on, you do,” Lilly said, turning around.

Watching Ian drive around the trailer to the east, Lilly waited on the four-wheelers and then followed the group up the draw that ended at the trailer. They soon passed the house that was to become the clubhouse and Ian entered the trees, heading up the slope.

Over the scanner, Lilly heard Heath. “Robin, we’re all right. We are with the group that wrote the letter.”

“Are you on the way back?” Robin asked.

“No, they’re letting us go with them to Girdler, so we can get some food.”

“Heath, you can’t go there!” Robin screamed over the radio. “It’s full of stinkers!”

“Baby, we don’t have much of a choice. We are out of food. The deer Rhonda killed yesterday is gone. This group knows what they are doing.”

“Please be careful,” Robin pleaded.

“I will and will call you on the way back.”

Grabbing her PTT, “Ian, slow down,” Lilly called out. “The ones driving the four-wheelers have never driven with NVGs.”

“Copy,” Ian replied, and she saw him slow. They were only doing seven miles an hour through the trees, but it seemed much faster.

“Thank you for this,” Rhonda said behind them.

Not seeing anything through the trees, Jennifer turned around to Rhonda. “Tell your group to do what Lance and Ian say, so we can help you. I’m sorry, but they don’t tolerate stupid at all,” Jennifer told her.

Rhonda turned to look at Jennifer and even Jennifer saw her shiver. The black mask covering her face and the four NVG tubes over her eyes gave Jennifer a demon appearance. “If Grady acts stupid, I’ll shoot his ass,” Rhonda swore, turning away quickly. From Jennifer’s voice, Rhonda knew she was young, but Jennifer’s mask unnerved her.

Leaning over the front seat, “Are you Lance’s girlfriend?” Lori asked Lilly in a very small voice.

“Yep,” Lilly almost snapped.

“And you’re a veterinarian?” Lori asked.

“Few months from graduation,” Lilly replied in a slightly softer tone.

“Um, can you look at my dog? He got cut on his foot a few days ago. I cleaned it, but I’m worried about him,” Lori asked timidly. “I have twenty-two dollars.”

Taking her foot off the accelerator, Lilly watched the four-wheeler in front of her almost center a tree. “What kind of dog?” Lilly asked as the four-wheeler cut sharp to dodge the tree.

“A terrier,” Lori answered with a begging hope.

Giving a sigh, Lilly pressed the accelerator following the four-wheeler as it ran to catch up. “I’ll take a look at him,” Lilly promised.

Clapping her hands, Lori sat back. “Damn it, Jennifer,” Lilly snapped. “You call Ian and tell him to slow down because the two driving are having trouble keeping up with him.”

“Ian, slow down. The two with us are trying too hard to keep up!” Jennifer barked over the radio.

“Run their asses over!” Ian snapped.

“What, and listen to you bitch because we hurt the side by side?” Jennifer huffed. “For their first time driving with a tiny field of view over one eye they are doing good, but let them get used to it.”

A few seconds later, Ian sighed over the radio, “Copy.”

“Yeah, I bet it does take some gettin’ used to driving with these,” Rhonda admitted behind them as Ian finally turned off the ridgeline.

“Lance made us ride around the yard until we could,” Jennifer chuckled, looking around.

“Where did he learn?” Lori asked.

“Driving us here,” Jennifer answered and heard Lilly give a growl in her chest. “You okay?” Jennifer asked, looking over at Lilly.

“Yeah,” Lilly snarled, never looking away from her driving.

“Stinkers ahead,” Lance called over the radio.

Looking out her side, “Look for stinkers and call them out,” Jennifer told Rhonda and Lori.

Coming out of the trees, Rhonda saw the group ahead on a dirt road. As they pulled onto the road, Rhonda saw three stinker bodies sprawled out that Lilly dodged. Passing a few houses, Rhonda saw bodies in the yards and looked to the front of the group.

A figure’s upper body was out of the top of Lance’s buggy swinging from side to side and shooting. “Lance is still pissed Ian kicked his ass on the last two stinker hunts,” Jennifer chuckled as they passed underneath some railroad tracks.

“I told him he needed to slow down,” Lilly said. “When he tries to go faster, he always misses.”

“Damn it, Lance!” Ian shouted over the radio. “Watch where your brass is going! I get one more down my shirt and we fucking stop so I can stomp your ass!”

Grabbing her PTT, “Lance, you know hot brass hurts. Don’t let it hit Ian,” Lilly snapped.

“Ian, my bad,” Lance called out. “Ian, stop for a second, large group ahead.”

As Lilly stopped, Jennifer jumped out. “Rhonda, get out and watch your side and the back. Lori, stay where you are,” Jennifer ordered and then looked ahead. “Shit, Lance is going to win today,” Jennifer said, watching Ian climb out beside the buggy.

Where the dirt road met the blacktop was a large group of stinkers. From the look of them, they were heading toward the Battle Bot a few miles down the road. “Holy shit,” Jennifer heard Rhonda gasp.

When Rhonda didn’t turn away, Lilly got out. “Rhonda, keep an eye on your area. Trust the team to call out if they need help,” Lilly instructed, and Rhonda turned away as the group melted under Lance and Ian’s hail of lead.

Fighting the urge to watch, Rhonda scanned around her area. After ten minutes, the soft thumps and sonic cracks of suppressed shots to the front died out. “Got one,” Rhonda called out and Lilly turned to see a stinker walking out of the trees.

“Take ‘em,” Lilly said, and Rhonda raised her M4 resting the small cross on the stinker’s face. Flipping the safety off, she slowly squeezed the trigger. When the rifle coughed, Rhonda chuckled, watching the stinker drop.

“I like a quiet gun,” she laughed.

“Load up,” Lilly barked, climbing in the UTV. “We will be driving over the bodies, so watch for some playing dead and trying to reach up and grab you.”

“Yeah, we been noticing that the last few weeks,” Rhonda said, getting in. “And they’re tryin’ to hide, but they ain’t that good.”

“Rhonda, anyone ever tell you, you sound like Reba?” Lilly asked, easing off with the others.

Giving a deep laugh, “Yeah, but I can’t sing like her, that’s for sure,” Rhonda replied.

Bouncing over the bodies, Lori looked out at the mass with a shiver, then looked ahead and saw the four-wheeler riders holding their legs out like they were crossing water. “How many do you think was here?” Lori asked.

“Hundred, maybe a hundred and fifty,” Jennifer shrugged with indifference.

Leaning close to Rhonda, Lori whispered. “I like them. They aren’t scared of anything.”

Jennifer turned around to Lori after they cleared the pile of bodies. “Wrong. We are scared, but we don’t let it affect us. Fear is an emotion, just like being happy or sad. You don’t let emotion get in the way of what has to be done,” Jennifer told Lori.

Trying not to blush, “I whispered,” Lori said with an open mouth.

“Sorry, but I heard,” Jennifer said, turning around and not about to explain the hunter’s ear. “I just wanted you to understand.”

“Lori, you listen to her,” Rhonda said. “She’s right. You fight through when you’re scared.”

“I still think they are awesome, just like you, Rhonda,” Lori said, looking out past George.

“Nope, they are better than I am, but I’m hopin’ I can learn,” Rhonda scoffed, looking out and noticing they were on the side of the road off the pavement. “Can I ask why we ain’t on the road? Seems we could go faster.”

“We can, but the mud grips make too much noise,” Lilly answered over her shoulder. “There weren’t that many stinkers around last night when we were here, so we drove on the road.”

Leaning over, Rhonda saw two people out of the top of the buggy now. “How is Ian out the top and the buggy is still going?” Rhonda asked in wonder.

“That’s not Ian,” Jennifer laughed. “Lance has Denny up with him, teaching him to shoot.”

Turning back to her area, “You are some good people,” Rhonda stated. “It was rare before this but now, I’m betting this group be some of the last.”

Glancing back, “You’re some good people, too,” Jennifer said.

“We will be with your help,” Rhonda said. “But now we ain’t in a position to help ourselves, much less others.”

“Rhonda, Ian and Lance are a bit high-strung,” Jennifer said carefully. “Please tell your group not to piss them off, or I should say Grady. They view your group by everyone and I can tell they like you, but you will see in time, they get frustrated when others can’t see or understand what they are talking about.”

“Which is half the damn time,” Lilly snapped. “I didn’t take engineering, but I’m trying to understand that damn CAD program. Lance needs to chill.”

Reaching over and patting Lilly’s arm, “You sat there with him until you understood,” Jennifer laughed out.

“Bullshit,” Lilly huffed. “I acted like I did, then went and found a book.”

Up ahead, they saw lights. Behind them, Lori and Rhonda gasped. It had been so long since they had seen lights outside, it was a wonder now. A twenty-foot pole rose over the field with LED lights shining down onto a large area.

“Whoa!” Rhonda gasped as the four-wheelers pulled up beside the buggy and Lilly pulled to the outside. The four vehicles sat in a line across the road, looking at the Battle Bot two hundred yards away. Stinkers were charging the gore-covered vehicle and they could hear a constant ‘hmmmm’ from the shredder mounted on the front.

The new group was spellbound, watching the Battle Bot drive into ranks of stinkers with a stream of gore being shot out five yards from each side. Lilly and Jennifer gripped the ARs, ready to cap the Battle Bot if it left the playground.

Not thirty yards to their front, a stinker walked out of the trees. It stopped and looked at the shadowy group, then turned to the lit-up area with the noise. Raising its arm, the stinker moaned and trotted toward the playground.

Climbing out of the buggy, “Man, they get serious wood for lights and sound,” Ian said.

Suddenly, the hum gave a deep grinding sound, like a lawnmower getting bogged down. Then the hum of the shredder stopped for a brief second and everyone, except Ian and Lance, feared the Battle Bot had died.

When the Battle Bot came to a stop, several of the group said a silent prayer. Slowly the Battle Bot backed up, and they heard a weird hum from the Battle Bot and noticed the stinkers to the front were thrown back for a brief second. Again, the hum stopped and then turned back on.

The hum only lasted a second, then the dull sound of bodies being shredded covered the hum. When the Battle Bot started forward shoving more bodies into the shredder, everyone sighed with relief. “What happened?” Jennifer asked, looking over at Lance sitting on the roof of the buggy and looking at his laptop.

“A stinker soldier,” Lance answered, looking up at the playground. “His M4 clogged the grinder and Battle Bot had to spit it out. That’s why Battle Bot’s shredder can’t run at a high RPM.”

“The damn blades turn pretty fast to me,” Lilly said, climbing out.

“No, Lance is right,” Ian groaned. “I wanted the shredder turning at a thousand RPM. He wanted a few hundred.”

“Like I said, we can’t ask the stinkers to discard all metal objects before Battle Bot eats them,” Lance laughed, reloading magazines as Denny looked down at the laptop.

When the Battle Bot reached the end of the playground, it spun around and drove straight ahead at any stinkers. With throngs in the playground and more coming, the Battle Bot just rolled on. “Um,” Rhonda said, leaning close to Lilly as she looked around. “Not to say I’m not impressed, but should we be just sitting here?”

Not seeing any stinkers coming for them, Lilly turned to face Rhonda. “That group will be gone in a few minutes and we won’t have to waste any bullets. Plus, if we drive past, some of the stinkers might follow, and Lance and Ian will get mad we took some stinkers away from Battle Bot,” Lilly explained.

Looking back to the playground, “That’s more than they shot down back there,” Rhonda pointed out, not that convinced.

“Just watch,” Lilly chuckled. “I’ll cover the rear. When it comes to cool ways to kill shit, nobody beats Lance and Ian.”

Rhonda moved up as Lori looked at Lilly with a pleading face. “You can get out and watch, but be ready to jump in,” Lilly said, then turned to watch behind them.

Climbing out, Lori moved beside Rhonda as Jennifer passed them some binoculars. When they lifted the binoculars to their eyes and saw the destruction up close, they gained a newfound respect for the Battle Bot, along with some fear.

With the Battle Bot facing them, “Jumpin’ Jesus on a pogo stick,” Rhonda croaked out, watching the stinkers just falling into the spinning rollers and vanishing. Then she saw a soldier wearing a helmet and combat vest and sucked in a breath.

When the soldier was sucked in with two others, the tone just went from ‘grrrr’ to ‘GRRRR’ for a second, then returned to the shredding hum. In five minutes the playground was empty, with a few stragglers moving to the playground.

The Battle Bot came to a stop with the shredders spinning like it was thinking and then the shredders turned off, stopping quickly. Driving to the middle of one side of the playground, the Battle Bot spun around and drove to the other end, then moved over and spun around. As it drove back, Rhonda saw at the bottom, chunks of gore were being pushed to the right side by a small dozer blade under a bar that was sticking out.

That was when she noticed the mound of gore outlining the playground. “Is that thang cleanin’ up its killin’ area?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yep,” Jennifer laughed. “There’s nothing like cleaning an area, just so you can fill it full of chunks of flesh, bone, and blood again.”

Lowering the binoculars in shock from what she had watched, she looked over at Lance pointing at the laptop and talking to Denny. “And you’re makin’ more of these?” she asked Jennifer.

“Yeah, we will have two more done by tomorrow. They made changes to see what works the best,” Jennifer said, looking at the Battle Bot. Suddenly the Battle Bot stopped its cleaning when a stinker walked through the mound of gore around the playground. Like it was pissed about being interrupted, the shredder kicked on and the Battle Bot pivoted on its tracks and charged the lone stinker.

The bar sticking out a foot off the ground tripped the stinker in, and in the blink of an eye, the stinker vanished as gore shot from each side. Stopping, the Battle Bot seemed to be waiting. Then it shut off the shredder, spun around, and returned to the spot where it had stopped pushing the gore out of the playground.

“Jennifer, you tell me how I can help you do anything,” Rhonda declared in awe, feeling just a little sorry for the stinkers heading for the Battle Bot.

“Let’s load up,” Lance said, then looked at Heath. “See that dish out there with that big metal box?”

Heath had noticed it but looked back again. “Yeah,” he said.

“That’s what you are gathering supplies for us to make you,” Lance told him.

Sitting behind Heath, Grady looked across the field at the shiny dish. “Can’t we have that one?” Grady asked.

Leaning to the side, Heath drove his elbow back, hitting Grady in the face. Everyone heard a ‘crunch’ as Grady cried out and fell to the side, grabbing his face. Nobody moved when Grady hit the pavement hard. “Grady, I’m tempted to tell them we will do without power and use the one they build for us and make another-,” he paused, looking over at Ian.

“Battle Bot,” Ian helped.

“Yeah, another Battle Bot. Hell, even your stupid ass has noticed we haven’t had near the stinkers we usually get. Now we know why,” Heath finished with a growl. “From now on, you don’t talk. If you want to ask something, you whisper it to me. I swear, if you piss them off and they leave us to fate, I’ll kill you slowly.”

“Damn, that was cool,” Lance chuckled, and Heath looked up at him.

“I’m sorry he even said that,” Heath said.

Shrugging, “Just proves we chose the right group,” Lance huffed. “Even with the world going to hell, idiots survived.”

Climbing back into the buggy, Ian looked down at Grady struggling to his feet and holding his nose. “Be thankful, dude,” Ian grinned. “I would’ve broken your legs and fed you to Battle Bot.”

“You’d better be on before I pull off,” Heath warned, gripping the handle bars. With blood running down his face, Grady climbed behind Heath as Ian pulled off.

Driving along the road beside the field the playground was in, everyone noticed the several dozen stinkers heading for the Battle Bot but only a few turned to look at them. Not one changed course and continued on to the Battle Bot as it cleaned its playground.

When they rounded a curve, they saw a few stinkers in the road. Lance lifted his M4 to his shoulder. “Denny, start on the right, close to far,” Lance said, squeezing the trigger.

Sighting in on a stinker, Denny kept the crosshairs on the stinker’s face. With the buggy never slowing, he pulled the trigger and watched the stinker drop. Moving his aim to another one, Denny saw its head explode as Lance swung his M4 in a wide arc.

Not mad but happy he’d been included, Denny aimed ahead at another one, shooting it before Lance swept back across the road. For every stinker Denny shot, Lance shot five. “Doing good, Denny,” Lance said, ejecting a magazine.

Stopping at the co-op, they hooked up two trailers to the four-wheelers. Ian led them to a small grocery store and parked in the lot. Lance climbed out from the roof and dropped down as Ian got out. “Denny, follow but keep your rifle pointed down like this. It’s called low ready position,” Lance instructed, holding his M4 to his shoulder but aimed at the ground. “Watch how Ian and I clear it.”

“Yes sir,” Denny said, jumping down and doing what Lance said.

“Lance, we can do it,” Dwain said, looking at the dark store with fear.

“No, you will follow Denny, watching how we do it,” Lance corrected. “We’ve cleared hundreds of buildings. Some with stinkers and others with bad guys. How many have you cleared?”

Hearing the confidence and more than a little jealous of it, Dwain looked around and then back at Lance. “Only a few, but we don’t want you or Ian getting hurt,” Dwain admitted in a low voice.

“Oh, sweet mother of God, I love these guys,” Lilly sang out, lifting her AR and dropping two stinkers.

Squeezing her trigger, Jennifer dropped a stinker walking from behind the store. “Yeah, wish we would’ve talked to them sooner,” Jennifer chuckled, and motioned for Lori to get out and move beside her.

Leaning over, Lance poked a finger in Dwain’s chest. Under any other circumstance, it would’ve been funny. Lance was a head shorter than Dwain’s six-foot frame and Dwain, like Heath, was over two hundred pounds.

But in the here and now, Dwain was clearly afraid of Lance and Ian, as were the others. Poking his finger in Dwain’s chest, “Let’s get something straight, ‘man card’ rules say you can’t take their side unless my actions are grossly inappropriate,” Lance snapped.

Shooting a stinker, Lilly lowered her AR. “Lance, keep on and we fight over that card,” Lilly warned. “Who the fuck came up with that stupid shit?!”

“Men!” Lance and Ian hooted, then thumped their chests with their fists.

As Lance and Ian headed to the front door, Dwain eased over to Heath. “When did they teach ‘man card’ rules? Did I miss a class in school?” Dwain whispered.

Shaking his head, “I don’t know, but we are finding those damn rules. I like them,” Heath finished with a nod.

“Watch how Ian picks the lock and I cover the door,” Lance said, aiming over Ian’s head and through the glass door while Ian picked the lock.

“Why not just bust the glass?” Denny asked as Dwain, Heath, and Grady walked up.

“Then you leave it open and stinkers will get in,” Ian told him. “Dino,” Lance barked, and Dino jumped out of the buggy and trotted over.

Thinking as Ian worked on the lock, “You leave it closed in case you come back, and then you don’t have to clear it again?” Denny offered.

“No, if you leave a building out in the wild, what we call anywhere that’s not in our fence,” Lance explained, “No matter how well you close it up, you always clear it. You close it, just so it can’t get flooded by stinkers, but stinkers aren’t the only thing we have to worry about.”

Gasping with wide eyes as it clicked, “I understand, sir,” Denny said.

Stepping back but keeping his aim inside the store, “Denny, the name’s Lance,” Lance told him in a firm tone.

Before Denny could answer, Ian turned the second lock and opened the door. A nauseous and pungent wave of spoiled food washed over them. “Damn, that’s worse than a stinker,” Ian groaned, shoving his lock picks in his thigh pocket.

“Denny, behind me,” Lance said, moving inside with Dino beside him. Sweeping his aim back and forth, Lance turned left.

“Dwain, behind me and Heath, follow him. Grady, wait at the door,” Ian said when Lance turned left, and Ian moved in turning right.

With Grady still holding his nose with one hand and holding his M4 at the door, Jennifer was letting Lori shoot stinkers. “Don’t forget to watch behind the store,” Jennifer said, and Lori turned to see a small form trotting toward them.

Hesitantly, Lori raised her rifle. Putting the crosshairs on the small face, Lori squeezed the trigger. Jennifer dropped another stinker entering the parking lot, then moved over and squeezed Lori’s shoulder. “It was a stinker, don’t think about it,” Jennifer offered, and Lori nodded, raising her rifle.

Turning to where Lori was aiming, Jennifer saw a very obese stinker waddling into the parking lot. “Hurry and shoot it before Lance comes out,” Jennifer urged, and Lori squeezed the trigger, hitting the massive neck. The huge stinker stumbled back half a step and then leaned forward to continue as Lori squeezed the trigger again.

The head didn’t even snap back and the huge body just remained upright, then slowly at first, tilted back and then crashed down. “Lance will make them chase him around before he shoots fat stinkers,” Jennifer groaned, shooting two more and Lori chuckled. “Oh, it’s funny until he does it,” Jennifer said.

“Just the thought of stinkers jogging is funny,” Lori giggled.

Turning to Lori, “When did you start calling them stinkers?” Jennifer asked.

“We heard it on the CB radio,” Lori answered, aiming at a stinker. “I used to know her,” Lori said, pulling the trigger.

“They aren’t who they used to be,” Jennifer said.

Shrugging, “It’s okay, she was a bitch,” Lori snickered.

“You know, Lance is the one that named them ‘stinkers’,” Jennifer said, and Lori grinned. “I was there when it was first used.”

“They are so cool,” Lori crooned.

“How old are you and Denny?” Jennifer asked.

“I’m fourteen and Denny is twelve,” Lori answered as Jennifer snapped up her rifle, shooting one fifty yards away quickly and then lowered her rifle. “I want to be able to do that.”

“Lots of practice and drive,” Jennifer said.

Lori looked at Jennifer’s profile with the mask and thought Jennifer wasn’t much older than her, by the voice and how young her eyes looked when she had flipped up the goggles. But there was something that made Jennifer seem much older. The way Jennifer moved and the confidence she had in herself were some of it, Lori knew, but there was something else. Afraid to ask, Lori turned around and continued shooting.

With the store cleared, Lance saw Heath grab a rack of the small grocery bags. Walking over, Lance reached up and slapped the back of Heath’s head. “We don’t have all night to bag groceries,” Lance snapped and walked off down an aisle. Heath looked at Dwain and he just shrugged.

Walking back with a box, Lance pulled out a large black trash bag. Grabbing a grocery cart, Lance put the bag inside and rolled the edges around the top. “Now, load up and don’t take long,” Lance said, and Dino came over with a bag of beef jerky in his mouth.

“Dino, that stuff makes your farts smell like the sweat from Satan’s nutsack,” Lance groaned. Dino just sat down with the bag in his mouth. “Fine, but you better stay downstairs,” Lance grumbled, opening the bag and pouring it on the floor.

Laying down, Dino started gobbling up the strips. Leaving Dino to enjoy his treat, Lance and Ian walked outside. “Lori’s leg is hurting, she needs to stay on guard,” Ian said, and Lance nodded.

“Rhonda, go help them load up,” Ian said, and moved over with Jennifer.

Walking up beside Lilly as Rhonda jogged to the store, Lance looked around at the dead bodies. “Been busy,” Lance nodded, stopping beside her.

“Please, I can do my nails with only this many coming, as spaced out as they are,” Lilly scoffed. “So, what’s your opinion?”

Thinking for a second, “It was worth the risk,” Lance nodded. “They aren’t stupid, just ignorant. Ignorant can be fixed, but stupid is forever.”

Chuckling, “Lance, most of them are quite intelligent,” Lilly noted.

“Lilly, when this started, we were ignorant, but we learned,” Lance said, snapping up his rifle and dropping two stinkers.

In thirty minutes they left, and Ian stopped at a diner. With both four-wheeler trailers packed full, Heath walked over to Lance. “Where to?” he asked with a grin.

“We have to get more metal,” Lance said, reloading magazines. “Think you will be alright going home?”

“Lance, we aren’t going home until you’re loaded up,” Heath said. “Show us what you need, and we will load it.”

“Okay,” Lance said, pleasantly surprised. As everyone loaded up, “Yeah, I’m really liking this,” Lance said as Ian sped off.

Chapter 9

South of Bradleyville, Missouri

Writing in his notebook and glancing around, Johnathan grinned at hearing an arrow hit the Styrofoam archery target. Glancing back, Johnathan saw Mary pulling an arrow from her quiver. Turning to the target forty yards away, over a dozen arrows were clustered in the center of the target.

“We like the new bows,” Sandy said, sitting down beside Johnathan.

“I can tell,” Johnathan grinned. “I’m glad for the new clothes and gear.”

Nodding, “The only thing I kept was my cap, and the belt and suspenders we braided,” Sandy sighed in contentment.

Putting his notebook down, Johnathan looked at Sandy in the green scout pants and a black compression shirt. “Like the shirt,” he grinned, reaching up and smoothing down his beard.

Looking down at her flat tummy between the suspenders, “Can’t say I would recommend the diet and workout program, but it damn sure works,” Sandy giggled.

“If I hadn’t lost weight, I wouldn’t have gotten pants. They didn’t have any in my original size,” Johnathan said, then looked over at stacked rolls of paracord. “What are you going to braid now?”

Shrugging, “Don’t know, but it takes your mind off things you don’t want it on,” Sandy answered as Mary walked over, putting her bow down.

“One more time. You’re sure those suppressors you put on the ARs won’t blow up?” Mary asked, sitting down. One thing Johnathan had wanted was just small folding chairs and they now had three. He was so sick and tired of sitting on the ground.

“Mary, those aren’t .22 suppressors, Doug transferred those over from his company to Sam. The suppressors on the 10/22s are AR suppressors. That’s why the 10/22s had big muzzle breaks,” Johnathan explained. “Now, the small ones on the pistols are .22s, but Doug talked a manufacturer into giving him a deal and then donated them to Sam.

Leaning back in her chair, “Just wanted to make sure,” Mary said. “You know you loaded up over a hundred pounds of freeze-dried food, right?”

“Yep,” Johnathan nodded, picking his notebook up. “We save the rice and beans.”

“Amen,” Sandy sighed in agreement.

Writing in a new notebook, Johnathan glanced up at Mary and then back down to the page. “Mary, did Bill tell you he wrote a note to the kids?” Johnathan asked.

Hearing that, Mary gave a jerk in shock and almost fell out of her chair. “No!” she gasped.

“He did in Nevada when I started hauling around this messenger bag,” Johnathan said as he continued writing. “The reason I mention it, is because I don’t want you to bite my head off when I said something about it after we get home.”

Taking a deep breath, Mary let most of it out and then looked down. “Only the kids?” she whispered.

“Don’t know,” Johnathan said, looking up and Mary jerked her head up to look at him. “I haven’t read them. Bill gave me a bunch of folded pages and said it was for the kids if he didn’t make it.”

“May I see them?” Mary asked. “I’m not reading what he wrote for the kids. I just want to see if he wrote something for me.”

“Of course, but please give them back. I gave my word,” Johnathan told her, grabbing his messenger bag. “You can give them to the kids, but he entrusted me to carry them.”

As Johnathan pulled out a large Ziploc bag, “Why didn’t he give them to me?” Mary asked.

“Because it would’ve made you think about what could happen,” Johnathan admitted, passing the bag over.

Taking the bag, “What did happen,” Mary corrected.

“Yes, but that’s why he gave them to me,” Johnathan told her.

Reaching out and squeezing Johnathan’s hand. “Did you give one to Bill?” Sandy asked.

“No,” Johnathan answered, and Sandy felt energy rush through her. “I carry mine in my messenger bag, and everyone knows to get it home.”

The energy turned numb, as the elation fell like a rock. “Oh,” Sandy said. Hearing Mary opening the bag, Sandy looked up.

When she saw Mary smile, Sandy felt joy for Mary. “He did,” Mary sobbed, but didn’t cry. Putting the folded pages back in the bag, Mary closed it. “Here,” she said, handing the bag back.

“You’re not going to read it?” Sandy asked.

Shaking her head, “No, he meant for me to read it when we got home,” Mary said with a smile. “Besides, I can wonder what he said and I’m not sad out here. It really feels like that will help.”

“We swapping horses?” Sandy asked. “My pack horse has barely carried any weight, but I don’t like the way he rides.”

“Up to you, but I’m swapping,” Johnathan said as he continued writing. “Who wants to go first?” Johnathan asked.

“I will,” Sandy said, and started reciting. Johnathan looked up and saw Mary was mouthing the words to the route with her.

When Sandy was done, Johnathan held up his hand. “Mary, I saw you mouthing word for word,” Johnathan grinned.

“But we have a topo for Kentucky now,” Mary said. “Two in fact, and we know to never mark them.”

Putting his notebook down, “And you only look at them if you absolutely have to, and never turn to the page the cabin is on,” Johnathan said. “Ladies, it’s very easy to take a map and look at it from the side to see where fingers have run across the pages. Or where a finger had stopped on a page,” he said glumly.

“Oh,” Mary said. “So, we should lose the Kentucky map?”

“Hell, no!” Johnathan snapped. “That was the main reason I stopped here. The rest of the stuff is great, but I wanted to have a topo map, in case we find a million stinkers in a valley blocking our route. Now, I can find another valley around them.”

Leaning over Johnathan, Sandy grabbed the Missouri topo book and reached into a small pocket above her thigh pocket, pulling out her new compass. Like her old clothes, the old compass had been tossed aside. Sandy hadn’t used it in weeks, relying only on the stars.

Holding her chair as she stood up, Mary moved over beside Sandy and sat down. With them going over the route, Johnathan put his notebook away. Moving over to the clothesline, Johnathan folded the washed clothes and packed his.

Grabbing the others, he put them on Mary and Sandy’s backpacks. Moving back, he found Sandy lighting the stove as Mary studied the route. Loading stuff in the duffel bags, Johnathan carried them over to the horses.

The mound of stuff they’d shed amazed him, but they’d still added more than they were leaving. The only thing the pack horses had been really carrying was food. Now, they were carrying ammo and lots of extras. Putting the duffel bags down, Johnathan chuckled.

Sandy pulled out a small black case that held fingernail and toenail clippers, a nail file, and other grooming items, and Johnathan and Mary reached for it. They had been using the knives to keep their nails trimmed, but since they didn’t have anything to sharpen the knives with, their nails were long and broken.

Holding up his hand with the back toward him, Johnathan smiled at his trimmed nails. “Don’t like claws,” he said, dropping his hand. “Now if I could only shave my damn face,” he grumbled, taking his cap off and brushing his hair back.

Putting on his cap, Johnathan put his tool belt on and checked his gear, then saddled his horse and pack horse. With his done, he moved to Mary’s and Sandy’s horses. Finally, he loaded up Bill’s horses. Checking the saddles and new gear, Johnathan looked at the arrows they were leaving.

As much as they wanted to, they couldn’t take six hundred arrows. It wasn’t the weight of the arrows. They just occupied too much space. But they were still taking three hundred.

Walking back to Sandy and Mary, Johnathan remembered grabbing another water filter and holding it like the Holy Grail. They had used the three filters for the one they’d grabbed in California and Johnathan had really started getting worried. If they hadn’t found a filter, he would have insisted on boiling the water after they’d filtered it, just to make sure.

Handing Johnathan a bowl of stroganoff, Sandy laughed when Johnathan held the bowl under his nose, inhaling deeply. “Yeah, we did the same thing,” Sandy admitted, holding out a cup of coffee. “We can fill the thermos again.”

Plopping down in his chair, Johnathan smiled contently. “I love the coffee breaks when we ride.”

They ate in silence, listening to the river and the dogs crunching their dog food. “You forgot the shower bag,” Sandy told Johnathan.

Looking over at the silver bag with a tube running out of it, “I think you would beat me, if we had left it,” Johnathan grinned, taking off his sunglasses and looking down, picking food out of his beard.

“No. I was packing it, then beating you,” Sandy corrected. Putting her bowl down, Sandy reached down for a small shaving bag and pulled out a pair of scissors. “Move your hands.”

Seeing the scissors, Johnathan sighed. “Please cut this shit away from my lips,” he begged. “I haven’t seen my lips in months.”

“I know,” Sandy chuckled, clipping the hair around Johnathan’s mouth. When she was done, Johnathan reached up to touch his exposed lips and sighed.

“Thought I had lost them,” he sighed, making them laugh.

“Want me to trim the beard?” Sandy asked, holding up the scissors.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Johnathan said, nodding toward the sun. “We need to pack up.”

“I have never worn a watch,” Mary admitted, holding up her left hand and showing them a watch she’d gotten last night. “But since this started, I’ve almost taken one from a stinker a dozen times.”

Packing the last of the stuff, Johnathan turned to them. “Shoot your ARs one time to hear the difference, then grab your 10/22 and make sure it’s sighted in. Then your 22/45 pistols,” Johnathan told them.

When they shot their ARs, they could tell a difference in the noise level with real suppressors but when they shot the 10/22s, they were amazed. “At least here, we got twenty-five round magazines,” Mary said, shoving her 10/22 in her rifle scabbard.

“With eleven magazines each, we can put a hurt on stinkers now,” Sandy added, pulling out her 22/45 pistol. When she pulled the trigger, she could tell a difference in the sound compared to the suppressors Johnathan and Bill had put together, but the real difference was the weight and the length.

“Aren’t you going to shoot yours?” Mary asked.

“I know how an AR handles with this suppressor and I shot my .22s while you two slept,” Johnathan told her, and noticed Sandy tying the bundle of arrows they had left. “What are you doing? We said we were leaving them.”

“Oh, I am,” Sandy said, tying another cord around the bundle. “One at a time, in a stinker’s head, from the back of our horses.”

“That’s a fabulous idea,” Johnathan laughed.

“I’ll say,” Mary said, checking the gear in her tool belt. “I’m so tired of climbing off my horse with this damn backpack just to grab an arrow, I could beat a stinker to death with my bow.”

“That’s three hundred times we won’t have to stop and get off,” Sandy said, tying the bundle to her pack horse.

Putting on his new gloves, Johnathan smiled. His old gloves only had the pinky and ring finger attached on each hand when he’d thrown them away. “Everyone ready?” he asked.

“Yep,” Sandy grunted, climbing up on her horse.

“Want me to lead?” Johnathan asked.

“Nah, I have arrows we need to get rid of and a new bow to use,” Sandy grinned, adjusting her sunglasses on her nose.

“I’ll take rear cover,” Mary said, tightening her gloves as she sat in the saddle.

Putting his foot in the stirrup, Johnathan grunted and climbed on his horse. Settling in his saddle, Johnathan tightened the backpack straps. “I’m ashamed I didn’t think of leaving the arrows one at a time,” he mumbled.

Seeing the others ready, Sandy kicked her horse. “Dan, heel up,” she called out as he sniffed at a tree. When Dan trotted over, Sandy looked back and saw Ann beside Mary’s horse.

With the soft grass, the horses’ hooves didn’t make a sound. The sun was just dipping below the horizon as they reentered the scout camp. Looking at the long camp houses, Sandy smiled and then looked out to a field that had a huge stone fire pit. “My baby boy had fun here,” Sandy mumbled, remembering Lance telling her about his trips.

Crossing the valley, almost at the same time, each person turned their ball cap around and took off their sunglasses. Reaching the trees at the base of the hill, Sandy guided her horse up the slope. When she reached the top, she looked back at the camp, then looked south and saw a large burnt home. “That’s where Sam lived,” Johnathan said, stopping beside her.

“You don’t think he was there, do you?” Sandy asked.

With a sorrowful face, Johnathan nodded. “I know he was. Sam starts stocking in March and stays here until the end of summer,” Johnathan told her.

Kicking her horse, Sandy crossed over the ridge and looked up, checking the sky again. Seeing only a few clouds, she looked around while adjusting her AR and bow that were hanging off her saddle horn. When Sandy led them out of the trees onto a dirt road, she guided her horse to the right.

When they reached the big highway, Sandy paused in the trees while looking each way and only saw a few stinkers, but they were all heading south. “Move to your right about a half a mile,” Johnathan said behind her.

Looking to her right, Sandy saw a dirt road passing under the four-lane highway. Keeping in the trees, Sandy moved south and rode onto the dirt road. Seeing a stinker under the bridge, she grabbed her bow and nocked an arrow.

Pulling it back, she sighted in on the back of the stinker’s head as it walked under the bridge. Releasing the arrow, Sandy chuckled when the stinker fell flat on its face. “Two hundred and ninety-nine before we have to get an arrow,” Sandy grinned.

Coming out the other side Sandy sped up, seeing it was open ground for several hundred yards. Glancing back, she saw Johnathan and Mary looking around and then a stinker flipped over the guardrail of the bridge. Falling head first like a dart, Sandy watched the stinker fold down like an accordion.

“And they took over the world,” Sandy snorted, turning back around. Hearing an engine in the distance, Sandy kicked her horse hard and the horse lunged forward, covering the last hundred yards to the trees in a gallop.

When she reached the trees, she pulled back and turned around to see Johnathan and Mary ride in to the trees. “I didn’t know why you took off at first,” Mary panted.

They all looked over the field they’d crossed to the highway. Shadowy forms were on the highway moving toward them and from the south, they heard the engine noise getting louder. All the stinkers heading for them stopped and turned south, moving back to the road. “I like the fact they are easily diverted,” Sandy said, looking south.

“Yeah, that is a great advantage for us,” Johnathan admitted, turning south with Mary. They could see headlights in the distance and Sandy shook her head.

“I heard it from that far away?!” Sandy gasped.

“No, sweetheart, you heard it a lot farther,” Johnathan said as the lights continued toward them. “That’s a semi and it’s hauling ass.”

The closer the lights got, the taller the vehicle seemed to get. “Don’t look at the lights,” Johnathan told them. “Look off to the side, so you don’t lose your night vision.”

When the semi was a mile away, they saw spotlights mounted on the roof aimed down at the road and a massive V-shaped plow. The shadowy forms of stinkers were sailing through the air as they met the plow.

Roaring past, they then noticed a line of big pickup trucks behind the semi and none of the trucks had headlights on. “Wonder what that’s about?” Mary asked.

“None of our business,” Johnathan replied as Sandy started off into the trees. “They were doing eighty easy, so that means they know the road, and that’s what I don’t like. They are moving around with engines, unafraid of being attacked.”

They rode through the woods and Sandy climbed off her horse, pulling out the bolt cutters Johnathan had found at the camp. Cutting the strands of barbed wire, Sandy started wondering how she could cut barbed wire from her horse. Climbing back on, Sandy moved into the next field.

“You know,” Mary blurted out behind them. “I’m almost to the point if I see people, I’ll just shoot their asses.”

“Mary,” Johnathan called over his shoulder. “If everyone thought that way, we would’ve died long ago. We’ve been spotted by four people that I know of, and they didn’t kill us. Lord only knows, how many we don’t know of that were hiding in houses we passed.”

Thinking on that for several minutes, when Sandy climbed off her horse to cut open another fence, Mary moved up beside Johnathan. “Okay, how about anyone in a vehicle?” Mary offered.

“Now you’re being more reasonable, but I’m sure there are some in vehicles just trying to find a place to hole up. I’m of the mind, leave me alone and I’ll do the same. But if I can see they pose a threat, it’s time for them to take a dirt nap,” Johnathan told her as Sandy climbed back on her horse.

“Even when we get home?” Mary asked.

“No. There, if I even feel they are bad, I’ll kill them. When we get home, we aren’t running anymore,” Johnathan said.

“You got that shit right,” Sandy said, kicking her horse and guiding it through the fence. “I’m sick of barbed wire.”

Chapter 10

Cabin in Kentucky

Lilly was pulling her hair back in a ponytail when she walked downstairs and saw Lance brushing the ladybugs’ hair. Freezing on the stairs, Lilly looked at the pouty faces on the girls. “Lance, what the hell did you do to them?” Lilly demanded, jumping off the stairs and walking over.

“We want to meet the little girl, Jodi,” Allie pouted, looking up at Lilly with sad eyes.

“Oh, baby,” Lilly said, dropping down and wrapping her arms around Allie. “Maybe another day, but not today.”

“She doesn’t have anyone to talk to,” Carrie whined as Lance finished brushing her hair.

“Yes, she does,” Lance laughed, getting up. “Dwain is staying at Heath’s house and Heath has two kids, Denny and Lori.”

Last night, they’d escorted the bear trap group home and met the wives and Dwain’s little seven-year-old girl, Jodi. Lance didn’t want to, but Lilly told him it was nonnegotiable. After Lilly had looked at Lori’s dog and told her it was okay, then Lilly said they could go home.

“Lance, they are old, and I bet they are mean to her,” Allie predicted, stomping her foot.

Stopping, Lance turned around to say something but stopped. Turning back around, Lance headed into the kitchen. “Lance!” Ian shouted from the basement. “Come down!”

Lance took off running, as did Lilly with the ladybugs following. They found Ian sitting at the control desk with Jennifer. “What?” Lance asked, and Ian tapped the keyboard.

“Nazis pulled out at 0400 heading east,” Ian said, and the main screen showed the Nazi compound. People were loading UTVs and pickup trucks with haste. Tapping the keyboard, the screen showed the front gate of the compound. The front gate was destroyed, but two box trucks had been pulled across the opening and a bulldozer had pushed dirt up around them.

Outside the gate, it was stinkers as far as the camera showed them. “Well, that’s a good reason to leave,” Lilly confessed.

“Ian, replay the exodus,” Lance said.

“Told you he would notice,” Ian chuckled, and Jennifer lightly tapped his arm as the camera showed the vehicles being loaded. “That’s no more than a hundred people, mainly women and kids.”

“It worked,” Lance sighed, watching the vehicles pull out and drive away from the camera. “What’s the camp like now?”

“Don’t know, they blew it up,” Ian said.

“Who did?” Lance asked.

“The Nazis,” Ian answered and tapped the keyboard. The main screen showed the main gate an hour after the group had left. Suddenly, the camera shook and shut off. Tapping the keyboard, Ian looked up at the screen showing the gate from further away. One or possibly both of the box trucks exploded. Then, the buildings leading up the valley blew up one at a time, until the guard house blew up and the screen went black.

“If they couldn’t have the camp, nobody could,” Jennifer said. “Now we only have to worry about the little dicks again.”

“Number One,” Lance barked, clasping his hands behind his back.

“Yes, Captain?” Ian answered, sitting up very straight in the chair. At the transformation of the two, Jennifer levitated out of her chair and stepped back from both of them. Then Lilly looked down and saw Allie and Carrie backing away with wide eyes. Suddenly very nervous, Lilly eased back with them.

“I think it’s time to break the prime directive, Number One,” Lance said, looking at the screen.

“Should I notify Star Fleet Command, or make a log entry?”

“Negative,” Lance replied, holding his head up regally. “Put the hostile stronghold up on the main viewer.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Ian responded, reaching over and pulling an old cellphone out of a drawer. Pulling a cord over, Ian plugged it in where an antenna should have been on the phone. Flipping the bulky phone open, Ian dialed a number. Everyone heard the ringtone and then a click.

The main screen blinked and showed an image of Pineville from the same knoll Ian, Lance, and Jennifer had visited. In the valley below, they saw the Devil Lords compound, but surrounding it on all three sides was a vast sea of stinkers.

“No interference, Captain, and Engine Room is reporting full power,” Ian reported, looking up at the screen.

“Number One, take us to red alert,” Lance commanded, stepping up behind Ian as he pressed the keypad and the camera zoomed in on the compound. Inside was utter chaos. People were on the walls shooting into the sea of stinkers, but it was like fighting the ocean with a broom. “Number One, it looks like the waterways have been compromised, do you concur?”

Tapping the keypad, Ian looked up as the camera moved and they could see stinkers floating in the water and others being pushed in by the mass of bodies. “I concur, Captain. Hostile’s compound is nearing breach and waterway is compromised. I recommend direct action,” Ian replied, looking up at the screen.

Taking a deep breath, “Load a full spread of photon torpedoes, Number One, and raise shields,” Lance commanded.

With a wide grin and punching the keypad, “Photon torpedoes loaded and on standby, Captain,” Ian smirked.

“For the Federation, Number One,” Lance said with an evil grin.

“Always for the Federation, Captain.”

“Fire photon torpedoes!” Lance barked, and Ian pressed the send key.

“Photon torpedoes away!” Ian shouted, and everyone heard the first ring. “Tracking shows torpedoes on target!”

“Steady, Number One,” Lance said, grabbing Ian’s shoulder as they heard another ring and then a click.

On the screen, a huge explosion rocked the east wall of semi-trailers at the road and then another explosion flashed further down the wall. The stinkers were blown up in the air, but the semi-trailers were blown apart and pushed back, creating an opening in the wall.

On the west wall, two more explosions flashed. The first barely moved the semi-trailer, but the second blew the trailer in half and flipped it over. “Torpedoes were effective. Hostile’s shields are down, Captain,” Ian laughed. “They are taking evasive action.”

“Very good Number One, take out their main power core before they cloak. Fire another full spread,” Lance ordered, and Ian hung up the phone.

Flipping the phone back open, Ian dialed a number and pressed send. “Torpedoes away, Captain. Should I ask transport to beam the leaders up?” Ian asked.

“Negative, Number One,” Lance barked, as the barrier across the bridge coming into Pineville exploded. Slowly, the stinkers started pouring in and everyone they could see was running for a building. “Number One, prepare to fire phasers at their bridge, and can you ask Data if he can patch us in?”

Tapping the keypad, “Data reporting he has hacked into their primary computer,” Ian reported. “All phaser banks charged, and on your command, Captain.”

The screen blinked and showed the inside of a large room with people running around and screaming. “There is our nemesis, Number One,” Lance scowled. “Do you have a lock on him?”

“Holy shit, that’s Boss Hog!” Jennifer gasped, looking at a giant of a man in the center of a room she could now tell was a school gymnasium.

“Ensign!” Lance bellowed, turning to Jennifer. Jennifer and the others jumped at the bark and turned to Lance. “You are endangering combat operations during a red alert! You will stay at your station and perform your duties without comment, or I shall relieve you of command!”

“Ah… yes, Captain,” Jennifer replied meekly, easing behind Lilly who wanted to move out of the way, but couldn’t move with Jennifer holding her.

“Captain, I have a lock on their bridge!” Ian cheered. “I recommend a full phaser load.”

Turning back to the screen and clasping his hands behind his back, Lance stood up straight. “I concur Number One,” Lance said, releasing his hands from behind his back, raising his right hand, and then pointing toward the screen. “Fire!” he snapped, and Ian pushed send one more time.

At the back of the gym, flames erupted in a flash and everyone fell down as the camera shook. “Almost through to the bridge, Captain,” Ian reported, looking at the screen and another explosion shook the camera and the camera shut off. “Hostile bridge destroyed, Captain!”

“Show me an orbital view on the main viewer if you please, Number One.”

With a grin ear to ear, Ian tapped the keypad. “Aye, aye, Captain. On main screen.”

The screen blinked and showed the area from the knoll, and the school was an inferno. The small gaps in the wall of trailers were now wide openings, with stinkers flowing in like water. “Good work, Number One,” Lance crooned, patting Ian’s shoulder.

After five minutes, there was no spot of Pineville they could see that wasn’t covered in bodies, and stinkers were still cramming inside. “Captain, I recommend a full blast from our main dish,” Ian offered with a serious tone.

“Are you certain, Number One? Star Fleet will not like this, as our actions stand now.”

Speaking in a deep voice, Ian glanced back at Lance. “Yes, Captain. We must destroy their ship, so they cannot join the Borg.”

“Very well, Number One. Fire on your command, but I shall notify Star Fleet in my logs, it was my order.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Ian said, turning to the screen. “We have a lock,” Ian paused, then pressed send for the last time on the cellphone. “Firing main dish!”

At the southwest wall under the hill that stood over Pineville, a line of tanker trailers exploded. Jennifer knew that knoll was over a mile and a half away as she watched the camera shake and partially fuzz out for a second from the massive explosion.

When the image cleared, a huge mushroom cloud was lifting up in the air. The town of Pineville was leveled, and the debris was a flaming inferno. “Very good, Number One. Bring us about and leave a warning beacon in place,” Lance said, and Ian tapped the keypad and closed the phone, unplugging the wire from the phone.

“Coming about, Captain, and all ties to the surface have been cut,” Ian reported. “Warning beacon has been placed. Recommend we stand down from red alert.”

“Stand down,” Lance concurred, staring at the screen with a lopsided grin.

“Stand down from red alert,” Ian barked.

“Uh, Captain?” Jennifer whispered as she peeked around Lilly at Lance, and he turned around.

“Yes, Ensign?”

“Warning beacon?” Jennifer asked timidly.

Turning around to the screen, “Number One, bring up the warning beacon on subspace frequency for the Ensign,” Lance ordered.

Reaching over to the HAM radios, Ian turned them up and adjusted the dial. “This is highly unusual, Captain,” Ian sighed. “Giving into an Ensign’s wishes.”

Stepping out from behind Lilly, “Number One!” Jennifer shouted, and Lance spun around.

Jennifer shot back behind Lilly, hiding. “Ensign, don’t try my patience!” Lance barked. “Number One is performing duties vital to the operation of the Starship Enterprise! Any further breaches in conduct will result in you seeing the inside of the brig under a forcefield.”

Only peeking from behind Lilly with one eye, “Sorry, Captain,” Jennifer whined.

Leaning back and talking over his shoulder, Ian continued adjusting the dial of the radio as he spoke in a low voice. “Captain, the Ensign is like a super hottie and we are seeing each other. I would take it as a personal favor if she didn’t go to the brig.”

Laughing as he turned back to the screen and looked at the total destruction, Lance clasped Ian’s shoulder. “Very well, Number One,” Lance chuckled.

“Warning on subspace,” Ian reported and turned the volume up.

The voice of the Borg Queen came from the radio speakers. “Resistance is futile to all who stand against us. We are one. Lay down your arms and leave this area for all time or join those who came before you. Lethal action against you will be your only recourse. We have never shown pity or remorse, nor will we ever. Your warning has been given. Leave and live another day or stay and die today. If you can hear this, then you are in range of our destruction. The wild ones rule here.” A pause came on and the message repeated.

“Number One, cut feed,” Lance ordered, and Ian turned off the radio. “Set for warp five to Deep Space Nine.”

“Aye, aye, Captain. Coordinates set and waiting on your mark,” Ian said, pushing back from control.

A very satisfied expression filled Lance’s face. “Engage,” he said, and Ian stood up, holding out his hand.

“I told you it would work,” Ian said in his normal tone as Lance shook his hand.

“We lugged over two hundred pounds of explosives down that mountain, and swam it across that fucking river?” Lance snapped, also speaking in his normal voice as he released Ian’s hand. “I wanted more than ‘I think we can do it’.”

Sticking her head out from behind Lilly, “Are we at Star Base yet?” Jennifer asked.

“You heard the engage order,” Ian laughed.

Stepping out from behind Lilly, “You two did that in two trips?” Jennifer asked, walking up and hugging Ian.

“Yep, the first two trips were for scouting. It was too big to do in one night,” Ian answered, hugging her back.

“I’m ashamed it took us two trips to scout,” Lance admitted, heading for the door. “There were so damn many people there, it was hard as hell to sneak around.”

As Lance left, Jennifer looked up at Ian and grinned. “Number One, you were very sexy,” she said with a coy grin.

Ian and Jennifer walked out, and Lilly looked down at the ladybugs. “Why were you two acting so scared?”

“When they do Star Trek and you interrupt, they take direct action,” Carrie warned, nodding fearfully.

“Yeah,” Allie agreed. “Last time, I wanted to be Counselor Troy, but they said I was a Romulan and duct-taped me to the wall, saying they put a forcefield around me.”

“Oh,” Lilly mumbled. “Do you know what they were doing, then?”

Allie and Carrie looked at each other and then back to Lilly. “No,” they said in unison.

Not believing that for a second, “Oh, I see,” Lilly nodded. “Prime Directive?” Lilly asked, raising her eyebrows.

Again, they looked at each other, turned to Lilly, and spoke together, “Disobeying the parents.”

“Whoa,” Lilly stumbled back into the wall. “You know what they were talking about now?” Lilly asked and they both nodded. “What?”

Allie pointed at the cellphone Ian had used. “They used a cellphone from here,” Allie told her.

Chapter 11

Allie and Carrie walked out of the bunker holding hands with Lilly following. “Ladybugs, I think Lance and Ian haven’t been truthful. I think you have helped them on deeds in the past,” Lilly said and the two stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned around.

“No we haven’t,” they said together.

Bending at the waist, Lilly leaned down to them and again, not believing them. “It’s okay, you don’t have to say, and I won’t ask again,” she smiled at them. “Do they do Star Trek a lot?”

“Kinda, but they change who they are,” Allie explained. “They are usually Data, Worf or Geordi.”

Raising her right eyebrow, “Have they ever let you play?” Lilly asked.

Looking at each other and then turning back, “No,” they said together. Smiling, Lilly knew that was a lie.

“You know what I think?” Lilly asked, standing up and the girls shook their heads. “I think when they act like Star Trek, they are doing or planning a bad deed. One that could get them in serious trouble, and they can say they never did it and can believe it.”

The ladybugs mouths fell open, staring at Lilly. “Uh-ah,” Allie said, shaking her head.

Smiling at the two, Lilly reached over and rubbed their cheeks. “Thank you,” Lilly said softly.

“We didn’t say anything,” Carrie mumbled.

“You named the away team,” Lilly beamed, walking around them. “Most of their deeds are done on site, not directed from the bridge.”

Taking off after Lilly, Allie and Carrie ran past her on the stairs but then stopped in front of her, turning around. At the same height as Lilly’s face, “You’re wrong,” Allie teased.

“They weren’t Star Trek at the Nazis,” Carrie grinned.

Leaning forward, Lilly kissed each one on the tip of the nose and then looked at both of them. “They weren’t going to get in trouble, they didn’t need Star Trek,” Lilly whispered and both girls quit smiling. Realizing now just how much the ladybugs knew did bring a little more fear of them, but Lilly saw a little more into Lance’s world. And Lilly had to admit to herself, she really liked it.

Moving to walk around the ladybugs, Allie grabbed Lilly’s arm. “Don’t say nothing,” Allie whined with pleading eyes. “I don’t want to be put in the forcefield again.”

“Me, either,” Carrie said in a tiny voice.

“Ladybugs, I’ll break their forcefields,” Lilly growled.

“Jennifer tried last Christmas and got thrown into the void of space,” Carrie said, and Lilly cocked her head, clearly confused. “They threw her into the swimming pool.”

Nodding with wide eyes, “Lance wanted to transport her. Hold her down and tickle her till she peed her pants and take pictures,” Allie explained. “But he was Data, and Ian was Number One so he was outranked.”

“Jennifer didn’t know she was interfering with a deed, did she?” Lilly asked, and Allie froze to think the question over before slowly shaking her head. “They mess with my ladybugs, and I’ll be the admiral.”

“Really?” Allie beamed.

Not smiling, Carrie whined, “Please don’t tell. The forcefield really hurts coming off.”

With the picture building rapidly, Lilly pinched Carrie’s cheek. “The forcefields, I think, are used when a deed has been discovered.” Watching both girls’ eyes get wide and mouths gape, Lilly smiled. “I think, sometimes they let you know or even help, but don’t tell you what’s going on. But you two, being ladybugs, can hide. When you hide, maybe, just maybe, you hear something and figure it out.”

Holding her little chin up defiantly, “We’ve never told,” Allie sneered.

Smiling at the two, Lilly nodded. “Yeah, and that in itself is amazing. Like I said, you two are just a younger version of what’s upstairs.”

“Huh?” Carrie asked.

“Come on, we need to start,” Lilly said, pushing them up the stairs and trying not to laugh.

Walking into the kitchen, Lance handed Lilly a cup of coffee. “Thank you,” she said, as Lance opened the door.

“Need to get the workout over with,” Lance said, and Lilly nodded.

Walking out, Jennifer looked up at Ian and he shook his head ‘no’ and Jennifer stuck her tongue out. “Lance,” Jennifer called out, and glanced over at the completed Battle Bot. “Heath’s wife, Robin, said they would move. Can we set up one of the power stations for these Battle Bots at their place?”

Turning around, “I told them I would build them one, but we need these bots for out there,” Lance said.

“Lance, after the haul of metal we got, we can make ten more, and we already have the stuff for the power stations,” Jennifer said. “Oh, well, not the acid, but Ian can make that in a few days.”

“Seven more,” Lance corrected.

Groaning, “Lance, power? Electricity? How many times have you and Ian said, ‘without it, life is a hundred times harder’?” Jennifer told him. “We need this group to make it, if for no other reason than to help us. I’m tired of you two working your asses into the ground.”

“We a-,” Lance started, and Jennifer raised her hand to stop him.

“Lilly,” Jennifer called over her shoulder, but didn’t take her eyes off Lance. “Have they not been working their asses off?”

“Since I’ve gotten here, neither one has stopped to breathe,” Lilly answered.

Dropping her hand, “Lance, am I your friend?” Jennifer asked.

“Jennifer, you know you are. I classify you as a buddy,” Lance chuckled.

Grinning broadly, “Thank you,” Jennifer sang out. “And Ian’s told me he loves me.”

“‘Bout damn time,” Lance mumbled as Ian blushed.

“Now, Lance, we know you care about Lilly, so do you love the ladybugs?” Jennifer asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Giving a long sigh, “Yeah, but they are determined to drive me insane,” Lance admitted.

“Lance, we are running ourselves into the ground just trying to keep up with you two,” Jennifer informed him and saw Lance about to speak and threw a hand out to stop him. “Don’t say we don’t have to, or you fight all of us here and now.” Jennifer warned, and Lance snapped his mouth shut. “We don’t mind, but we’ve all noticed you two are showing signs of overwork. It’s not a bad thing working all day, but this group can take some of the load off, if they do nothing other than patrol that one area.”

“Dude,” Ian said, walking over. “Listen to her. She had me convinced in five seconds.”

“So, you agree?” Lance asked, and Ian nodded. “Did she cheat by giving you smooches?”

“Only after I admitted she was right,” Ian laughed, and put an arm around Jennifer.

Looking over at Lilly, she smiled at Lance. “I’ll give you smooches if it will change your mind,” she told him.

“I’ll take the smooches, but after the workout, get the track steer and load up the battery and dish on the trailers,” Lance chuckled. “We can take the stuff over after Ian and Jennifer run the commo wire to the clubhouse.”

“Thank you,” Jennifer said, and stepped over and kissed his cheek. “I really wasn’t in the mood to wrestle you with the ladybugs helping.”

Lance turned to Allie and Carrie. “Yeah, they bite when you spar with them,” he snapped.

“You let go, don’t you?” Carrie snapped, bobbing her head.

After working out and breakfast, Lance helped Ian put the small trencher they’d made to bury wire an inch deep on the back of the UTV. Then Ian and Jennifer took the hybrid UTV out to lay the mile and a half of commo wire to the clubhouse they would set up.

Grabbing his tool belt, Lance and Lilly headed to the greenhouse to continue the work. The last wall, the south wall, was the only one not finished. Since this wall was only fifteen feet tall because of the windows they would have to put in, Lance didn’t think it would take long. With Lilly passing up boards to Lance on the scaffolding, Lance screwed in the precut boards.

In two hours the wall was up, and Lance pulled the battery UTV to the shop and loaded rolls of plastic sheeting. Spreading the twenty-feet-wide sheeting out, they draped it over the outside of the north wall.

Since there was only a five-foot gap between the wall and the dugout hill they were burying the greenhouse in, Lance wrestled two ladders into the small space. “Lance, I think this group will be valuable to us,” Lilly said, climbing up and tacking the plastic sheeting to the wall.

“Yeah, if they can come and help us load up stuff a few times like last night, I would be grateful,” Lance replied, tacking the plastic up.

By the time they had to open the front gate for Ian and Jennifer, the greenhouse was wrapped in black plastic to protect the wood from the dirt. Walking to the gate, Lance looked at his watch. “Didn’t think it would take them the full three hours to lay the commo wire.”

“It is over a mile away,” Lilly chuckled.

“They just had to drive there. The plow we made does the rest,” Lance told her, opening the inner gate.

“Remember, they were going to Heath’s,” Lilly said, walking out and opening the outer gate.

When Jennifer drove past, Lance saw two empty wire spools and one that looked half empty with a bloody baseball bat in the bed of the UTV. Covering Lilly until she closed the outer gate, Lance lowered his AR and closed the inner gate. “You used that much wire?” Lance asked, climbing in the backseat.

“Yeah,” Ian grinned, looking back at Lance as Jennifer drove around the cabin. “Heath and them moved.”

“How long till they’re finished?” Lance asked as Jennifer pulled into the ATV shed. He was about to ask about the bat when he noticed blood splatters on Jennifer’s clothes and decided not to for some reason.

“They’re done, they moved last night. Heath and Dwain were trying to hook up his solar set to the well pump at the new house when we showed up,” Ian said as everyone climbed out.

Very impressed, Lance nodded. “Well, I’m glad they did because that’s a much better spot, and I’m only setting this up once. When will they be ready?”

Walking to the back door Ian stopped, and Lance did too. “I told him, we would call when we left,” Ian grinned and chuckled.

“You laid their commo wire?” Lance asked with no enthusiasm.

Dropping the grin, “Dude, we had to go there anyway and come back home,” Ian huffed. “Why not drop the spike and lay their commo wire on the way back?”

“You set up the relay at the clubhouse?”

Putting his hands on his hips, “How in the hell could we call him if I didn’t?” Ian snapped. “We set it up in the living room and put the two solar panels out to charge the batteries.”

Spinning on his heel, Lance headed to the door. “You’d better have hooked us up with phone number one.”

“No, I put us as four,” Ian popped off, following.

“They need a day off,” Lilly told Jennifer, following the two inside.

“You could help a little more,” Jennifer said as they walked in.

“Pfft,” Lilly scoffed. “Lance listens to you more than me.”

Stopping and sucking in a breath, Jennifer let it out quickly. “We,” Jennifer stressed, “need a day off.”

Walking over, Lilly hugged Jennifer, “I’m sorry,” Lilly said.

Working at the computer desk beside the basement staircase, Lance watched Lilly and Jennifer hugging. “If we did that, we would have our ‘man cards’ revoked,” Lance snorted, then hooked up the commo wire to a box.

Next to the box was a corded, push-button phone. Picking it up and hearing a tone, Lance pushed the number two. Lance grinned when he heard a ringing. After two rings, “This is the new house,” Heath answered.

“Hey, new house, tell your group we are heading over to bring you out of the dark ages,” Lance laughed.

There was a long pause, “Lance, we don’t have the stuff,” Heath replied in shock. “You can’t take from those killer robotic things.”

“Battle Bots,” Lance helped. “You need power to store food, so we will forgo the supplies for now, but you still have to get them.”

“Oh, we will,” Heath said quickly. “I want a list of what all you need, so we can help you in other ways besides patrolling.”

“Nice,” Lance mumbled with a grin. “Any stinkers your way?”

“Killed a few after Ian left, but that chain-link fence around the property diverts them around the back. I know you’ve seen the front. A stinker isn’t getting over a fifteen-foot wrought iron fence,” Heath said.

“Look for us in an hour,” Lance said.

“Will do. You want us to meet you at the clubhouse to help cover?” Heath asked, and Lance almost dropped the phone.

Catching the phone on his shoulder, “Ah, no. We’ll be fine,” Lance answered.

“Okay,” Heath said. “We’ll see you in about an hour.”

“Bye,” Lance said, hanging up the phone. “He wanted to meet us and help cover us on the way to his house.”

“Lance, Heath just wants to help,” Jennifer told him.

“I know,” Lance turned, looking at everyone in shock. “It just surprised me is all.”

Reaching out and clasping Lance’s shoulder, “Dude, not everyone is a total dweeb,” Ian smirked.

Nodding, Lance turned and saw the ladybugs sitting at their desks, watching a man teaching science. “Ladybugs,” Lance called out, and Allie paused the TV.

“We just came up,” Allie sighed with attitude. “We were at control while Ian and Jennifer went out.”

Walking over, Lance chuckled, “I know. You two always do what’s expected. I want both of you to get your gear on and be ready to roll in twenty minutes.”

Allie’s and Carrie’s mouths dropped. “We roll in nineteen minutes and fifty-seven seconds,” Lance said, and the two bolted from their desks. At close to the speed of sound, the ladybugs ran upstairs.

“Who’s staying here?” Ian asked, walking over.

“George and Judy,” Lance said, heading for the stairs. “The cabin will be fine for a few hours.”

“I need longer than nineteen minutes,” Jennifer said, running to the bathroom.

“You already have on your combat gear, stupid head!” Carrie shouted from the loft.

Laughing at Carrie, Lance looked over at Ian as he headed to the stairs. “Will you get the ARs we put together for Denny, Lori, and the one the ladybugs wanted for Jodi?” Lance asked, reaching the stairs.

“They haven’t even met the girl and want to give her an AR?!” Ian shouted as Lance ran up the stairs with Lilly.

“Ian, don’t be a meanie!” Allie screamed from upstairs.

“I’m getting a new sister,” Ian shouted back, heading for the basement.

“Fine!” Allie yelled.

Leaving the cabin unattended for only the second time, Ian looked at the entire group as they loaded up the UTVs and trailers. Except for George and Judy, and they definitely didn’t like it. “Ian, the cabin will be fine for a few hours,” Lance said, putting his tool belt and a laptop bag in the UTV pulling the six-hundred-pound battery. “It’s not fair to the ladybugs to always get stuck at control.”

“I know,” Ian said, climbing in beside Jennifer. “I just don’t like fucking with the outer gate from the outside.”

“Don’t worry. The gates will get done when we get back. I finished the arm,” Lance told him, climbing in.

As Jennifer drove them around the cabin, “That doesn’t help me now,” Ian mumbled.

“You’re being a little sissy bitch,” Carrie cried out from the backseat with Dino.

“Hey, I’m not Lance,” Ian snapped as Jennifer stopped at the gate. “I’ll spit in your ear and hold you down till it drains in.”

“Ewww,” Carrie whined as Ian climbed out, opening the inner gate while Lilly pulled up behind them and Lance got out.

“You’ve only been alone with Carrie for ten seconds,” Lance huffed, walking past. “Why do you have to piss her off? You piss her off, and she takes it out on me!”

Watching Lance open the outer gate, Ian shook his head. “Brah, you need to write your name in the dirt,” Ian told him. “You’re getting soft.”

When Jennifer pulled out and turned right to pull along the fence, Lilly followed in the next buggy. “Ian,” Lance said, as Ian closed the inner gate and walked past. “They pout with sad eyes and I swear, I feel like I stomped on a fluffy kitten.”

“Okay,” Ian moaned as Lance closed the outer gate and Allie walked over, sticking her tongue out at Ian. Which looked freaky with Allie’s black mask formed to her face. “We are doing some manly shit. You don’t use fluffy kitten to describe an emotion. If it’s not a man rule, it damn sure is now.”

Before Lance tried to weave his arm through the coils of razor wire, Allie moved in front of him, sticking her arms in. She wrapped the chain and locked it and looked up at Lance with a smile, the only way he could tell was by her eyes, and then skipped back to the UTVs with her AR draped across her back.

“There is too much estrogen in the cabin,” Lance noted, not moving.

“Allie and Carrie aren’t old enough to count as that now,” Ian groaned. “When they are, we are fucked. I mean, with a sandpaper dick and no lube. That many on the rag, I think we’ll need to sleep in the gym every three weeks. I’m finding out girls on the rag get violent.”

Walking toward the UTVs, “We are doing something manly tonight. I don’t know what, but something,” Lance vowed.

“Let’s watch movies with guns, cars, boobs, and no plotline,” Ian grinned.

“Sounds good,” Lance agreed, climbing in and Ian continued to his ride.

“What sounds good?” Lilly asked as Jennifer slowly pulled away.

“Men, doing manly shit tonight,” Lance cheered.

Chapter 12

Stopping on the road before the turn to Heath’s house, Lilly watched Lance climb out with his bow as nine stinkers wobbled up the road. Unless they turned, they would’ve gone to Heath’s old house, so Ian joined Lance and the two made short work. After grabbing the arrows, they climbed back in.

“We only used a thousand rounds last night,” Lilly said, following Jennifer up the wide draw. The paved road still made Lilly nervous.

When she saw the brick columns, holding two huge wrought iron gates that looked like they came from a castle, Lilly took her foot off the accelerator. “Whoa,” she said, looking right and left. The brick fence extended across the draw and halfway up each slope. From there, the fence turned into a seven-foot chain-link fence.

“Yeah, this is one of the few houses I would leave the cabin for,” Lance said beside her. “Ian and I poked around here a few times, and whoever lived here had serious money.”

Heath and his wife Robin were waiting, opened the gates, and they pulled through. Ahead, a massive two-story brick house sat on a flat ten-acre yard with slopes from the surrounding U-shaped ridge on three sides. The knee-high grass hid the landscaping, but Lilly shook her head while following Jennifer up to a three-car garage. Inside was a quad cab pickup and Heath’s four-wheelers.

When she stopped behind Jennifer, Lilly saw the rest of the bear trap team run out of the house and Carrie ran back to Allie. Well, Grady just ambled out. Climbing out, Lilly laughed to see the swollen nose on Grady’s face. She stopped laughing when she saw the left side of Grady’s face was swollen.

Rhonda walked up and hugged Lilly. “Good ta see ya so soon,” Rhonda said, letting her go.

“You punched Grady?” Lilly asked.

Chuckling, “No, his wife Brenda did. You met her last night, but Brenda found out what an ass Grady was being when we moved last night, and then when we brought over the last load,” Rhonda related and then gave a snort. “She cold-cocked his ass, knocking him out.

“Nice,” Lilly grinned as Lori bounced over and hugged Lilly.

“This house is so cool,” Lori giggled.

Lilly looked down when Jodi ran over and skidded to a stop on the driveway, staring at Allie and Carrie. They were both in combat gear, complete with the black masks and helmets. Even Lilly thought the two looked creepy, but Jodi thought they looked terrifying. “Um, I’m Jodi,” she said, slowly extending her hand out.

“I’m Allie,” Allie replied cheerfully from behind the mask, shaking Jodi’s hand. Jodi was a year younger, but taller than both Allie and Carrie.

When Allie let go, Carrie grabbed Jodi’s hand and shook it. “I’m Carrie,” she said.

Walking around the trailer and stopping behind Allie and Carrie, Lance reached into the back as Denny ran over. And just as Lance had thought, Denny didn’t have the AR from last night. “Denny, weapon?” Lance asked, and Denny stopped, looking at the gray skull on Lance’s mask.

Last night, Denny had thought it looked evil, but in the sunlight, it looked absolutely malevolent. “Um, my mom is using it, sir,” Denny stuttered out.

“That’s fine. I gave those weapons to the group, except the one we ‘gave to Rhonda’,” Lance stressed as the others gathered around. “When we give a gun to a person, that’s who’s to use it.”

“Allie, Carrie,” Lance barked, and they spun around to face Lance like two little soldiers as he pulled out two ARs and the laptop bag. “Helmets and masks off. You will go over weapons, understood?”

“Okay, Lance,” Allie said, and it seemed sacrilegious, such a gentle tiny voice coming from the black mask. When they took off their helmets and masks, Lance saw Jodi smiling at them.

“Jodi, Allie and Carrie are giving this to you,” Lance said, passing an AR with a ten-inch barrel like theirs to Allie. Like the others they had given the group, it didn’t come from their stock, but some of the parts had. “Jodi, if I ever hear of you not treating this weapon with respect, you will not like me anymore. Ask the ladybugs. I get very mean,” Lance warned, staring at Jodi.

Even though she’d just met them, Jodi moved behind Allie and Carrie, hiding behind them. “I won’t, sir,” Jodi promised, sounding as meek as she could manage.

“Lance,” Jodi’s mom, Kathy called out, and Lance turned to stare at her. Looking at the skull, Kathy shook her head, “Never mind, it’s alright.”

“We gave it to her, and she will treat it with respect or I will deal with her,” Lance repeated, and Dwain pulled his wife back to stand beside him. “You can’t leave anyone unarmed in this world. Nobody has the right to deny someone else the ability to defend themselves.”

“Understood, Lance” Dwain said with a nod.

“Denny, here,” Lance barked, and sheepishly, Denny moved up to him. Lance held out an AR like theirs. “We give this to you and the same applies, but you are a man, so I will come down much harder on you, do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Denny said, and Lance groaned while still holding out the weapon.

“Dammit, my name is Lance,” he snapped. “You only let someone you know, who will treat your weapon with care and respect, ever use it.”

Reaching out and taking the AR, Denny grinned while looking at the suppressor and flipped over the magnifier to the red dot sight. “I will, Lance,” he said, then Lance handed him the laptop bag.

“Last night, you said you wanted to be like me and Ian. I loaded the stuff on here to learn and you will need to be devoted to learning it,” Lance said, and Denny’s grin grew wide as he took the laptop bag.

“I will learn it,” he vowed.

Looking over at Heath, “If he doesn’t treat the weapon with respect, I want to know immediately,” Lance said.

“I have your phone number,” Heath laughed.

“Allie, Carrie, start on both. Ian and I had better be impressed,” Lance barked, walking past them. “The rest of their gear is in the back.”

Moving to the UTV, Allie grabbed a vest for Denny and Carrie grabbed one for Jodi. “Where is the electrical box for the house?” Lance asked, walking to the garage.

“Right in the garage,” Heath replied, turning to follow.

Allie and Carrie gave Denny and Jodi the vests and pulled them to the front porch. Lori watched them walk away and gave a remorseful sigh. “Lori,” Jennifer said, walking over. “Your AR and vest are in my ride. We are giving them to you, but the same rules apply. Lance didn’t give it to you because you aren’t a little girl or a man,” Jennifer said the last word with disdain.

“But I assure you, he or Ian will come down on you, if you don’t treat it with respect,” Jennifer told her.

Lori’s face perked up and she hugged Jennifer. “Thank you,” Lori said.

Waving at her UTV, “It’s in the back with your vest, go and let the ladybugs start. All of you will have to show basic knowledge of your weapon before we leave,” Jennifer told Lori as she hugged Lilly.

“I will, I swear,” Lori said, running to Jennifer’s UTV and grabbing her stuff, then joined Denny and Jodi sitting at an outside table while the ladybugs demonstrated how to take their ARs apart.

Moving from under Dwain’s arm, “Jennifer,” Kathy said, moving closer. “Jodi is seven years old.”

“So?” Jennifer huffed. “The ladybugs are eight and they patrol with us.”

Kathy just looked at Jennifer, then Jennifer walked off. Dwain moved beside his wife, “Babe, I’m with Lance. Everyone needs to know how to fight,” Dwain said.

“He could’ve asked us first,” Kathy said.

“To be honest, I don’t think Lance ‘asks’ much of anything. He just does it himself,” Dwain told her.

“Yep,” Lilly sang out, turning to walk to the garage with the others. “And I can tell you now. To date, he’s never been wrong and has saved my life. And just to let you know, Lance and Ian have saved all of your lives many times over, so remember that.”

In the garage, Lance opened the electrical panels and stepped back. “Holy shit!” he said, looking at the two boxes full of breakers.

“You can’t do it?” Heath asked, getting worried.

“No,” Lance said, waving a hand at the boxes. “This house had more power running to it than NASA.”

Heath turned to Ian and Ian shrugged. “Electricity is his thing, not mine,” Ian said, looking around.

“So, you can do it?” Heath asked, turning to Lance.

“Yeah, but we are going to have to shut a lot of stuff off,” Lance said, looking at the labels for the breakers. “Like the driveway heating system and stuff.”

Sighing with relief, “We just want a few lights and a refrigerator,” Heath said.

“Bullshit,” Lance snapped, making Heath jump back. “While I’m here, you’re turning on the damn air conditioner.”

Stumbling into Heath, “Really?” Robin gasped, gripping her husband’s arm.

“Yeah, it’s hotter than two rats fucking in a wool sock,” Lance grumbled, unbuckling his helmet and taking it off. Reaching to the back of his head, Lance unbuckled the face mask and pulled it off his sweat-covered face. “I’m fucking melting.”

“First you talk about kittens, then you start bitching about melting?!” Ian shouted, walking out of the garage. “You better man the fuck up!”

Pushing his mask into his helmet, Lance turned to watch Ian head to the trailers. “Keep on, bitch, and I’ll tape your pussy shut!” Lance popped off. Walking over to the deep freezer, Lance saw it was open and looked inside, smelling bleach.

“We’ve been cleaning,” Robin said, studying Lance’s face for the first time as Lance pulled his ponytail out of his collar.

“Doing a good job,” Lance admitted, closing the freezer and putting his helmet on it. Taking his M4 off, Lance set it on the freezer. Bending down and unbuckling his drop platforms, Lance pulled his tactical vest off before laying it neatly on the lid.

“What are you doing?” Lilly asked, walking over as Lance pulled his 3D jacket off to put it on the freezer.

“I don’t like working with electricity and feeling weighted down if I can help it,” Lance replied, taking off the long john bite top. Looking at his compression shirt, Lance saw it was soaked. “I just put this fucker on and it looks like I went swimming.”

Looking at Lance’s ripped, sweat-glistening chest after he pulled the compression shirt off, Lilly barely nodded. “Yeah, it’s hot,” she muttered.

Heath and Robin looked at Lance’s upper body in shock, and more than a little envy. “Um, what do you need?” Heath asked.

“Guide Lilly as she backs in, but Lilly is my assistant,” Lance told him, wiping the sweat off his chest with his gloved hands. Unable to help it, Lilly reached over to help, but was doing more feeling than wiping. Looking up at Lilly with a smile, “Thank you,” Lance beamed.

“Any time, sweetness,” Lilly sighed, dropping her hand off his abs.

Lifting his head, Lance saw Lilly staring at his abs. “Can you back that battery in?” he asked.

“Oh,” Lilly said, then peeled her eyes off his abs. “All right,” she groaned, walking out.

Turning to Heath and Robin, “That battery will take all of us to move and when it’s down, don’t call me to move it again. Ever. I’m tired of moving the damn thing,” Lance huffed, walking over to the electrical panels. “Ian almost spilled acid on my ass, so I don’t like this battery.”

“How long for it to charge?” Heath asked while Robin stared at Lance’s flared out lats on his back, thinking Lance should be able to glide.

When Lance turned around, Robin jerked her eyes away and looked elsewhere, trying not to blush. “You think I would bring it over uncharged?” Lance asked, and Heath shrugged.

They turned around and saw Jennifer moving her UTV and trailer with the dish while Lilly turned around in the yard. “Your goats need to work overtime to get this yard under control,” Lance said as Lilly started backing up.

“Ten goats can’t knock this yard down,” Heath said.

Watching Lilly back up, “Get more, then eat their asses,” Lance told him. “We don’t have time to mow right now, but to be honest, you’re going to have to at least once, just so you can make sure nothing is sneaking in.”

“We can see people with the security cameras,” Heath declared proudly.

“Heath,” Lance said, impressed when Lilly backed up with no help. “We have two tigers that have taken up residence, and Ian and I have seen a pack of dogs that was over a hundred at least. There is so much shit trying to kill us, we should ask them to take a number and stand the fuck in line.”

Robin looked up at Heath in shock. “Maybe it was his tigers who took the goats?”

“When?” Lance asked, holding up his hand for Lilly to stop.

“Four days ago, something took one and killed another,” Robin answered, and Lance shook his head.

“The last time our pussies have been outside the barrier fence was a week ago,” Lance said as Lilly turned off the UTV. “Might have been a mountain lion.”

“Mountain lions don’t get that big,” Heath said.

“You saw it?” Lance asked, moving to the trailer and unstrapping the battery.

“Dwain did, but it was dark. All he said was it was huge. But I saw the tracks and it wasn’t a mountain lion,” Heath told him with confidence.

Dropping the straps on the trailer, “I’m tired of big pussy,” Lance moaned, and Heath busted out laughing. Lance turned to him, “Oh, yeah, laugh, but wait until you’re on patrol and not one but two Siberian tigers look at you like a snack.”

“I know it’s not funny, it’s just the way you said it,” Heath chuckled, trying to stop laughing.

“Wait till you hear Ian,” Lance grunted, walking to the back of the UTV and unhooking the trailer. “Get your guys and let’s get the suck over.”

With boards under the battery, everyone tugged on the ropes as Lance and Ian pushed the battery from the trailer. When the battery neared the back, the trailer tilted off the hitch and the back slammed down. Those pulling stopped when the battery started sliding down the trailer to the floor.

“Fucking pull, it’s moving!” Lance yelled, and they tugged on the ropes and the battery picked up speed, sliding off the trailer and onto the floor. With the weight gone, the trailer slammed back down.

“Jennifer says stop making so much noise,” Lilly told everyone. “She’s gunning down a lot of stinkers.”

Ian started stripping his gear off, starting with his helmet and mask. Feeling Lance looking at the side of his face, “Brah, she’s on guard and she has the ball. You fuck with her now, and I’m not pulling her off your ass,” Ian said, unbuckling his drop platforms. “Trust me. She beat three stinkers to death with a bat when we laid that commo wire.”

When Ian was ready, everyone pushed the battery closer to the wall. “That’s good,” Lance breathed out. He walked to the back of the UTV and grabbed his tool belt. “Lilly, cover the yard.”

Nodding, Lilly moved out and Lance turned to Ian. “You need me to set up the parabolic?”

“No, I’ll set it up, but I’m not hooking it up,” Ian informed him.

“Make sure to keep the dish pointed away from the sun,” Lance said, buckling his tool belt. “I don’t like hooking up more live wires than I have to.”

“Brah,” Ian said, walking out. “The Sterling engine is already turning with the dish laying in the trailer.” Walking over to the electrical panels, Lance went to work while the others left with Ian.

Hearing Jennifer’s suppressed shots, Lilly turned and saw stinkers falling on the road as Jennifer shot through the bars of the gate. Turning back and glad her mask was off, she watched Ian with the others, helping move the dish out.

Watching Dwain and Heath around Lance and Ian, Lilly was amazed they viewed and talked to the boys like respected adults. And anyone could see they were afraid of them. Even Grady looked at Ian and Lance in fear, but Grady didn’t look at them with respect.

Denny, who was only a year younger than them, talked to Lance and Ian like adults. Turning to the porch, Lilly saw the ladybugs still working with Jodi, Denny, and Lori. Denny looked like most tween boys; childish face, tall, lanky body, uncoordinated, and a youthful look at life.

None of those things applied to Ian or Lance. Lilly had known guys much older than them who’d acted younger. “Yeah, had I known Lance before this, I would’ve waited on his ass,” Lilly confessed to herself.

When they stood up the dish, Ian grabbed the massive two-handed drill and Lilly pulled the hybrid over and turned on the engine. “Where did you get those?” Dwain asked when Ian held up a three-foot-long, one-inch-thick screw.

“Made ‘em,” Ian shrugged, then drove the screw into the earth. “Otherwise, we would be cementing this thing in and you wouldn’t have power for a day or so.”

Dwain looked at Heath and both nodded, impressed with the improvising. “Guys, think out-of-the-box or this is going to suck ass,” Ian told them, driving another screw in. Lilly grinned at the way they looked at Ian in awe.

When the last screw was in, Ian put the drill away and grabbed a coil of thick wire. As he hooked the wire to a box on the pole, “I thought a Sterling engine operated with only a half a degree temperature difference,” Dwain said.

“Surprised you knew that,” Ian chuckled. “They do, but this one is connected to a generator and has to overcome the torque. It doesn’t start to work until the engine plate is a hundred.”

Walking out, “I thought you didn’t want to hook it up?” Lance snorted.

“Want me to unhook it?” Ian snapped as Lance grabbed the end of the wire.

“Go find the damn A/C unit and tell me how big it is,” Lance called over his shoulder.

“There are two of them,” Dwain said, but Lance never stopped.

Getting up, Dwain led Ian to the back and Heath came over to Lilly. He watched the two ladybugs teaching the other kids. “They seem to know what they are doing,” Heath said.

“They’d better,” Lilly chuckled. “Man rules say you mess up with weapons, and reprimand is mandatory. Most are pushups, but I forgot to put my weapon on safe once and had to carry a cinderblock around for a day.”

Turning to Lilly, Heath glanced behind him. “Where are these rules?” he whispered.

Snarling her face, “With the ‘man card’,” Lilly growled in disgust. That was the one thing that irritated her about Lance, that damn card.

Stepping back from the growl, “’Man card’? That’s made-up guy talk,” Heath snorted.

“Bull-shit,” Lilly snapped. “They have theirs and proudly follow the rules.”

Hearing Dwain and Ian coming around the house, Heath spun around. “Hey, Ian,” Heath said, trotting away as Jennifer walked over with her hair soaked in sweat.

“I told Grady it was his turn on guard,” Jennifer panted. “We are talking about the combat load when we get home. This 3D suit is cooking my ass. I’m sweating so much, the scent proof can’t be working.”

Robin came out carrying bottles of water, “Here,” she said, handing them over.

“Thank you,” Jennifer said, ripping the top off and sucked the bottle down without stopping. When she finished, Jennifer gave a satisfied smile. “Robin, in the backseat of my UTV, there’s an ice chest. We made bread and have meat and cheese in it for sandwiches. Lilly and I were going to do it, but I’m melting away.”

“You go sit down, and thank you,” Robin said, patting her arm and headed off.

“Nah, I’m good now,” Jennifer said, putting the top back on her empty bottle. “When did Rhonda join the lessons?”

Turning to the porch, Lilly chuckled at seeing Allie showing Rhonda how to take apart the AR. “Not long ago,” Lilly said as Ian, Heath, and Dwain walked up. “You have power,” Lilly said, and Heath spun around.

Seeing the front porch light was on, Heath fell to his knees in the grass. “Let me tell Lance about the units,” Ian chuckled, walking off.

When Ian was gone, “Heath, Dwain, come here please,” Lilly commanded politely.

Getting up, Heath moved with Dwain in front of Lilly. “Ask them what improvements you need here and make notes. We need you. Ian and Lance don’t. They are running us into the ground. If you listen to them and do what they say, you stand a very good chance of seeing your kids grow up and you dying of old age. It took a lot for Jennifer and me to convince them to do this and put the phone in. You have backup now, in case you get in shit. Earn it, so they can relax for a day.”

“Um,” Dwain smacked his lips nervously. “Will they get mad if we ask them what we should do?”

“I doubt it, but I don’t care,” Lilly said, and Jennifer nodded.

“If they do, suck it up and blame it on Grady,” Jennifer offered. “They hate him anyway.”

“That’s an idea,” Heath said, glancing at Dwain.

“Gentlemen,” Lilly said, and they turned to her. “I know you respect them and think they are awesome, but I assure you, you haven’t seen a tenth of what they are capable of. I’m in awe every day, but then pissed off by the ‘card’ before the end of the day.”

“Grab a notebook,” Dwain said, moving to the garage and Heath trotted to the house.

Then they heard an A/C unit kick on. “Seems kind of loud. I’ve never heard the one at the cabin,” Lilly said.

“Sucks to be them,” Jennifer said as Ian and Lance walked out of the garage, still without shirts. “You know, we are in the field. How dare they walk around like that?”

Cocking one eyebrow up, “I don’t mind,” Lilly grinned.

“I do. I want to touch him,” Jennifer mumbled as they walked up.

“They have power. Come and check the house out,” Ian told them, grabbing Jennifer’s arm.

“Ian, please put your compression shirt on at least,” Jennifer groaned, looking at his chest with only a few hairs on it. When Ian groaned, “Fine, I’m walking around without a shirt or bra,” Jennifer warned, and Ian shot off to grab his shirt.

When Jennifer walked off, Lance just cocked his head at Lilly. “You’re not going to say something like that, are you?” he asked as she stared at his torso.

“No, sweetness. You just make sure you stay close to me,” Lilly said breathlessly.

Grabbing her hand, Lance pulled her to the porch. “I was worried about the A/C,” Lance admitted.

“The stinkers won’t hear it?” Lilly mumbled, still looking at Lance’s torso.

Shaking his head, “Nah, you can’t hear that more than thirty yards away.”

“Hey, Lance,” Ian said, walking up and putting on his compression shirt. “They want us to give them ideas on what to do first.”

“Smart,” Lance mumbled, then leaned over to kiss Lilly on the cheek. “Let us do this real quick, then we can head back to the cabin.”

“Take your time,” Lilly smiled, finally looking Lance in the face.

Lance and Ian headed over to the garage where Dwain and Heath were waiting with notebooks. “Denny!” Lilly heard Allie snap, and turned to the front porch and saw Denny, Lori, Jodi, and Rhonda in a line, holding their ARs to their shoulder.

“It’s S.P.O.R.T.S.,” Allie said, lifting her AR up. “Slap,” she said, slapping her magazine. “Pull,” Allie told him, pulling the charging handle back and a training shell was ejected but held the charging handle back. “Ob-serrvve,” Allie dragged out. “That means, look in the firing chamber.”

“But I saw the shell eject,” Denny mumbled.

“Sometimes the stupid gun feeds two bullets,” Allie sassed. “Turn your rifle to the side, then look in and If,” she stressed, “you don’t see anything, Rack,” Allie continued, letting the charging handle go with a sharp ‘tang’ as the bolt slammed forward. “Tap,” Allie demonstrated the forward assist. “Then Shoot,” she finished, pulling the trigger and the rifle went ‘click’ as the firing pin hit the dummy round.

“Okay,” Denny said, and did it just like Allie did. “Like that?”

“Better,” Allie nodded, moving over to Rhonda. Lilly turned away to hide her grin, watching two little eight-year-old girls teaching people and one they only reached waist-high. Glancing back, she saw Allie and Carrie walking among the group like little drill sergeants.

“She’s good,” Robin said, walking out and carrying a sandwich. “Made you one.”

“Both of them are,” Lilly smiled, taking the sandwich as Kathy joined them. “How are you on food now?”

Watching Lilly get a bite, “After last night, we can go a few months before worrying about food,” Robin said with relief.

“A word of advice. Make a meal list and stick to it,” Lilly instructed, pulling her drinking tube off her vest and getting a drink. “Don’t let people just eat, or you will run out faster than you think.”

“All I can do is tell them,” Robin said, turning to the front gate and watching Grady shoot a stinker and lower the .22.

“Yeah, that’s true, but you can tell them if they don’t follow the rules, they go out alone to replace what they ate,” Lilly replied, then grinned. “If they don’t, you can kick their ass out.”

“Like he would leave,” Robin moaned.

“He would if you tied his ass up and drove him off and dumped him on the side of the road,” Lilly told her, and Robin jumped back in shock. “Hey, that’s what I would do, and I don’t even have kids.”

Nodding as she turned back to Grady looking out the gate with binoculars, “I’ll have a talk with Heath,” Robin nodded.

An hour later, Lance and Ian were still walking around with Heath. Leaving them, Dwain walked over to Lilly and Jennifer talking to the wives. “They can make a person feel stupid,” Dwain mumbled.

“Yep,” Jennifer said. “Wait until they are trying to make you feel stupid.”

Dwain looked at her in shock, “I’ll run away.”

“That does work,” Jennifer admitted as Jodi ran up to her mom and dad.

“Momma, Daddy, can I spend the night with Allie and Carrie?” Jodi begged, bouncing on her toes as Allie and Carrie ran up behind her.

Kathy looked at Dwain remorsefully. “Baby, no,” Kathy said, turning back and looking down at Jodi. “I don’t want you far from me.”

Tears filled Jodi’s eyes, but she didn’t start crying. “Momma, please?” Jodi stressed. “They are cool, and I don’t have anyone here I can play with. Did you see that neat stuff they were teaching?”

Not wanting to be the bad guy, Kathy looked up at Dwain for help and he raised his hands. “Don’t look at me, because she is safer where they are,” Dwain told her and Kathy’s face paled. “Kathy, I can only imagine what they have, and I’m certain I’m not even close.”

“But you don’t know,” Kathy snapped.

“Don’t have to,” Dwain said. “We could still be in the old house, splitting a can of chicken noodle soup between three people for one day.”

Staring at Dwain hard, Kathy’s face slowly softened. “I know, they saved us,” Kathy sighed, glancing down at Jodi holding her hands clasped and begging. “But we haven’t met the adults.”

“Yes, you have,” Lilly said, and Kathy looked at her.

Waiting for several seconds for Lilly to explain, finally Kathy asked, “When did we meet them?”

“Last night and today,” Lilly popped off, then pointed at the ladybugs. “There’s two more right there who you didn’t meet last night.”

When Kathy opened her mouth, Lilly held her hand up. “Choose your words wisely,” Lilly warned. “We’ve killed stinkers, bikers, and Nazis, and many of those were for your benefit, not ours. Just think of where we put that Battle Bot. What the fuck have you done? If there are any children around, I think they are all living here. So what’s your definition of an adult? Mine is, one who can take care of themselves.”

Flabbergasted, Kathy turned to Dwain. “Don’t look at me. She’s right,” he said. “Kathy, I was in the Army for three years, and those little girls are running their rifles better than I’ve seen many soldiers. And, they were teaching our daughter to do the same.”

Turning back to Lilly, “So, you think I should let my daughter spend the night?” Kathy asked.

Shaking her head, “I didn’t say that. I was addressing your view on age,” Lilly answered, then turned to Allie and Carrie. “A decision like that rests with Lance and Ian.”

“Duh,” the ladybugs moaned.

“The one spending the night asks first, goober,” Carrie sassed, wobbling her head side to side.

“So, would Jodi be safe?” Kathy asked, looking at Lilly’s face for any sign of doubt.

Turning to look Kathy in the eyes, “You want true honesty?” Lilly asked, and Kathy nodded. “Jodi is safer with us riding around in buggies on patrol than here with you. We know what we’re doing. As far as home, let’s just say, Fort Knox.”

Glancing at Dwain, “So, you think she should?” Kathy asked.

“If Lance and Ian don’t have a problem, I don’t,” Dwain answered, and Jodi gave a small cry of hope and then looked at her mom, breaking out the super sad eyes. “We are always looking for her, and one thing Lance told me about their spot, they have two fences over ten feet, completely enclosing five acres. I know Jodi can’t climb out because one fence is pure razor wire.”

“Yeah, and they hate that shit,” Jennifer giggled.

“Mom, you can even call and check on me,” Jodi whined big time.

“We really need to teach her more,” Allie said with a serious expression that did not look right on such a young face.

“She doesn’t even know fractions, so we really need to show her,” Carrie added, looking at Kathy like she had done something wrong as a parent.

Looking down at Jodi, “If Lance and Ian say so,” Kathy said hesitantly.

Allie and Carrie grabbed Jodi by the hands and all three took off running. “I bet you a shift at control, Lance and Ian cave,” Jennifer chuckled as the three stopped beside Lance. With Jodi between them and holding their hands, Carrie and Allie started pleading their cases.

“No bet,” Lilly said. “If it was only Ian, I would take you up on it. Ian acts tough around the ladybugs, but he gives into them almost as much as Lance does.”

“He does, because Lance will bitch if he doesn’t,” Jennifer laughed, watching Lance shake his head ‘no’ and the ladybug assault began.

“Here comes the puppy eyes,” Lilly said.

Everyone was watching the interaction, but couldn’t hear the words when Ian turned to the three. “Would you say no?” Dwain asked.

“Depends,” Lilly said, watching Ian say something and the ladybugs shoulders slumped as they looked down. Lance slapped Ian across the chest and then looked down at the ladybugs. “If I had to deal with Lance and the ladybugs, there is not much I wouldn’t do. Dealing with one depends on my mood.”

“So, Lance might say no?” Kathy asked with hope.

“Kathy,” Lilly said curtly, never looking away from the ladybugs. “The real one here who has the say is Ian. The ladybugs can almost get Lance to move the Earth for them. Ian isn’t as affected, but I can see now Lance has taken the ladybugs side, so Ian will cave.”

“The only thing I can think of since we got here that Lance has totally refused was getting them tiger kittens,” Jennifer grinned, watching Ian throw up his hands and then punch Lance in the shoulder.

“That’s one I would’ve put up a fight on,” Lilly chuckled as Ian pushed Lance backward.

Watching Lance wave at the ladybugs as he talked to Ian vehemently, Jennifer nodded. “I would’ve shot them in the knees.” When Ian put his hands on his hips, turning to the ladybugs, “The ladybugs won,” Jennifer stated.

“Didn’t take them as long as I thought it would,” Lilly admitted as Ian protested to the girls.

It was five minutes later, the three girls started jumping up and down and then ran inside. When Lilly and Jennifer turned back to the group, they found Dwain, Kathy, Brenda, and Robin staring at them. “She’ll be fine,” Jennifer assured Kathy.

Lance and Ian were walking back with Heath just behind them, writing as he walked. “Jesus, Lance, you have got to learn to say no,” Ian grumbled. “They don’t cry that long.”

“To you maybe,” Lance snapped, not looking at Ian. “They’ve done great work as always, so they deserve a reward.”

“We made them a cake for Jennifer’s birthday,” Ian snapped.

Giving a long sigh as he stared at Lilly. “Ian, they wanted the little girl to spend the night. It’s done,” Lance said, feeling tired. “I trust, you knew?”

“Yeah,” Lilly chuckled.

“You could’ve handled it,” Lance popped off.

Dropping the smile, “What, and deal with both you and them? No!” Lilly barked. “I’m just like Ian. I’m not that stupid.”

“Thank you!” Ian cried out. The bear trap team was shocked because the group acted like they didn’t exist.

“I think it will do the ladybugs good to teach a little girl. Plus, it gives them someone to talk to and I don’t have to hear the snowman,” Lance grinned.

Jerking his head to Lance, “Hey, that’s a good point,” Ian agreed.

Walking out the back door, Denny looked over at the group and shouldered his AR. “Um, Lance, Ian, you think I could spend the night?” Denny asked hesitantly.

Ian looked at Lance and shrugged, “I don’t care,” Ian said, and Jennifer walked over and poked him in the chest hard with her finger.

“You put up a fight like that for the ladybugs and then just say, ‘I don’t care’?!” Jennifer shouted, then lowered her voice. “I should kick your ass.”

“And here comes the ladybugs last level of backup,” Lilly smirked. “Ian never stands a chance.”

Watching Jennifer glare at him, Ian kept his attention on her hands. “Denny, you can spend the night, but like I told Jodi, we learn and there is no play,” Lance explained. “Except tonight when we get home,” Lance added quickly. “We are watching some guy movies. No plot and all action.”

“Thank you, s-,” Denny stopped quickly. “Lance, Ian,” he finished and then took off for the back door.

Jennifer’s head was tilted back as her chest touched Ian, looking up in his face. At only four-foot-ten, Jennifer seemed smaller standing next to Ian’s now five-foot-five frame and it seemed to dwarf Jennifer, but it didn’t take intelligence to know, Ian was more than a little worried.

“Want to make something of it?” Jennifer offered with a snarl.

“Not really,” Ian admitted.

Finally stepping back from Ian, Jennifer relaxed as the back door opened and Lori came out, looking very depressed. “Lori!” Jennifer barked, then locked eyes with Ian. “Get your shit, you’re spending the night!”

“Yes!” Lori cried out, jumping in the air and landing in a dead sprint for the house.

“You gonna say something?” Jennifer asked, stepping back up to Ian. With a wild glare in her eyes, Jennifer seemed ready to pounce.

“Nope,” Ian answered vehemently.

With her tactical vest touching Ian’s abs, Jennifer cut her eyes to Lance. “How about you?” Jennifer snarled.

“I haven’t heard them ask their parents,” Lance pointed out and Jennifer spun around, and Kathy and Dwain held up their hands.

“We were asked for our child and said yes,” Dwain said as he and Kathy backed up with Grady’s wife, Brenda.

Robin and Heath looked at the scowl on Jennifer’s face. “I dare you, to say Lori can’t spend the night. Fuck that, I double dare ya,” Jennifer growled.

“I think it would be good for Lori,” Heath admitted in a breaking voice, nodding his head and Robin just smiled.

Walking off, “Say something about that fucking card and I will shank your ass!” Jennifer shouted, walking around to the front of the house.

Leaning to Ian, “I’m betting we are getting close to a certain time,” Lance mumbled.

“What gave it away?” Ian sighed, throwing up his hands. “I’m expecting green shit to fly out her mouth and her head start spinning around on her shoulders.”

Lance turned to Lilly and she just grinned. “I already had mine, so you’re given a reprieve,” Lilly responded and then walked off.

“Makes sense. That’s why she was beating stinkers to death with a baseball bat,” Lance nodded.

“The kids won’t be a problem, will they?” Heath asked. “We can send some of the food you helped us get.”

Lance laughed, and Ian grinned. “Dude, we won’t even know they were ever there, even if they ate the entire time,” Ian chuckled.

“Want to help put up some Battle Bots?” Lance asked, looking at Heath.

“Hell, yeah!” Heath gasped, almost dropping his notebook.

Pulling a map from his thigh pocket, Lance pointed to the house behind the ridge they were using to prep stuff. “Meet us here at 1500 tomorrow. It shouldn’t take long,” Lance told him, then gave Heath the map. “Don’t mark your area or anything dealing with us.”

“Understood,” Heath said, studying the map. “How many should I bring?”

“Depends on you,” Lance said, turning around. “We know what we’re doing, but a little help moving shit never hurts.”

“We’re all going,” Robin told everyone. “We can learn with them protecting us.”

“Just do what they say,” Heath told her.

“Yeah, got that part,” Robin said, walking off to tell her kids ‘bye’.

Chapter 13

The bear trap kids were in awe as they rode back to the cabin. “Always watch your sector,” Allie told Jodi, sitting beside her while Lilly drove them home.

With the side by sides full, Dino was sitting up in the bed of the UTV and looking around. “So, do I call out if I see something?” Denny asked, looking over at Allie.

“Yes,” Allie said.

“I see a stinker,” Denny told her.

“I got it,” Lance said as Lilly slowed, and he squeezed the trigger. Denny grinned, watching the stinker drop.

When Lilly pulled into the trees and slowed down, Denny and Jodi felt more afraid. “You don’t have to call out that deer,” Allie told Lori as Lance leaned out, looking back to find Jennifer right behind them.

“You don’t drive out in the open much,” Denny said, trying to will his eyes to look through the trees.

“Yeah,” Allie scoffed. “In the trees, it’s harder for things to see us but driving in the open, something hiding in the trees can see us.”

“But if something is hiding in the trees now, it can see us,” Jodi said.

“Then we can kill it,” Allie smiled.

Feeling the confidence from Allie, Jodi smiled with her and looked out through the trees. When they reached the diversion fence, the kids stared at the eight strands of barbed wire in wonder. As Lilly pulled through the chute, Denny turned back to watch the trailer.

“Why not build it straight?” he asked, watching the trailer rub against a tree.

“Stinkers can walk straight,” Lance said over his shoulder. “With this, they will get turned around and leave.”

“Neat,” Denny grinned, and Lilly pulled out of the chute.

“Stop, so Dino can get out,” Lance told Lilly, and he climbed out while Jennifer started pulling through the chute. “Out, Dino,” Lance said, and Dino jumped out, sniffing around.

After Lance climbed back in, Lilly drove on and Dino sprinted until he was in front of them, then slowed to a trot. Coming down the hill, Denny gazed at the shiny razor wire fence and then noticed the chain-link fence behind it. “You put that up?”

“We did,” Lance admitted, looking out as Lilly turned to follow the west fence line. “Work fast or get killed is all the motivation you need.”

When they saw the cabin and buildings, Denny and Jodi grinned. “That’s cool,” Denny said when Lilly rounded the fence, heading for the gate.

Glancing back to Allie, “I trust, you are going to help open that first gate?” Lance stated.

“Yeah. I closed it, didn’t I?” Allie smarted off

“I know,” Lance said, turning around. “Lilly, stop along the fence and cover.”

“Lance, nobody is in the cabin,” Lilly said, slowing down.

“I know,” Lance said, motioning toward Dino in front of them. “I think the kitties are close. Denny, Jodi, stay in the buggy.”

Looking ahead, Lilly saw Dino looking down the dirt road leading to the gates. “Oh,” Lilly said, climbing out with Lance.

“Dino sees the kitties?” Ian asked, jumping out and pulling his AR into his shoulder.

“He doesn’t like something,” Lance said, walking sideways and keeping Allie between him and the fence.

With no trouble, Allie reached through the strands of razor wire to unlock the gate. Lance caught the gate before it swung open and hit Allie. “Open the next one and get on cover,” Lance said softly, seeing bushes move just below the rise.

Running up to the inner gate, Allie unlocked it and started to shove it open. Never taking his eyes off the trees Lance jerked his head, telling them to pull in. Walking beside Jennifer’s side by side, Ian stopped as she passed Lance.

“One is right below the rise,” Ian said softly.

“The other one is just to the right of that clump of bushes,” Lance told Ian.

“Get your asses in here,” Lilly called behind them. Both backed up holding their ARs ready and didn’t stop until the inner gate was closed. When they lowered their ARs, both tigers stepped out onto the road and walked up to the outer gate in a crouch.

“What did we do to piss them off?” Ian asked, wanting to open up on the tigers.

“Let’s get inside and see if they found something while we were gone,” Lance said, spinning around.

Instead of running for the buggies, Lance and Ian ran for the front door. Seeing the boys running, Lilly made sure Allie was in and took off to the back of the house. When she stopped, Lilly waited on the kids to get out.

“What’s up with them?” Jennifer asked, climbing out.

“Don’t know, but they didn’t like how the tigers were acting,” Lilly answered, pulling out her key and Denny gasped, seeing the huge key.

“That’s the biggest key I’ve ever seen!” Denny cried in awe.

They walked in and Allie and Carrie showed them upstairs, so they could put their stuff away. Lilly and Jennifer headed down to the bunker and found Lance and Ian at the control desk. “So, what’s wrong?” she asked, stopping behind Lance.

“The tigers were in their treehouse when we reached the diversion fence,” Lance said, and Lilly nodded, seeing the time stamp at the bottom of the screen. Then, the tigers looked up the hill and leapt from the treehouse before running toward the camera.

“That’s when we reached the back of the fence,” Lance noted, clicking the mouse and showing everyone the buggies driving beside the fence. “Then they hid!” Lance cried out, clicking the mouse to show the cameras in front of the cabin.

The tigers slinked off into the bushes and stayed there until the buggies came into view. “They’ve never done that,” Jennifer mumbled.

“We know, so why do it now?” Ian asked.

After a few seconds, Lilly spoke, “I wonder if they smelled the new kids.”

Lance looked back at her, “You’re giving the pussies too much credit. They are just big cats, and cats are stupid.”

“Lance, they are smarter than you think. They could associate us like their caretakers. That’s why they attacked those Nazis so fast,” Lilly offered. “Tigers have the biggest brain-to-body size of all big cats. Not to mention, they are biggest of all the cats.”

“Well, that’s the only time any sensors were tripped after we left,” Ian said, standing up. “Attack-trained, intelligent pussy, now that’s a terrifying prospect.”

“What about the kids and them coming into the bunker?” Jennifer asked.

“No,” Lance said, getting up. “I’m going to the shop and finish the control for the gates.”

“I’m helping,” Ian said, following Lance. “I want the mean pussy to stay outside.”

Lilly and Jennifer went up to talk to the kids, only to find the kids were sitting on the couch with Allie and Carrie standing in front of them. “You can’t go to the basement until Lance and Ian say,” Carrie told them, and the kids nodded.

“Don’t go outside without one of us because you have to have a key to get in,” Allie said, holding up the massive key. “Any questions?”

When none were asked, Allie and Carrie led the kids outside and Jennifer noted the kids were wearing the airsoft gear. “Should I be mad about them not asking to use my gear?” Jennifer asked in a low voice.

“‘Man card’ rules say weapons only, and airsoft aren’t weapons but should be trained with like weapons,” Lilly answered verbatim what the boys had spit out constantly as she walked over to the stairs, unbuckling gear. “I’m getting out of this shit.”

After they’d shed their combat gear, Lilly and Jennifer headed outside and found Carrie and Allie running the three through basic combat drills. Leaving the two drill instructors alone, they headed to the shop only to find it empty.

“How long has Lance been working on the gate remotes?” Lilly asked.

“Since we got here,” Jennifer answered as they headed to the gates. “The rolling inner gate, Lance said he had it ready before you got here, but the outer gate, he’s had fits with.”

“Why not just make it a rolling gate as well?” Lilly asked, and Jennifer laughed.

“I said the same damn thing and Lance never gave me an answer,” Jennifer told her.

Coming around the corner, they found Ian at one end of the rolling gate and Lance at the other, with the hybrid buggy parked at the gate. Getting closer, they saw the boys were bolting brackets to the gate with a very heavy bike chain.

“Well, that explains why Lance was ripping apart farm equipment,” Jennifer mumbled.

When they were done, the boys moved to the hybrid and both picked up a metal box. From the way they grunted, Lilly could tell it was heavy as hell. Wanting to help but not knowing how, Lilly and Jennifer followed them to the fence as they set the box next to the large end post of the gate.

Seeing a huge sprocket coming out of the side of the box, Lilly nodded as Ian lifted the heavy chain up and Lance used his feet to push the box. When the sprocket was under the chain Lance stopped, and Ian let the chain go, dropping it onto the sprocket.

Grabbing huge bolts, they bolted the box to the end pole, holding it in place. “Have to say, that’s neat,” Jennifer mumbled.

When they were done, Ian grabbed an electrical cord and started hooking it up to the box. Lance moved to the buggy and saw the girls. “Can you cover me?” he asked, and they nodded. “Ian, flip the motor to neutral.”

When Ian flipped a switch on the box, Lance opened the inner gate four feet and the girls gripped their ARs. After grabbing another box from the buggy, Lance carried it out of the gate to the pole that the outer gate was mounted on. With his face changing colors, Lance lifted it up and Lilly noticed a cup welded to the side of the box.

Setting the cup on the mounting pole, Lance stepped back, panting. “You’d better work,” he warned the box. Ian pushed past the girls, pulling cords and carrying a welding helmet. Handing them to Lance, Ian headed back to the buggy.

Lance put the welding helmet on and connected the welder to the pole. “You’re on,” Ian called, turning the welder on. The girls looked away as Lance welded the cup to the mounting pole and Ian carried more equipment out.

Hooking an arm to a large cam on the box, Ian extended it to the gate and then made a mark before letting the arm go. Hooking up an electrical cord while Lance welded around the pole, Ian fed the cord through the chain-link fence and headed to the cabin, laying out the cord from both boxes.

When Lilly turned back, Lance was welding on the fence. After Lance was done, Lilly saw he had welded a bracket to the gate.

Taking off his helmet, “Will one of you turn the welder off?” Lance called out, grabbing the dangling arm.

Covering the area as Jennifer moved to the buggy to turn off the welder, Lilly glanced over as Lance hooked up the arm to the gate. “You have power,” Ian called from the cabin.

Tightening the arm down, Lance looked over at Lilly and nodded. “Ready?” Lance asked, and Lilly turned to the trees. Lance pushed a button and the gate swung open really fast, making Lilly jump. In two seconds, the gate went from closed to open. Then just as fast, the gate closed.

“Nice,” Ian said, coming out with Jennifer.

“This stupid cam was giving me fits,” Lance told them, and they watched as the gate opened again and the arm connected to the gate was pushed out by the large cam, then pulled back when the gate closed.

“I would’ve made the gate roll, as long as you’ve been working on it,” Jennifer said as Lance moved over and wrapped the chain around the gate, locking it.

“That’s changing the problem for another problem. Tomorrow, I’ll weld the automatic latches for the gates,” Lance responded, leading them back through the inner gate. “Okay, Ian,” Lance said, and Ian moved down to the box and pressed a button. The motor hummed as the sprocket rolled the gate back. Not as fast as the outer gate, but about as fast as they could roll the gate back.

When the gate was open, Ian stopped the motor and mounted a bar on the chain, then pressed a button and the gate rolled closed. As the gate reached the bracket on the post, Ian pushed the button and mounted another piece of metal from the chain, then pushed the button again.

This time, the gate stopped by itself when it opened, and Lilly saw the metal bar from the chain touching a switch. “Okay, I’m impressed,” Lilly said as the gate started closing.

Lance and Ian gathered up their stuff and Lilly and Jennifer rode back to the ATV shed. Seeing the kids still running drills, they headed inside, and Lance hooked up controls for the gates in the bunker and beside the front door.

With the light fading, Jennifer stopped the training and told the kids to come in. Lance was at the table when the tiny drill sergeants led their troops in. “Lori, Denny, and Jodi, shower up so we can eat,” Lance called out, and they took off.

Lance waited until the three were in the bathrooms and called everyone to the table. “Okay,” he said, looking at everyone. “I move forward that Lilly Ricci be made a full member of this group. She has shown to be a great help and always works as hard as she can. Are there any objections?”

Lilly sensed her pulse quickening and felt lightheaded.

“I second the motion,” Jennifer said.

“I think we should vote,” Allie said, smiling.

“All in favor, raise your hand,” Lance said, and everyone raised their hand. “Let it be recognized, Lilly Ricci’s probation period is over and she has shown she works hard, so she is now part of this group permanently.”

Everyone cheered and ran over, hugging Lilly as the group grew by one.

Chapter 14

Feeling a hand shake him, Denny sat up. “Huh?” he mumbled, trying to open his eyes.

“It’s time to get up,” Lilly said softly.

Finally getting his eyes open, Denny leaned over the top bunk he was on and saw Lance’s bed next to him was already made up. Looking below him, Denny saw Ian’s bed made up. “Where are they?” he asked, scrambling for the side.

“Downstairs,” Lilly chuckled as Denny dropped down.

“They were reading till, like, one last night,” Denny yawned, seeing the clock read 0530.

Pulling on some shorts, Denny saw Jennifer waking up the ladybugs and Jodi who was sleeping with them above Lance’s bed. He turned and saw his sister, Lori, getting dressed. “I wish they would’ve woken me up,” Denny said, grabbing a shirt.

“Join the club, Denny,” Lilly laughed, making her bed up.

Grabbing his covers, Denny pulled them and started making his bed up. Moving fast, Denny finished and looked at his bed, then down at Ian’s. “Aw, man,” he mumbled, moving back to his bed and making it neater.

“Go to the other side,” Lilly told him, grabbing his shoulders and moving him out of the way. With Lilly’s help, the bed was made up much neater.

“Thank you,” Denny said, grabbing his socks and shoes. “You need help?” he asked.

“Already done,” Lilly told him, grabbing her tote bag. She turned to see Jennifer helping Lori make her bed. Turning around Lilly sighed, putting her tote bag down and moved over, helping the ladybugs and Jodi make their bed. “You know, if you slept on bottom, it wouldn’t be so hard.”

“Lance sleeps on the bottom bunk,” Allie snapped, hanging like a monkey and tucking the other side in.

Laughing at Allie swinging, “Lance said they had two more beds and he would put one up for each of you,” Lilly reminded her.

“No, we’ll sleep here,” Carrie replied, tucking in the bottom.

The ladybugs and Jodi dressed as Lilly grabbed her tote bag and headed downstairs to find Lance and Ian sitting on the couch, reading and drinking coffee. Before she could ask about Denny, he came walking in from the kitchen with a cup of coffee.

Seeing Ian reading a book on chemistry Lilly shook her head, knowing it was out of her league. Lance was reading another CAD book or Computer Assisted Drafting. Lilly only knew that it too was above her head. Lance was teaching her computers, but she had a long way to go to catch up. At one time she’d thought she knew computers, then she met Lance.

Walking behind the sectional, Lilly leaned over and kissed Lance on the cheek. “You could’ve gotten me up,” she said softly, seeing 3D wire diagrams on the page.

“You just looked too cute to wake up,” Lance replied, not looking away from the pages.

About to turn to the bathroom, Lilly saw Denny staring at the two reading. Sighing, she walked over to her desk and picked up her first book on CAD, CAD for Dummies. Lilly had to admit, it was a good book, but all it had done was open a world she wasn’t prepared for.

“Here, I finished it,” Lilly said, handing the book to Denny. “They are always learning, so if you want to catch up, you need to start.”

Taking the book and setting his coffee cup down, “Thank you,” Denny beamed. Sitting back, he opened the book and started reading.

As Lilly headed to the bathroom, “Do you know computers?” Lance asked, not looking away from his book.

“A little. I can work in BASIC and C. I was learning C++ and Python before the stinkers,” Denny answered, propping the book up on his chest like Lance and Ian were.

“Then you should understand that,” Lance told him as the rest came downstairs.

Lori looked at the three on the couch and then turned to Jennifer. “I thought we were working out?”

“After coffee,” Jennifer smiled, heading to the kitchen.

With Jodi between them and holding her hands, Allie and Carrie moved in front of Lance. Lifting his eyes from the book, “Yes?” Lance asked.

“It’s time to brush our hair,” Allie smiled.

Glancing back at the women’s bathroom, “Lilly isn’t here yet,” Lance told her, dropping his eyes back to the book.

“You can start,” Allie replied, losing the smile and bordering on making a sad face.

Marking his page, Lance closed the book. “When are you two going to brush your own hair?”

“Never,” Carrie told him flatly, sounding very honest and holding up a brush.

Sighing with a groan, Lance grabbed the brush and sat up. Letting Jodi’s hand go, Carrie clapped her hands as she turned around. Scooting up to the edge, Lance started brushing her long red hair. “You know, sometimes I’m not in the mood for this,” Lance told her.

“But you do it good,” Carrie told him, holding her head straight.

Walking out of the bathroom, Lilly chuckled as she walked around the sectional. “So, we picked up another one?”

Letting out a grumble and rolling his eyes, Lance continued brushing Carrie’s hair as Lilly sat down and Allie handed her a brush. Then Allie grabbed Jodi by the shoulders, turning her around and pushing her between Lilly’s legs. “They don’t even pull hard,” Allie whispered as Lilly went to work.

Jennifer and Lori walked in carrying coffee mugs. Setting Ian’s down, Jennifer sat down beside him and glanced at his book. “I don’t like books with pages of equations,” she told Ian, taking a sip.

“I’m going to make some P-E-T-N, and I want to make sure I haven’t missed anything,” Ian said, studying the equations.

“Wow,” Denny gasped, looking up in wonder.

Sitting down beside her brother, “You know what that is?” Lori asked.

“Explosives,” Denny told her in awe, looking at Ian. “Powerful explosives.”

Rolling her eyes, “Figures,” Jennifer mumbled.

“When are you making the next batch of potassium hydroxide?” Lance asked, braiding Carrie’s hair.

“Few days,” Ian answered, turning the page and Jennifer saw the next pages had words, most she couldn’t pronounce, but they were words. “I don’t like making it until the battery housings are put together, because then I don’t have to store it.”

Finished with Carrie, Lance grabbed Allie and started on her hair while Lilly finished Jodi’s hair. “All done,” Lilly said, and Jodi turned around and hugged her.

“Thank you,” Jodi said, letting her go. Grabbing Jodi’s hand, Carrie pulled her to the kitchen

“So, what’s after workout?” Lori asked, wondering if she should be reading.

“We are working on the greenhouse for three hours, and you guys will be doing combat drills for an hour and then coming to help,” Lance said, fighting a knot. With a big smile, Denny leaned back and continued reading.

Coming back in and carrying coffee mugs, Jodi gave one to Lilly and Carrie gave Lance his. “Thank you,” Lilly smiled as the girls ran back to the kitchen.

“What did you do last night to have knots like this?” Lance asked, finally brushing the knot out.

“If my hair isn’t braided, it gets knotted from my helmet,” Allie told him. Holding his tongue because he was the one who’d refused to braid her hair yesterday, Lance started braiding.

With hair finally done, Lance grabbed his coffee after Allie hugged him and took off to the kitchen. “Can we take our coffee and start working out now?” Lance asked, looking around.

“You in a hurry?” Lilly asked.

“There is just shit we need to be doing,” Lance blurted out and Ian closed his book, turning to Jennifer.

“You don’t mind?” Ian asked, and Jennifer winked at him, shaking her head.

“Oh, and I’m the pansy,” Lance huffed.

Getting up, Jennifer looked at Lance with a smile. “He’s being nice, so butt out,” Jennifer snapped with a menacing glare as everyone got up, heading for the back door.

The kids watched as the three worked out and were blown away. When Denny tried to use thirty-pound dumbbells, Lance took them away and gave him fifteen-pound dumbbells. “Don’t use more weight than you can handle. Ian and I have been working out a long time,” Lance told him, picking up the seventy-pound dumbbells. “Trust me, ripping a muscle hurts and you are down for a long time.”

Moving up behind Denny, Jennifer whispered in his ear. “They have been working out for two years, but just started getting serious since this happened. Start slow and work your way up. Both of them started with those weights.”

Turning to Jennifer, Denny gave her a nod and he smiled. When Denny started to copy what Lance was doing, Jennifer watched Lilly come over, wiping her face off with a towel. After Lance dropped the dumbbells and stood up, Lilly kissed his cheek and then moved to the next machine in their workout.

Staring at Lilly, “She’s awful clingy lately,” Jennifer mumbled, moving over with Lori. When Lilly finished, Lori sat on the machine and Lilly moved the pin, dropping the weight. Watching Lilly for the rest of the workout, Jennifer saw Lilly never strayed far from Lance and touched him constantly.

After the workout, the kids saw them move to a mat and start punching and kicking bags like a man on the TV screen was. Then the group started sparring. Watching the ladybugs spar with each other and then Lance, Denny started to fear them physically. When Carrie bit the shit out of Ian to get out of a chokehold, Denny became terrified of them when Ian screamed until Carrie let go.

After hand to hand was done and the eggs had been collected, Allie and Carrie led the kids in combat drills and the others headed inside to shower. Starting breakfast, Jennifer looked over when Lilly came over to help. “I’ve noticed you’ve been very clingy to Lance lately. Any reason?” Jennifer asked, wondering if she should be doing the same to Ian.

“Just want him to know,” Lilly responded, washing the eggs off.

Bumping her hip against Lilly, Jennifer grinned. “You don’t have to be jealous of Rhonda,” Jennifer snorted. “Hell, even I was looking at her rack.”

Smiling as she put the fresh eggs in the fridge, Lilly pulled out the batch to cook with. “I’m not jealous of Rhonda,” Lilly told her. Suddenly, Lilly turned to Jennifer in shock. “You think she’s after Lance?” Lilly whispered.

Turning the oven down, Jennifer looked at Lilly and saw a feral expression. “Uh,” Jennifer moaned, not sure how to proceed.

Setting the eggs down, Lilly moved closer, glancing in the living area and saw the boys were still upstairs. “I only saw her glance at Lance a few times, did I miss something?” Lilly whispered in terror.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jennifer said carefully. “You’re the first girl I’ve ever seen Lance talk to. I mean, really talk to. He talked to me because Ian made him at first, then Lance just liked talking to me. You? Lance will just sit and talk to you.”

“What do you mean, it doesn’t matter?” Lilly barked in a whisper. “Rhonda is only two years older than me. Of course, it matters.”

Wiping her hands off on a towel, Jennifer grabbed Lilly by the shoulders. “Lilly, Lance is in love with you,” Jennifer said slowly. “He talks to Ian about you, and that is beyond amazing to me. Lance sees Rhonda as a fighter. I mean, hell, out of that entire group, she has been roaming the woods and hunting to feed the group. If you want to categorize how Lance sees Rhonda, it would be closer to a guy than a girl.”

“Yeah, a guy with triple Ds and a thirty-something-inch waist,” Lilly hissed.

“Your waist is smaller and you’re not that small up top,” Jennifer snorted and stopped, seeing the glare in Lilly’s eyes. “Lilly, no. Even if Rhonda was interested, Lance isn’t.”

Relaxing some, Lilly nodded. “Okay, but you’ll tell me if you think I need to talk to her.”

Still holding Lilly’s shoulders, Jennifer’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding!” Jennifer gasped.

“What?” Lilly asked in alarm.

“You’re jealous of Lori?” Jennifer asked, raising her voice and Lilly reached up, covering her mouth. They both cut their eyes to the stairs, still hearing the boys moving around.

Looking back to Jennifer, “That little blonde skank hasn’t taken her eyes off him for a second,” Lilly growled.  Removing her hand from Jennifer’s mouth, “She has batted those green eyes at him so many times, I’m ready to pull them out.”

Wanting to laugh, Jennifer couldn’t, seeing Lilly was serious. “Lilly, if I had known, I wouldn’t have invited her over,” Jennifer confessed, feeling really bad.

“No, I can keep my eyes on her here,” Lilly confessed.

Looking into Lilly’s face, Jennifer looked her up and down. “You’re jealous of a fourteen-year-old girl?” Jennifer asked dumbfounded. “Are you serious?”

Hearing the age out loud, Lilly sighed before stepping back, “She’s closer to his age than I am,” Lilly mumbled. “I’m an old woman compared to her.”

“You’re ten years older than her and you’re an old woman?” Jennifer asked, shaking her head. “Don’t tell me I’m going to feel old when I’m twenty-four.”

With tears in her eyes, “He’s perfect,” Lilly whimpered. “Everything I’ve ever dreamed of in a guy and I found it. And he’s over a decade younger than me. If the world hadn’t collapsed, I would be put in jail right now.”

“Lilly, you kissed him,” Jennifer mumbled.

“Yeah, and that alone would have gotten me a jail cell,” Lilly sniffled, reaching up and wiping her eyes. “I would die for this group, but I would live in hell for Lance.”

Lifting Lilly’s chin up to look at her, “First, the world has ended. If it hadn’t, then we would all be in jail now. We’ve killed, helped kill, have illegal weapons and explosives. Live in the now,” Jennifer told her softly.

“I don’t know how you did it when Ian went out with those girls,” Lilly sighed. “The thought of not having Lance in my life hurts,” Lilly said, grabbing her chest.

“Do you trust me?” Jennifer asked, and Lilly jerked back. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Jennifer said. “You have nothing to fear. I’m sorry to tell you this, Lilly, but you are a borderline geek, a hot borderline geek, but still a geek,” Jennifer told her with a grin.

“I know,” Lilly smiled, rolling her eyes.

“Now, if another hot borderline geek shows up, I might tell you that competition has arrived, but Lance and Ian are loyal. They believe their word is their bond. You’ve heard that damn code enough to know Lance would never hurt you, as long as you stay true to who you are,” Jennifer said, and Lilly nodded, accepting that.

Hearing the boys coming, Jennifer stepped back. “Now, I’ll show you what I mean,” Jennifer said, turning to the stove.

When Lance and Ian reached the bottom of the stairs, Lilly was cracking eggs. “Need some help?” Ian asked, walking in.

“Will you set the table and start on the juice?” Jennifer asked over her shoulder. Ian grabbed a pitcher and Lance grabbed a stack of plates. When Lance moved past Lilly, he kissed her cheek and then started setting plates around the table.

“Lance?” Jennifer called out, moving pans on the stove. “Have you noticed Lori batting her green eyes at you?”

Sucking in a breath, Lilly almost died but kept cracking eggs as Lance looked over at Jennifer. “She has green eyes?” Lance asked confused.

“I swear,” Jennifer huffed. “Lance, what color eyes does Lilly have?”

“Clear blue unless she’s tired, then they turn a darker blue,” Lance replied, grabbing silverware.

“Honestly, Lance,” Jennifer sighed. “Last night during Die Hard, Lori was twirling her earrings and batting her eyes at you curled up with Lilly.”

Setting the silverware out, Lance looked over at Ian mixing the juice up and Ian just shrugged. “Lori’s wearing earrings? Why would she be wearing earrings? They sparkle and that draws attention you don’t want.”

Giving a long moan, Jennifer dragged his name out. “L-an-ce.” Then she looked over at him. “Can you tell me if Lilly’s ears are pierced?”

“Yeah,” Lance chortled. “Her right is pierced twice, and her left is pierced three times, but she doesn’t wear earrings.”

Throwing her hands up in the air, “Oh, I guess you know where Lilly is ticklish at?” Jennifer challenged, and Lance’s face blushed instantly as he cut his eyes to Lilly.

Lance saw Lilly looking at him with a soft small smile. “You can tell her, sweetness,” Lilly said.

“Her knees. You touch her knees and she will go crazy,” Lance answered in a low voice, turning to Jennifer.

“Oh,” Jennifer smiled, then turned back to the stove. “I guess you didn’t notice Lori, then.”

When Ian shrugged at Lance again, Lance moved over beside Lilly and whispered, “Do I need to say something to Lori?”

“No,” Lilly said quickly, turning and hugging Lance. “She will be fine, and she only looks at you because you are so fine. If a guy ever said something, it could really hurt a girl. If I ever notice it, I’ll talk to her,” Lilly told him.

Hugging her back, “I’m sorry, but you girls are complicated,” Lance whispered. “I don’t want you mad or anything.”

Giving Lance a long kiss, Lilly pulled back to look in his face. “Why should I be mad? I have you,” she smiled, and that made Lance smile.

The smile fell off Lance’s face and Lilly felt panic. “You will tell me and not make me guess, right?” Lance asked hopefully.

“If I don’t, Jennifer will,” Lilly chuckled.

“I know her ticklish spot because she told me,” Lance said, letting Lilly go.

“And you ran and told Ian!” Jennifer shouted.

Walking away, “Who in the hell do you think asked me to find out?” Lance shouted back.

Jennifer turned to Ian, narrowing her eyes. “You know, you could’ve been the one talking on the phone to me all that time,” Jennifer almost snarled.

Clearing his throat, “Sorry,” Ian mumbled. “I associated you with the Greek gods, and you intimidated me.”

A perky smile jumped on Jennifer’s face and she turned back to the stove. “You’re forgiven,” she sang out, then hummed as she continued breakfast.

When the tiny drill sergeants brought in the rest of the group, everyone sat down for breakfast.

After showering, Denny went outside to help Lance, working on the Battle Bots they were putting out. “You’re putting two in one spot?” Denny asked, watching the bot follow Lance around.

“Yeah, the one out now has had to recharge during groups of stinkers. They will take twelve-hour shifts,” Lance told him, making the bot stop with the remote control.

Denny turned and saw Lori and Jodi helping with the greenhouse. Ian and Jennifer were making windows with four-foot by eight-foot Plexiglass. “Um, Lance?” Denny said timidly. “How old are you?”

“Thirteen,” Lance answered, grabbing the screwdriver Denny was holding and making adjustments to the bot. Hearing that, Denny looked at Lance like he was a god.

“You and Ian know how to do everything!” Denny said with wonder. “I want to do that.”

Looking up at Denny, “Learn, drive yourself,” Lance replied, handing the screwdriver back. “We don’t try to be the best. We try to be the best we can.”

“Is Ian thirteen?”

“Yep,” Lance said, taking the pliers from Denny and working on the bot.

“So, do you think I can, you know, be like you and Ian?” Denny asked with hope.

“That’s up to you,” Lance answered, handing the pliers back. “You can be a pussy and just whine, or commit yourself to being the best you can. Do I think you can? Yes, I do.”

“Wow,” Denny gasped with a wide grin, then felt Lance grab him and move him away from the bot. “Will you tell me how?”

“Denny, I’ll show you how. Ian and I study and work to learn, but you may be different,” Lance said, picking up his laptop. “One thing I will say, if we think you’re wasting our time, don’t ever ask again.”

“I won’t, I swear,” Denny vowed.

When Lance was satisfied with the bots, he led Denny into the shop and Denny froze looking at frames for more battle bots, but that’s not what shocked him. Allie was welding, and Carrie was cutting long stalks of aluminum tubing. As Lance went to the CNC, Denny moved over by Carrie and saw a computer screen with a blown-up diagram of the Battle Bots. Carrie would look at the screen, then make a mark on the square tubing and cut it with a band saw.

“Everyone here is so awesome,” Denny mumbled.

“Hey, Denny,” Allie called out and he turned to see Allie with the welding helmet flipped up. “Will you bring me that stack?”

Following where Allie was pointing, Denny grabbed a stack of precut pieces and carried them over. “Thank you,” Allie said, grabbing one and jerking her head to make the helmet flip down and started welding. Jerking his eyes away, Denny noticed the frames of two more bots while Allie worked on the third.

Seeing Carrie walk to the front of the shop carrying back a ten-foot-long stalk of aluminum, Denny ran to where she’d gotten it. Picking up two, he carried them back for her. “Thank you,” Carrie smiled.

Just being a gofer, Denny was saving them time.

When Ian and the others came in, the large shop felt crowded, but Ian moved Denny to a table and Jennifer showed him how they melted metal. After putting on a leather jacket and a face guard, Jennifer opened the door of the induction furnace. “We will be doing nickel, so keep on your toes,” Jennifer told him.

When Jennifer pulled over five-gallon buckets, she opened the furnace and slid out a two-foot-wide, two-foot-deep, and three-foot-tall bucket. Seeing it was stone, Denny tapped her arm. “You bought that?”

“Yeah, right,” Jennifer chuckled as she filled the bucket. “Lance and Ian made this one,” she said, and pointed at a small induction furnace on the table beside them. “Doug bought that one.”

“Jennifer, that’s stone!” Denny cried out.

“When we’re done, I’ll take you outside and you can see their stone cutting saw. They bolted stone to metal to make this. I’m not going to lie, I was shocked when they did it.”

With Lance and Ian moving up from god status to creators of the universe, Denny helped Jennifer push the bucket in. When Jennifer flipped the switch, Denny heard the machine give a deep hum and thought the lights dimmed for a brief second. “When this is on, we have to run the generator outside,” Jennifer told him.

The induction furnace beeped, and Jennifer pointed at some three-foot-long metal tongs. Before Denny could grab them, Ian picked them up and Denny saw Ian was wearing stuff like he and Jennifer were. “Watch how I do the first one, then you’re taking over,” Ian told him, lowering the face shield.

When Jennifer opened the furnace, a blast of heat filled the shop. Moving an arm over the bucket, Jennifer opened a small gate on the bucket and red, glowing metal eased out, reminding Denny of silly putty. The glowing metal was two inches wide and an inch thick.

Grabbing a handle, Jennifer moved it forward and a thick blade moved over the table slowly, with the whine of hydraulics, and cut the glowing metal. Ian grabbed the four-foot-long glowing rod with the tongs and pulled it to the end of the table, then pushed it to the side.

When he was done, Jennifer had cut another one. Grabbing it, Ian moved it beside the other one and motioned Denny over. “If you touch it, it will burn through your glove before you can pull your hand back,” Ian warned, handing the tongs over.

Watching Denny move the next four over, Ian nodded before taking off the gear and leaving them.

By the time they stopped for lunch, Denny was soaked under the leather suit and helmet. He looked at the stack of metal bars he and Jennifer had made with pride. “How long till they cool off?” he asked, taking off his suit.

“Tomorrow,” Jennifer answered as they hung up their gear.

Turning around, Denny gasped to see Jodi working on a piece of sheet metal and using a plasma cutter with Allie leaning over her. Looking around, he saw Lori and Carrie doing something with wire. “Thanks for the help,” Jennifer told him, wiping sweat off her face.

Glancing around shyly, “Um, Jennifer, where is this research area Lance and Ian talk about?” Denny asked.

The smile fell off Jennifer’s face. “Outside the diversion fence, and don’t even ask to go with them,” Jennifer warned. “Lilly and I don’t because both of them are scared we would get hurt.”

Looking over at the Battle Bots, “Did they make those there the first time?” Denny asked.

Shaking her head, “No, Lance and Ian weren’t worried about those hurting us, they designed, programed, and built them here inside the fence,” Jennifer told him. “Now, you should be a little scared of what they do in the research area.”

With wide eyes, Denny nodded. “I don’t want to know, but I love it here,” he replied.

Smiling again, “That just shows how smart you are,” Jennifer smirked.

“You guys are the coolest people ever,” Denny sighed with a smile.

“Well, when you come back over, we’ll put you to work,” Jennifer smiled and then turned around. “Lunch, and don’t make me say it twice!”

Like a switch had been flipped, everyone stopped and started picking up their area. “I’m starting lunch,” Jennifer said, then pointed at what needed to be done. “Can you take care of our area?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Denny said, moving over.

“D-,” Jennifer started, then shook her head when Denny started cleaning. “We’ll discuss that later,” Jennifer said, walking out.

“You did good work,” Lilly said, passing by Denny.

“This was so awesome!” Denny cried out.

“Just another day here,” Lilly chuckled, heading to the cabin to help.

When the shop was cleaned, they headed for the cabin. “What’s for the afternoon?” Denny asked, excited.

“We are taking out the bots and setting them up,” Ian said, and Denny grinned wider.

“Denny, you and the others are staying,” Lance said, and the grin fell off so fast, it almost tripped Denny. “You need to learn more on guns before you go out again. Don’t think if you were with your dad, I would change my mind.”

While Denny felt crushed, Ian spoke up. “Denny, why would we say something like that?”

Denny looked up, trying to think as Ian looked over at Allie. “Allie, why would we say that?” Ian asked.

“Because those who don’t know how to move and shoot, endanger those who can,” Allie answered. “They have to cover for the weaker ones, leaving them vulnerable along with the group.”

Realizing what she was saying, Denny looked up at Lance. “I’m sorry, I acted like a pussy,” he said, and Lori gasped at her brother.

“Your momma better not hear you say that,” Jodi warned. “My momma washed my mouth out when I said it.”

“Ours will too,” Lori said, looking at Denny.

“Well, his momma ain’t here,” Lance chided, bobbing his head. “What is done here, stays here.”

Denny looked at Lance and grinned. “Well, I’m sorry. I understand.”

“Don’t feel bad, they only let us go sometimes,” Carrie sighed.

“Ladybugs, the reason you don’t go out more is because we need muscle,” Lance said, pulling out his key. “Both of you are good enough on the gun.”

Stomping her foot, “I’m trying to get muscles really hard,” Allie whined.

“And you have gone out when you could do what was needed,” Lance replied, opening the door.

Thinking about that, Allie cheered up and went inside as Lance held the door open. “So, what do we do while you’re gone?” Denny asked.

“You can sit in on the ladybugs’ lessons,” Lance said, grabbing Denny as he moved to the table. “Wash up first.”

With that one comment, Denny would start copying whatever Lance and Ian did.

After lunch, Ian, Lance, Lilly, and Jennifer dressed in combat gear. “Lance,” Lilly started.

“No, we wear the 3D scent suit,” Lance said, walking down the stairs.

“I tried when we were working on the greenhouse, and Ian wouldn’t even talk about it,” Jennifer said, pulling on her vest.

When they got downstairs, they heard Lance talking on the phone. After hanging up, he looked over at Denny, Lori, and Jodi, sitting at the desks with Carrie. “Glad they aren’t at my desk,” Lance mumbled, opening the back door. “Denny, Lori, Jodi, your parents will take you home after we’re done tonight.”

“Can we stay another night?” Jodi asked, and Carrie stood up and Lance held up both hands.

“I’ll ask,” Lance said and walked out.

Loading the bots onto trailers, they drove them over the ridge to the build house and unhooked one trailer. Everyone loaded up on one UTV and rode back. Loving the automatic gates so much, Jennifer continued driving them around to the back.

Lilly climbed out, looking over at Lance. “I want to take George with us,” she said, moving to the track steer.

Looking over at Dino sitting down and panting from the run, Lance nodded. “Okay,” Lance said.

Loading the huge battery and the dish, Lilly climbed out of the track steer, heading inside for George. After they’d strapped down the load, Lance looked at Ian. “Are you sure the electric buggy can’t handle this?”

“I’m tired of replacing or rebuilding electric motors when we can just drive a gas-powered UTV and a diesel UTV. They can take this weight better than the electrics,” Ian snapped. “Why don’t we use the Hummer?”

“NO!” Lance cried out and looked over at the black, gleaming H1 Alpha. With the exceptions of a few minor scratches, it looked like it had rolled off a showroom floor. Lance had cleaned every nook and cranny. The only reason he had stopped waxing and detailing it, was Ian told him to.

“I rest my case,” Ian said, climbing in the front seat beside Jennifer.

“He loves that thing just a little too much,” Jennifer mumbled as Lilly came out with George.

Because of her mask, Ian didn’t hear her. “What?” he asked, and Jennifer turned and repeated it. “Ya think?” Ian scoffed. “He wanted to rebuild the engine a few weeks ago, and I laughed at him. The engine only has, like, seventy thousand miles on it. Those things are good for a quarter of a million miles.”

“Maybe Lilly is jealous of the wrong thing,” Jennifer mumbled to herself and Ian asked her to repeat it, but Jennifer shook her head when Lilly and Lance climbed back in.

With Dino and George running beside them, Jennifer drove them back over the ravine. Pulling up beside the diesel UTV and trailer they’d left, Jennifer turned off the UTV. “I don’t like driving the diesel buggy,” she stated, climbing out. “It handles like a pregnant whale.”

“We will only use it to haul heavy stuff, I promise,” Ian told her as he and the others climbed out. “We made it just as quiet.”

“But it doesn’t go as fast,” Jennifer said, cradling her AR. “Can’t you find another gas one?”

“We need more diesel ones, Jennifer,” Ian told her, grabbing his bow in case stinkers showed up. “It took Lance and me a long time to find that one.”

Moving beside Ian, Jennifer leaned her head on his arm. “I like your diesel buggy, it will haul ass,” she chuckled.

The four stood guard around the three trailers and two side by sides, waiting in the June heat. “Lance, what if I make us ghillie suits?” Lilly offered. “We can go back to wearing the fatigue tops.”

“Lance, with as much as we are sweating, there is no way it helps block our scent,” Jennifer added.

Glancing at Ian, Lance saw Ian give a hesitant shrug. “We have a ton of shit to do and you want us to stop and make ghillie suits?” Lance asked, turning to Lilly.

“No, I’ll make them. I remade everyone’s gloves, didn’t I?” Lilly asked.

Holding up his hand and looking at the glove Lilly had made to fit, Lance nodded. “Best damn gloves I’ve ever worn,” Lance admitted. “Okay, but if we see they don’t work, we go back to 3D.”

“We start on them tonight,” Jennifer told Lilly, and she pumped her hand in celebration.

Hearing George give a growl, everyone turned to see where he was looking. Turning to the driveway, “Dino didn’t growl, this should be Heath and them,” Ian said, but set the bow down on the hood of the UTV.

A large side by side rode up the driveway, followed by Dwain’s large four-wheeler. The first thing Lance noticed when they got closer, was everyone had a look of fear on their faces. When Heath stopped, Lance moved over with the others. “What’s wrong?” Lance asked.

Looking up at Lance, Heath shook his head. “Lance, you’re not going to believe this, but there is a pride of lions down there in the valley,” Heath almost shouted while his wife, Robin climbed out with Dwain’s wife, Kathy.

“They aren’t scared of people, that’s for sure,” Robin said, and Kathy nodded.

“How many?” Lilly asked.

“Nine big ones without manes, and two big mothers with black manes,” Heath answered with wide eyes. “There were four smaller ones that looked young, but I’m basing that on what I’ve seen on TV.”

Dwain climbed off the four-wheeler and Rhonda, who was sitting behind him, got off too. “TV don’t do them justice,” Dwain said. “I’ve seen lions at the zoo, but they seem much bigger when there are no bars in the way.”

“Shit, try tigers,” Lance chuckled, and Ian kicked the tire of the UTV.

“What the fuck are so many big pussies doing around here?!” Ian shouted. “I hate big pussy. Why can’t we have small, tame pussy? The kind that won’t eat your ass!”

Everyone stared at Ian as he ranted and when he finished, Lance nodded. “That pretty much sums it up.”

“Well, they were eating three stinkers,” Rhonda said, walking over.

Everyone looked over at Ian. “Okay, big pussy can do some good stuff,” Ian admitted.

Heath looked at the bots and other gear, “Can you explain, why two?” he asked.

“Yeah, the Battle Bot out now is being pushed past its limit. With two in one spot working twelve-hour shifts, we shouldn’t get the wear on them. Plus, we’ve made upgrades on these,” Lance explained as the wives moved over, looking at the machines.

“They look heavy,” Kathy said, looking at the rows of shredders with a shiver.

“Just over a ton each,” Ian said, finally calm.

“What about making the area they operate in bigger?” Dwain asked.

“Oh, so they have to cover more ground, running their batteries down faster?” Lance asked, turning around.

“Okay, that was a stupid question,” Dwain sighed.

“Lance, why don’t we set it up on the road, then?” Heath asked. “They could keep the area cleaner.”

“And wear their tracks out really fast,” Ian told him.

Robin looked at Heath, “Okay, you’re right. They know more than we will ever know,” she said, turning back to the trailers.

“How are we doing this?” Heath asked.

“Glad you asked because we are going to rehearse it a few times,” Lance said, and they looked at the three trailers in shock. “We aren’t setting them up, just practicing and walking through it.”

The five sighed with relief as Ian and Lance moved everyone away from the trailers and started walking them through it. After an hour, Lance and Ian nodded. “Let’s set this shit up,” Ian grinned, and fist-bumped Lance.

Hooking up Heath’s side by side to the other trailer, and putting the dogs in the backseats, Lilly led them off. When they reached the valley below, they saw the lions lying beside the road. Driving past the lions, “Stay,” Lance commanded as Dino and George growled behind them.

The lions looked at them with indifference as they rode past. Not liking it, Lilly stayed on the road driving toward Hinkle. Neither Lance nor Ian wanted to risk moving the heavy trailers through the woods. Lilly understood, with the uneven ground they rode over, but understanding and liking it were two different things.

“Stop,” Lance told her and when Lilly slowed, Lance stepped out and raised his rifle up. Lilly just looked ahead at the six stinkers. In quick succession, the six dropped and Lance climbed back in.

“Thank you for not using the bow,” Lilly told him as she took off.

“Are you kidding?” Lance huffed. “The lions could still see us, I wanted those fuckers down. I don’t like big pussy any more than Ian.”

Turning north before they reached Hinkle, the stinkers started getting thicker. Lilly had to stop every hundred yards and Lance was shooting seven or eight at a time. When a figure ran past her, Lilly jumped and grabbed her AR to see Rhonda’s red hair move in front of the buggy beside Lance.

The two had the group to the front down and Rhonda stepped back to Lilly. “Can I ride with you? Kathy is riding with Dwain,” Rhonda asked.

“Have to ride with the puppies,” Lilly told her, jerking her head to the backseat.

Rhonda climbed in beside George as Lilly moved up the road to reach the outer ring of the three-mile patrol area. Lilly only had to slow now, never really stopping as Rhonda and Lance stepped out, gunning down the stinkers.

Seeing the field ahead, Lilly sighed when Lance and Rhonda jumped back in. “The bots are going to get a workout,” Lilly said, rounding the curve and pulling into the field. From the houses around the field, she could see stinkers starting to move toward them.

Like they’d rehearsed, Lilly stopped while Lance grabbed his laptop and ran to the trailer. As Lance started unstrapping his bot, Ian was behind him, unstrapping the other bot. Everyone else spread out and started dropping stinkers.

When his bot was unstrapped, Lance opened the laptop and tapped the keyboard, and Lilly felt the buggy lurch forward when the bot drove off the trailer. When it was off, she moved up as Kathy and Robin moved over, pulling the perimeter boxes off that were connected with wire and wrapped in metal flex tubing.

Laying the boxes out in a line until they’d emptied the trailer, Lilly stopped and ran back, unhooking the trailer. Looking back at the one-hundred-foot-long line of boxes, Lilly kicked the trailer off while Robin and Kathy spread the boxes and cable out, forming a ten-thousand-square-foot box.

Moving to the front of the trailer, Lilly turned on a generator as Dino and George jumped out. “George!” Lilly snapped, and George moved beside her while Lilly pulled out an extension cord. Around her, suppressed shots rang out and Lilly risked a look around, but didn’t see any stinker closer than a hundred yards.

Lance watched the two bots drive toward the boxes that Kathy and Robin had spread out. When they crossed the cables, Lance tapped the keyboard and closed his laptop. It was then, Lance noticed nobody was acting terrified of the bots and aiming weapons at them. Granted, stinkers were around, but that hadn’t stopped them before.

When Jennifer pulled up, Lance put his laptop beside her. Heath ran over as he and Lance grabbed one of the recharging stations and grunted, lifting it out of the trailer. Carrying it over to the back right corner, they set it down inside the box perimeter while Ian and Dwain carried the other one, putting it in the back left corner.

Hearing the fire slack off, Lance looked around and saw the only area that had stinkers still coming was the road to the west, leading to Girdler a mile away. The road cut between two spurs and that was why Lance had wanted the bots here.

Dwain ran back to his four-wheeler and pulled behind the box perimeter before he ran to the trailer he and Lilly had pulled. Grabbing the two-handed drill, Rhonda grabbed an armful of one-foot-long screws. Lance moved around the boxes, driving the screws through a hole in each box after pulling the slack out.

When he ran out of screws, Rhonda would run back. Waiting on screws, Lance turned to see Ian and Heath pulling the battery out of Dwain’s trailer, using Heath’s side by side with a rope tied to it and the battery. Rhonda pushed a screw in his hand and Lance continued down the line.

Seeing no stinkers to the north, Lilly moved her aim to the east to help Jennifer. “Hope those bots are ready for a workout,” Jennifer huffed, shooting the stinkers two hundred yards away. She was only missing every third shot and was happy with that.

“Every time we’ve patrolled around here, it’s been full of stinkers,” Lilly said, squeezing the trigger.

“Hell, Bones’ burnt ass house is just behind us up that draw,” Jennifer said, and Lilly glanced back to see Lance was almost done.

“Rhonda’s coming,” Lilly said, moving to the buggy. Cranking it up, she turned it around. Keeping the wire centered, Lilly drove over to a box while Lance moved to the back and drove the cable digger into the ground. When Lilly neared a box, he would pull up the spike while Kathy and Robin followed shoving the cable in the trench, using their boots to kick the dirt over the cable.

“This is much better than shovels,” Lance noted as Lilly made the first turn. Looking up, he saw Ian and them standing the dish up and saw the winch connected to the top of the pole the parabolic was mounted to. As the winch reeled in, they walked the dish up and extended the legs like an umbrella.

“Smart,” Lance said, lifting the rod out of the dirt. They weren’t worried about fire melting the wire. Stinkers dragged their feet enough and could pull the boxes up, and the bots would shut down.

When he was done, Lilly stopped and backed up to each recharging station, then drove toward the battery digging a trench. Before they were done with the second one, Ian was laying cable in the first trench to the recharging station.

“Get your laptop and talk to your bots,” Lilly shouted when they reached the battery.

“I have to help hook the trailer back up,” Lance said, turning to her.

“Lance, I’ve hooked that trailer up a hundred times by myself,” Lilly reminded him, and Lance took off.

Grabbing his laptop, Lance saw Kathy and Robin with Jennifer stemming the tide, but the stinkers had closed the distance to a hundred yards. Carrying his laptop to the closest bot, he tapped the keyboard and the bot turned around and followed him to the right charging station.

“Lights up,” Heath said, walking over and Lance looked back to the light pole with Ian hooking the cables up.

When the cables were hooked up, Lance grinned when his laptop told him the system was live. “Load up,” Lance shouted, and he handed his laptop to Heath. Heath watched the bot back up to the recharging station and the box at the recharging station opened up, and Heath blinked his eyes when the biggest plug he had ever seen extended out.

Before it touched the plug, a box opened on the bot as it backed into the plug, plugging itself in. Lance opened a hatch and reached in, pulling out a large plastic key and Heath gave a startle. “Number two is armed!” Heath yelled out, and Lance took off running to the other bot.

Heath looked off to the east and saw the stinkers entering the field eighty yards away while the others loaded up and stopped shooting. Dropping his eyes back to the screen when Lance opened the bot and pulled out another plastic key, “Number one is armed!” Heath shouted, and Lance locked the lid and ran toward Heath.

Heath held out the laptop as the vehicles pulled up to them. Lance grabbed his laptop, jumping in beside Lilly as Heath jumped in with Robin. They followed Jennifer as she drove to the tree-covered hill at the back of the field.

“Okay, stop,” Lance said, grinning. When Lilly stopped, Lance got out and calmly walked around to the front of the buggy and stopped beside Lilly. “Step out,” Lance said, and Lilly could tell he was smiling.

Sitting in the back with the dogs, Rhonda thought they were crazy, but climbed out as Lance held the open laptop in front of Lilly. “Press enter,” Lance said.

Reaching up, Lilly tapped the enter key and the screen blinked active. Police lights mounted on the top of Bot One started flashing. Everyone heard the change in moans grow in intensity as the stinkers trotted toward the bot. Then, loud music started playing and Rhonda laughed.

“Appropriate,” Rhonda said, turning to Lance. “We will rock you.”

Chapter 15

Pulling to the top of hill, they stopped and looked back down at the field as Queen ended. From three hundred yards away, they watched the bot move around, munching on stinkers until the stinkers had it surrounded. “Is that Family Guy?” Robin asked, looking over at Lance.

“Yeah, they seem to react to people talking. I just wanted to kick off this site with some music,” Lance said, looking at the screen.

Kathy gave a shiver at the steady drone of the shredder working and the gore that shot out the sides. “They don’t seem to care for the police lights,” she noted.

“Ian wanted those for this batch,” Lance said, looking at the screen of his laptop.

“They have serious wood for lights,” Ian nodded. “Not even one tried to follow us.”

Leaning close to Robin’s ear, “You see what I mean? We will patrol, if we can get them to make more stuff like this,” Heath whispered in her ear. “This is pure genius.”

“I found it hard to believe when you told me, but seeing it with my own eyes…” Robin gasped, nodding. “We will patrol further out, to keep them making stuff like this. Hell, we owe them that much just for the help. We need to give them a month off to try and get even.”

“Fat chance,” Jennifer mumbled.

Closing his laptop, Lance patted Lilly on the butt, startling her. “Did you like turning on the power?”

“Yes, thank you,” Lilly said, leaning into him and turning back to the field. “Don’t take this the wrong way, sweetness, but it’s really hard to look at you when there is this gray skull looking at me.”

“I think it’s cool,” Lance objected, watching the bot finish what was to the front and spun around to work on the others surrounding it.

“Out here, it is,” Lilly nodded.

Looking at the road to the east between the spurs, Lance gave a shiver at seeing how many stinkers there were. “I swear, they are calling each other with that moan,” he said to himself.

“I’ve always thought that,” Lilly said, standing up and backing away from Lance.

“Let’s load up,” Lance said, heading for the UTV.

“We okay to patrol with the trailers?” Dwain asked.

“Oh, you will like it,” Ian laughed, climbing in beside Jennifer.

With the sun starting to set Lilly led them along the ridge, and in the valley below the road they’d taken to set up the bots, stinkers were heading north to the field. “Think they can hear Family Guy?” Rhonda asked, looking over George and Dino.

“Maybe, but I think they hear the moans,” Lance said, and then turned around. “You need to be watching your area.”

Jerking her body back, Rhonda spun in her seat to look out her side. “Sorry, I know better than that,” she apologized.

“Hope you brought your NVGs,” Lance chuckled.

“Shit, I don’t leave the house without them,” Rhonda said, patting her small backpack.

Driving down the slope, Lilly crossed the road they’d taken toward Hinkle and then drove up the hill on the other side of the road. “We put out the next two sets, we should see a drastic decrease in stinkers in the valley behind us,” Lance said, looking down toward Hinkle at the stinkers moving north.

“Because my man and his buddy know what the fuck they are doing,” Lilly smirked.

“Shit, I’ll agree with that,” Rhonda laughed, taking her pack off and pulling out her NVGs.

Feeling the buggy head downhill, Rhonda looked up and saw a farm below them. Looking at the farm, she saw it was sitting in a small valley that ran south up into a draw. “What’s here?” she asked, putting on the head harness, but there was still light from the sun.

“Food for your group, and supplies for us,” Lance answered, hooking his NVGs to his helmet.

“How good are those four tube NVGs?” Rhonda asked as Lilly stopped at the tree line.

“A hundred times better than those monocular types,” Lance told her, and the others stopped behind them.

When Lance and Lilly got out, Dino and George jumped out with wagging tails. “Lance, let Rhonda come with us to check the house and barn,” Lilly suggested, checking her AR and then putting her NVGs on her helmet. When Lance gave her a look she couldn’t see but could tell by the way he’d cocked his head, Lilly shook her head. “Sweetness, she’s been out more than any in her group. Even Allie said Rhonda was good with the AR.”

Turning to Rhonda, “You fuck up, and we have words,” Lance popped off, patting his leg and Dino moved beside him as Lance stepped out into the pasture, heading toward the farm.

“For some reason, that scares the hell out of me,” Rhonda confessed, turning to Lilly.

“It should. Just shows how smart you are,” Lilly chuckled, patting her thigh and George moved over.

It was dark when they’d finished clearing the house, and Lance called for the others to come up. When they stopped, they saw Ian driving their buggy. “What’s here that we need?” Heath asked.

Lance pointed to the house. “Empty the kitchen and pantry, and ask me later,” he chuckled.

“I forgot bags!” Heath gasped, stumbling back.

“Back of the buggy,” Lance said, turning around and heading for the barn.

When Ian walked past Heath, he pushed a radio into his hands. “One of yours needs to stay on watch. Just because we are in a valley with a dead-end road, watch three-sixty,” Ian instructed, walking off with Jennifer and heading to the barn.

Dwain moved up to Rhonda, “How much is in there?” he asked.

“Over a month for our group,” Rhonda said in disbelief. “I’m keeping watch, so we don’t piss them off.”

“Good idea,” Heath said, grabbing the box of trash bags and noticed it was the same kind he’d used at the store. “I don’t know how their parents raised such smart kids, but I wish I knew because I feel like shit as a parent.”

“Heath, it’s them!” Rhonda gasped, walking to the house. “Their parents, I’m sure, just supported them.”

When they were done loading food, the bear trap team found the others waiting. They glanced in the trailer Jennifer was pulling to see barbed wire, metal, electrical motors, and other piles of stuff. “You know what’s in most houses around here, don’t you?” Dwain asked.

Jennifer gave a curt laugh, “They go in and video everything, then come to me, so I can tell them how to pack it.”

“Lilly’s pretty good at packing,” Lance said.

“Not like her,” Lilly snapped. “Shit, I don’t ever want to play Tetris against her.”

They loaded up and headed back into the trees. Driving back across the road they had taken down, Lilly rode along the ridges for over an hour, staying in the trees. “Hey, we are getting close to the road leading to our house,” Rhonda said, looking at the lay of the land.

“Damn, that is good,” Lance said and then glanced back. “Yeah, going to check the other bot and hit a few more houses.”

“I’m game,” Rhonda shrugged and tried to smile, but the gray skull looked really fucking evil in the NVGs, almost glowing.

When Lilly stopped, they looked down the road in the valley below and saw a small group of stinkers heading south to the new bot area. Jumping out with urgency, Lance brought up his rifle to look at the group and hit his NVGs. Giving a curse he flipped them back up, using the thermal on his AR.

Jumping back in, Lance flipped his NVGs down. “Head straight for them!” he cried out, grabbing his bow. Lilly stomped the pedal, throwing Rhonda and the dogs back. They sped out of the trees and across a field.

Reaching over, Rhonda held onto the dogs while the buggy bounced over the field and the trailer rattled behind them, bouncing several feet into the air. When Lilly slammed on the brakes, Lance jumped out with the bow and Rhonda was about to ask him what the hell was going on.

As she let the dogs go, Lance released an arrow and Rhonda turned to follow it and saw it stick into a stinker’s face. Then, she realized the stinkers were on the road twenty yards away and coming toward them. Rhonda jumped out and Lilly grabbed her. “Don’t shoot, or he will unload on your ass,” Lilly warned as Lance released another arrow.

Turning to the group of stinkers, Rhonda noticed four of the dozen were wearing helmets and watched another go down. Hearing footsteps, Rhonda spun to see Ian running past her, pulling back his bow and releasing an arrow before he came to a stop.

She turned to see over half were down, “Dino,” Lance snapped while he pulled back his bow and released an arrow. Dino jumped out, moving beside Lance as he pulled another arrow out. Lance shot past the closest stinker with a helmet and Rhonda saw the helmet had a face shield.

“Get ‘em Dino,” Lance said, pulling another arrow. Dino lunged, and Rhonda heard the crash when Dino’s weight hit the stinker, driving it to the ground. When Rhonda turned to the rest of the stinkers, there were only two left and they both dropped when Ian and Lance released arrows.

“What was so special about these twelve stinkers?” Rhonda asked as Lance put the bow away and grabbed the sword from the buggy.

“Sixteen,” Lilly corrected, getting out while Lance walked to the stinker that Dino was dragging around by the arm.

“Dino, hold,” Lance commanded, pulling the sword out as Dino stopped pulling. While the stinker reached toward Dino with his other arm, Lance shoved the tip of the sword under the helmet and the arm flopped down.

“Why do they have a sword?” Rhonda whispered to Lilly as the others came up.

“If they burn stinkers, they chop the legs off to make them lighter to pull to one spot,” Lilly answered nonchalantly. “We have booby traps all around our place and stinkers get caught up in stuff, and it’s easier to chop them up to remove them there as well. I should say ‘used to’ about the booby traps because we haven’t had a stinker near us since the diversion fences.”

The others watched as Lance and Ian started taking stuff off the stinkers, stripping them. “Um, not that it offends me, but what are they jacking from the stinkers?” Dwain asked.

“Five of them were soldiers, and the one with a face shield on his helmet had SWAT on his chest,” Jennifer said with a tone that spoke volumes. “They see a stinker soldier; they will take them with a bow, so they don’t hurt any equipment. It doesn’t matter how many stinkers are with the soldier.”

“We can help,” Heath said, moving and Lilly stopped him.

“No, you can’t. We wear gloves for a reason,” Lilly told him. “Like I said, watch and learn from them and you’ll get to see your grandchildren. They don’t like leading people by the hand. Get gloves and keep them on. Those bodies have more shit growing on them than the parasite.”

“What do they do with the stuff?” Robin asked as Lance gave a cry, holding up something.

“Sterilize and use it, what do you think?” Jennifer huffed.

“So, the gear we got?” Dwain asked.

“Yes, and some of theirs,” Jennifer said. “They clean it, inspect it, and then use it.”

“Ian, this guy was Special Forces!” Lance cried in awe and Ian ran over.

Realizing just where they were, Robin watched the two make a pile and looked up and down the road. “They really put that first bot station there to guard us, didn’t they?” Robin asked. “They could’ve put it somewhere else to help you more, couldn’t they?”

“Yes,” Jennifer admitted. “Keep watch, so we can load up this shit.”

Before Lilly moved to leave, Rhonda grabbed her arm. “You have any extra gloves?” Rhonda asked.

“They won’t fit you,” Lilly chuckled, looking up at Rhonda who sighed with disappointment. Several inches taller than Lilly and thicker with rounded, lean muscle, there was no denying Rhonda was a country girl.

“They will fit me,” Kathy said, moving up and holding out her hands.

Nodding, Lilly reached in her thigh pocket and pulled out her extra gloves. “Now, you’re thinking,” Lilly smiled at Rhonda, then the others as she handed the gloves to Kathy.

Lilly walked up and saw a pile of weapons and gear. “Were there more soldiers?” she asked, picking up some of the weapons.

“Six soldiers and one SWAT cop in riot gear!” Lance cried out with joy, tossing over shin guards. “Never got that many at one time.”

“Shit, the best we ever did was those two soldiers and that cop,” Ian said, walking over and dropping an armload.

“You can shoot the ones not wearing helmets,” Jennifer pleaded as she loaded up her arms.

“One of the soldiers without a helmet had a GPNVG-18 in a pouch on his vest,” Ian huffed. “What would’ve happened if he would’ve moved and we hit that?”

“What’s that?” Kathy whispered to Lilly as they put the gear in the bed of the buggy.

“The four tube NVGs we are wearing,” Lilly answered, walking back.

Robin patted Heath’s arm, pointing at the road that led to the first bot. “They bought us time at their own risk. This blocks the first road leading to us, and those we just put out blocks the second, effectively stopping stinkers from coming at us on the roads,” she said in a low voice. “They are leaving that valley below them open, just to protect us.”

“I know, that’s why we will do everything we can for them,” Heath told her.

“You were right. They are better than any ten people we’ve ever met or heard of,” Robin said, gripping her rifle.

When the gear was loaded up, they stopped at another farm and filled Heath’s trailer up. Then, they helped load Lance’s trailer. Driving over the hills and ridges, Lilly stopped above the first Battle Bot.

It was pulled into its recharging station and the light shined over a gore-covered playground, but there wasn’t a stinker in sight. Flipping up his NVGs, Lance opened his laptop and started tapping the screen. “It’s charged,” he said. “It’s on standby. There hasn’t been a stinker here in three hours.”

“Well, let’s wash the little baby and clean his playground,” Lilly said in a motherly voice.

Laughing out loud Lance nodded and Lilly drove down to the field as Lance tapped the keyboard and the Battle Bot came to life and drove through the mound of gore that outlined the box. When it did, Dwain reached for his AR and his wife, sitting behind him on the four-wheeler, slapped the back of his helmet.

“You shoot that thing, and I will shoot your ass,” Kathy snapped.

“Sorry, but Lance said it’s not supposed to move out of the box,” Dwain said, watching the bot drive across the field and stop next to a creek.

“If it comes after you, you’d better run,” Kathy said, flipping up her NVG when it started whiting out from the overhead lights.

When Lilly stopped, well back from the playground near the dish and battery, Jennifer and Ian walked up to the others. “Wait here,” Ian said, digging in his thigh pocket.

“Get off and guard,” Kathy said, climbing off before Dwain.

Everyone jumped when Lilly drove over to the Battle Bot and stopped. Turning back as Ian and Jennifer walked toward the playground, they watched Ian pull a road flare from his thigh pocket and light it. When he tossed it, flame leapt up from the mound of gore, meeting the flare before it landed.

“Must be getting used to the stench,” Heath said, looking around. “Normally when it burns like that, my nose hairs are melting.”

Robin watched the fire burn across the ground for almost a minute in a colorless flame, then the flame turned bluish green. The fire put out enormous heat, but very little light. Hearing the hum of the generator, they turned to see Lilly spraying the bot down. They were shocked it was shiny like the ones they had just put out.

Rhonda was standing guard while Lilly washed the bot and Lance walked toward them, looking at his laptop. “Ian?” Lance called out but didn’t look up.

“Okay, I don’t like that tone,” Robin said. “If it’s broke, can you help them fix it?” she asked, turning to Heath. Looking at the bot Lilly was washing, Heath could tell it was smaller than those they had just put out and even he could see the others were truly upgrades.

“I doubt it, but I can hand them tools,” Heath offered as Ian ran over, looking at the laptop screen.

“Not going to find out what’s wrong from here,” Dwain said, leaving them and walking over to Ian and Lance. Before he reached them, Jennifer moved up to stick her head between them, looking at the screen and Dwain stopped when Heath walked up beside him.

“Yeah, two gray skulls looking at a laptop with a body that has a shadow for a face between them, freaks me the hell out,” Heath admitted, walking past Dwain.

Heath walked around and glanced at the laptop screen and saw a spreadsheet with numbers. “Over my head,” he mumbled as Lance and Ian pointed at the screen, talking to each other. In ten minutes, the fire was burned out and Lilly was done cleaning the bot, and they were still talking.

“Guys, anything I can do to help?” Heath asked. “I can hold tools for you.”

“We are going to have to pull this bot back for maintenance before long,” Lance groaned, closing the laptop.

“I’m telling you, the hydraulic bots will do much better,” Ian said, very sure.

“Guys, I don’t know how many its killed, but maintenance should be expected,” Heath offered.

“Yeah, but my projections were after fifty thousand, and it has barely killed fourteen thousand,” Lance groaned. “The frame is wearing down much faster than I predicted, not to mention the drive shafts for the shredder. It’s just not heavy enough for that stress. Let’s hope this next generation that’s heavier with new upgrades will fare better.”

Hearing the number, Heath started breathing hard. “Guys, teach us. We’ll do the maintenance,” he panted. “They are grinding up bodies.”

“I was counting on that,” Lance said, walking over to the smoldering dust.

Lilly and Rhonda drove back as Lance kicked around in the dirt. He bent over and picked up something, holding it up to Ian. “I never counted on this!” Lance shouted, and Ian groaned, kicking a pile of dust.

“What’s that?” Heath asked, looking at the object in Lance’s hand.

“Artificial hip,” Lilly said, getting out of the buggy.

“Here’s another one,” Ian said, kicking something across the playground.

Looking down at the dust pile, Heath jumped back at seeing fragments of bones and teeth, lots of teeth. Seeing something in the pile, he moved it with his boot. “Artificial shoulder,” Lilly said beside him.

“This is bullshit!” Lance shouted and raised his hand to throw his laptop, but thankfully stopped. As Lilly walked over, everyone moved around the mound of dust and fragments, finding pacemakers, artificial knees, hips, shoulder joints, metal plates, and bent weapons.

“Lance, you can take this into account,” Lilly assured him, taking the laptop.

“Why? I’m a stupid ass! I should’ve taken that into account before and decreased the torque tension, so the bot could spit out smaller objects, instead of trying to grind them up! Not to mention making them heavier to deal with the torque!”

Holding the laptop under her arm, Lilly heard Ian on the other end throwing a tantrum, and Jennifer was heading toward him at a dead run. “Lance, you’re a genius and anyone who says otherwise, I’ll kill,” Lilly stated coldly. Lance looked up at her in shock and took a deep breath to rant, but Lilly held up her hand.

“No, listen,” Lilly said calmly. “You knew you were going to make changes. That’s all this is. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine,” she stated, and Lance stepped back. “Lance, I’m a vet, I know about artificial joints. I saw your plans and after you explained, I should’ve known, but I’m sorry, I didn’t. You are more perfect than I am, but to be honest, I think this is going to fire your brain up, improving the bot tenfold.”

For several minutes, Lance just looked at her. “Okay, I was acting like a punk-ass bitch,” he finally admitted.

“No, you were acting like my man,” Lilly acknowledged, holding her chin up. “Doing his best with what he has.”

Lance chuckled, “That sounds so cool… ‘your man’.”

“You have a ‘man card’ and you told me you were mine, so yeah,” Lilly laughed with him.

Looking past Lilly, Lance gasped, “What the hell do they have their masks off for?!”

Lilly turned around to see Jennifer latched onto Ian with her legs wrapped around his waist, and both were locked in a very hot kiss. With all the gear the two had on, Lilly was impressed. “Lance, leave them alone. I’m sure Jennifer tried talking but gave up and did what she had to do to calm Ian down.”

“We are in the field,” Lance whispered harshly.

Lilly turned to Lance. “Want me to strip naked and run around through these ashes? Because if you hadn’t calmed down, I would have,” she told Lance and from the tone, he knew she wasn’t playing. So happy for the mask hiding his burning cheeks, Lance just scoffed, forgetting he knew how to speak.

“They make such a good couple,” Robin smiled, looking around. “Should we spread out because they might need time? We will buy them all they need.”

“Naw,” Rhonda said, patting Dino. “The dogs are here, and they will tell us before anything gets close.”

“So, are you better?” Lilly asked.

Unable to speak, Lance reached for the laptop and Lilly turned, keeping from his reach. “You can talk,” Lilly told him.

“Can’t,” Lance croaked. “Throat’s dry.”

Laughing, Lilly handed him the laptop and turned to see Ian and Jennifer putting their masks and helmets back on. As Lance opened the laptop, Lilly pulled her drinking tube out and put it into the small gaps in Lance’s mask to let him get a drink while Ian and Jennifer walked back, hand in hand.

“I should tell them about the Corvette I restored,” Heath chuckled. “From the ground up and took it for a ride. Blew the engine because I forgot to put oil in the brand-new engine.”

“Yes, you should, but not today. They are calmed down,” Robin smiled at the four. “Our daughter finds a guy like that, you better break his knees, so he can’t leave.”

“Shit, Lori finds a guy like them, I’ll perform the wedding and buy her thongs to wear,” Heath chuckled.

Lance and the others walked over and stopped in front of them. “The bot should be good, but every tooth on the shredder will have to be sharpened and I know we’ll have to replace some gears,” Lance said with a sigh, but everyone was happy he and Ian weren’t blowing up.

“I can sharpen them,” Dwain said proudly.

“Then you’ll be coming over to help,” Lance laughed. “Heath, how about you guys come over for Sunday lunch tomorrow? Brenda can come, but not Grady. To be honest, you need to leave two at home and they can call for help.”

Somewhat shocked, Heath slowly nodded his head. “We would be honored, Lance,” he said in a monotone.

“You can take the kids tomorrow. I’m sure they are tired after the stuff we did, and the schoolwork the ladybugs laid out for them,” Ian chuckled.

“You got Denny to do schoolwork? Without beating him?” Robin asked in wonder.

“That’s what they were starting when we left,” Lance shrugged. “We eat at noon but come over whenever, just call first. We are up at 0700 on Sundays.”

“We need to bring anything?” Robin asked.

“Just yourselves,” Lilly said, and they headed to the buggy.

When everyone was loaded up, Lance tapped the keyboard and the bot spun around, clean once again, and moved through the ashes of its victims. When it reached the playground, the bot shut down, waiting for more.

Chapter 16

Heath pulled up to the build house they’d met them at yesterday and stopped as Rhonda pulled up beside him on the four-wheeler. “You called them, right?” Rhonda asked, looking around the empty yard.

“Yes,” Heath said, lifting the radio Ian had given him last night. “This is Heath,” he called over the radio.

“Almost to you,” Jennifer called out.

A few minutes later, they heard the crunch of leaves when the buggy Ian had made came down the slope and pulled out of the trees. Jennifer drove over, and they saw Allie beside her and Denny in the backseat. “Um, Rhonda, park the four-wheeler up in the trees and ride with us,” Jennifer instructed, looking at Rhonda riding alone on the four-wheeler.

“Why?” Dwain asked from the backseat of the side by side.

“For some reason, the tigers don’t like company and they are roaming around,” Jennifer answered.

“Stinkers are around?” Kathy asked, looking around.

“No, you,” Jennifer told them. “They acted this way when Denny and them came over with us, but we knew when you pulled up. The tigers left their treehouse.”

“I’ll ride with you,” Rhonda trembled, pulling the four-wheeler into the trees.

“Heath, you drive only where I drive. Traps, deadly traps are here, so stay close and we can cover you,” Jennifer told him. “Remember, no brake lights, so you watch me and everyone else. Watch for tigers, but don’t shoot them unless they are charging. We don’t want to make them mad.”

Nodding nervously, “I understand,” Heath said as Rhonda climbed in behind Allie, holding her AR. As Jennifer drove off, Heath followed her up the hill.

“Heath, she said close, not up her ass,” Dwain said behind him.

“Dwain, they have booby traps that kill here,” Heath replied as Robin held the dash, looking around.

“Heath, if Jennifer farts, you will know before she does. At least, pull back to where we only smell it,” Robin pleaded, and Heath added a few feet to the gap.

When they reached the chute for the diversion fence, Dwain looked at the strands of barbed wire. “This group has done so much,” he said in awe as Heath followed Jennifer through the zig-zagging chute. “This is genius. The odds of a stinker making it through are astronomical.”

“Like dead people walking astronomical?” Kathy retorted beside him.

“You two, shut up and watch for tigers,” Robin snapped as they entered the diversion fence. “I’m really developing an understanding of Ian’s fear of big pussy cats.”

Driving along the diversion fences, Heath never looked away from the back of Jennifer’s buggy. When the radio went off, Heath almost rammed Jennifer. “The tigers are moving,” Lilly called over the radio. “On camera twenty-four.”

“Hope camera twenty-four isn’t close,” Kathy said in a quivering voice.

When they started down the slope, Heath almost wanted to turn around and head home. Rolling down the slope for several hundred yards, the outer fence sprang up with the wall of razor wire.

“Holy shit,” Heath gasped, turning the wheel to put distance between him and the fence.

Diving over, Robin grabbed the steering wheel. “She said right behind her, not put distance between you and the fence,” Robin snapped.

Nodding, Heath held the wheel steady and Robin let go, turning to look out at the small draw off her side and saw a metal pipe sticking out over the draw and pouring water. As Robin pondered that while looking for tigers, Heath and Dwain looked at the wall of razor wire a few feet from them as they sped past.

Nobody even noticed the cabin and other structures while they watched for tigers and razor wire. When Jennifer turned the corner of the fence, the radio went off and Robin held out her hand to grab the steering wheel, but Heath held it steady. “Gate’s open and don’t slow. Tigers are below the rise,” Lilly called out.

“We will give them the kids, if we have to kill the tigers,” Robin told Heath as she held her rifle aimed at the trees. Heath only nodded, seeing a gate covered with razor wire standing open as Jennifer threw up dirt, rounding it. Trusting Jennifer’s judgement, Heath stomped the gas and cranked the steering wheel, throwing up dirt and speeding through the gate. Only when he rolled past it, did Heath notice the tall chain-link fence and second gate.

Seeing Jennifer was stopped, Heath stomped the brakes, skidding to a halt. “Hey, Daddy,” Heath heard and jumped so high off the seat, he hit his head on the roof of the side by side.

Holding his head, Heath turned to see Lori smiling and holding her AR. “Hey, baby,” Heath winced, then turned to see the razor wire gate already closed and the cyclone gate rolling closed. “The tigers must be close.”

“Oh, yeah. Look,” Lori said, smiling and pointing at the gate. Heath felt faint, seeing the two tigers slowly walk over the rise and up to the gate. Grabbing Heath’s arm, “Come see how big they are,” Lori cried in excitement, pulling her dad when he got out slowly, not really wanting to know how big they were.

Everyone got out and walked to the gate while the tigers sat down, looking at them right in front of the outside gate. Heath looked up at the tall cyclone gate, certain the tigers couldn’t jump it. “Is it me, or do they look pissed?” Rhonda asked, walking up.

“No, they always look like that,” Carrie said, and Heath looked down at her and then at Lori holding his arm.

“What are you doing out here if the tigers were at the gates?” Heath asked.

“Duh, covering you while the gates were open,” Lori moaned.

“Come on guys,” Jennifer called from the buggy.

“I like having a big fence between me and mean pussy,” Dwain said, staring at the tigers.

“I’m agreeing with Ian, I want small nice pussies running around again,” Rhonda shivered, turning away from the gate and climbing back into the buggy.

When they stopped behind the cabin, the others looked at it hard. “It’s not a real cabin,” Dwain said. “That’s siding.”

“Yeah, it’s concrete,” Jennifer said, getting out. “Lance said only an explosive warhead would punch through.”

They all looked at each other and Lori grabbed Heath’s hand and Denny grabbed his mom’s. “Come on, this is the coolest place ever!” Denny said with excitement.

“Where are Lance and Ian?” Heath asked.

“Inside. They aren’t allowed to touch a weapon today, unless some bad shit happens,” Jennifer said, pulling out her key and the others gasped in shock at the massive key. When Jennifer opened the door and walked in, Dwain grabbed Heath and pointed at the thickness of the door.

“Holy shit, it’s a freaking bank vault!” Dwain cried out.

“Daddy!” Dwain heard, and turned to see Jodi running at him. He scooped her up and then looked back at the door. Then, he saw the hydraulic arm taking the weight of the door to open and close. “I don’t even want to know how much that door alone cost.”

“You don’t have to worry about cost now,” Rhonda said, walking past.

“Rhonda,” Dwain snapped, and she turned around. “This was built before the stinkers.”

“Just shows you they have very smart parents,” Rhonda admitted and turned around. Lori pointed to the gun rack by the back door, and everyone hung up their weapons.

They found Ian and Lance sitting at desks beside the kitchen, then noticed four more desks in front of them. But Lance’s and Ian’s desks were bigger, and each had two fifty-inch screens. Ian was working with something 3D and Lance was typing away lines of code.

“Sorry, we weren’t expecting you so soon,” Lilly said, coming up from the basement.

“That’s my fault,” Rhonda said, looking around. “Grady was whining, and I told Heath if we didn’t leave, I was going to kill him. Then I would’ve had to stay behind to guard the house and bury the body.”

Seeing only Lance, Ian, Jennifer and the ladybugs, Dwain looked at Jennifer. “Um, where are your parents? I don’t want them to drive up and see a strange UTV outside and come in slinging lead.”

“They won’t be here until July or August,” Ian called over his shoulder.

Dwain and the others froze, and Jennifer quickly filled them in. Heath had to stumble over to the table and drop down into a chair. Dwain just sat down on the floor. “You put up those fences by yourself?!” Heath shouted in shock.

“Lance and Ian put up the razor wire one. I helped on the other one,” Jennifer corrected, and everyone turned to Lilly.

“Oh, I wasn’t here yet,” Lilly told them. “I offered to dig a moat, but they told me I didn’t have to.”

“Aren’t they awesome?!” Denny shouted.

With her body numb from shock, Robin turned to Heath. “They are much more than awesome,” she told Denny, and she stared at Heath in utter amazement. “We do whatever they ask, no matter when they ask.”

“Did you see Lance’s H1 Alpha Hummer?” Denny asked, vibrating with excitement.

“No, sorry. Tigers had me spellbound, son,” Heath answered, getting up.

Throwing his hands in the air, Ian spun around in his chair. “Mean pussy,” Ian sang out and they all nodded.

“Hey, Denny, come here,” Lance called out and Denny shot over beside him.

“He’s never moved that fast for us,” Robin mumbled.

“I made a mistake in one of the lines of code on the screen,” Lance said, getting up, “find it.”

Taking a deep breath, Denny sat down in the chair, staring at the screen and going line by line. “Denny, what’s nine times seven?” Allie shouted out.

Robin and Heath looked over as Denny closed his eyes, concentrating hard. “Sixty-three,” Denny answered, then opened his eyes and returned to searching the code.

“Yeah, he has trouble with multiplication,” Robin sighed.

“Not no more,” Allie sassed, flipping her hair back.

“Sorry, the ladybugs were starting an algebra lesson and had to backtrack on Denny, but quizzed him all afternoon until he memorized the multiplication table to twelve,” Lance explained, holding out his hand to Heath. “We weren’t expecting you till around ten or so.”

“Sorry, but we had to leave, or I was going to have to take Rhonda’s weapons away,” Heath laughed.

“Ten bucks, I can kick your ass,” Rhonda challenged Heath.

“Not taking it,” Heath replied as Lance shook everyone else’s hand.

“I wanted to come over and help cook,” Robin smiled.

“Well, when we start, you are more than welcome,” Jennifer laughed.

“Found it!” Denny cried out, pointing at the screen.

“Fix it,” Lance called over his shoulder and Denny’s hand hit the desk as his arm went numb.

“Uh-uh,” Denny mumbled, shaking his head. “I might mess it up.”

Walking over, “Do you know why it’s wrong?” Lance asked, and Denny nodded. “Then fix it and be done.”

Visibly shaking, Denny turned to the computer, moving the cursor to the spot and backspaced, then slowly typed. When he was done, Denny sighed like he’d given birth and stood up. “See? You found the problem and fixed it. If you find a problem you can’t fix, find someone who can or figure it out.”

“Okay,” Denny said, moving away from the desk.

“Tell your mom and dad what you have been doing,” Lance grinned, and tapped Ian on the shoulder.

“Dude,” Ian snapped at the interruption, tapping his keyboard rapidly and making the 3D object change.

“Ian,” Lance said, and walked into the living room and then headed upstairs.

Giving a groan, Ian looked at his wristwatch. “I just sat down, how in the hell is it 0914?!” Ian cried out.

“Ian, you’ve been at the computer for three hours,” Jennifer barked, sitting down at the table with the others as Ian ran upstairs.

A little while later, they called Lilly and Jennifer upstairs. Getting up, the girls both ran upstairs and skidded to a halt. Lance and Ian were in their Boy Scout uniforms, but the uniforms looked way too small. Lilly smiled, looking at the sash with all the badges as Jennifer walked over with a shocked face.

“Ian, is this the uniform your mom bought you for your birthday?” Jennifer asked, looking at the shirt about to bust across his chest and squeezing his shoulders and arms. When Ian didn’t answer, Jennifer looked up at Ian’s face to see shock. “Ian, I was there when you and Lance came down in your new uniforms. Your mothers gave you both new sets each year, and that was this past February.”

“You’re amazing,” Ian grinned and nodded.

“Ian, they were two sizes too big. Why didn’t you let them out?” Jennifer asked, looking down at Ian’s thighs about to rip the pants apart.

“Lance and I let them out last night,” Ian moaned, trying not to breathe too deep.

Looking up at Ian’s face, “Ian, since we’ve been here, how much weight have you put on?” Jennifer asked.

Feeling his hands going numb as the sleeves cut off circulation, Ian shook his hands. “Thirty-seven pounds,” Ian said, wanting the clothes off.

“Jennifer, what about Lance’s?” Lilly asked, looking at the belt with shiny metal badges around his waist.

Turning to Lance, Jennifer shook her head. “Lilly, these things swallowed them back in February. I know, I was there when they came down and didn’t like the way they made Ian look. His pants were so big, it looked like he had taken a dump in them and had no ass. Now, I can count every hair on his ass, they are so tight.”

Glancing over at Lance with a shit-eating grin, “She was looking at my butt,” Ian chuckled.

“Lance, how much weight have you put on?” Lilly asked, rubbing her hand over all the patches.

“Thirty-one pounds,” Lance answered and looked over at Jennifer. “Yeah, we measured ourselves last night and I’ve grown an inch since we’ve been here, but Ian’s grown two and now he’s taller.”

Jennifer looked at Ian’s face to find him beaming. “Finally,” Ian said proudly.

“Ian, your dad is taller than Mr. Johnathan and look at the size of Jason,” Jennifer grinned. “It only took a little time.”

Looking down at Jennifer with pain, “Can I take it off? You’ve seen it but until I get a new one, I’m not putting it back on,” Ian begged. “Lance wasn’t putting his on for Lilly unless I did, and now I know why you wanted to see me in my uniform again.”

Standing on her tiptoes, Jennifer kissed him. “Thank you,” Jennifer smiled, stepping back for the stairs.

She turned to see Lilly still rubbing the patches over Lance’s uniform. “Lilly, the uniforms are hurting them,” Jennifer said.

“The only place they fit is the waist,” Lance moaned.

“Sorry, but this was important to you and a big part of your life. I just wanted to see it,” Lilly told him, looking up into his face. “Thank you.”

Blushing, “If I find a bigger uniform, I’ll fix it up,” Lance mumbled.

“No, that’s alright,” Lilly said and kissed him hard.

After several minutes, “Lilly, please, I’m having trouble breathing,” Ian whined, and Lilly broke the kiss.

“Wow,” Lance gasped. “Okay, I need out of these clothes, baby doll.”

Lilly moved to the stairs and ran down with Jennifer. “I can’t breathe,” Ian groaned, taking the scarf off and tossing it on the bed, then pulled the sash off.

Lance went straight to unbuttoning his shirt, feeling his chest able to expand. Taking a deep breathe, Lance sighed in pleasure. “Hope Mom doesn’t get mad, I outgrew it so fast,” he mumbled, taking the sash off.

“Lance, help. I don’t want to tear it,” Ian gasped, and Lance turned around. Ian couldn’t get the shirt to roll off his shoulders. Grabbing the shirt, Lance helped Ian tug his arms out of it. When he was out, Ian held up his hands, slowly opening and closing them, feeling the numbness going away.

Struggling out of his clothes, Lance grabbed some clothes he knew fit and looked decent and threw them on. When he headed downstairs, Ian wasn’t but a few steps behind him. They found everyone sitting at the table and talking. “I miss that,” Ian said as they stopped, looking at everyone.

“We talk at the table all the time,” Lance told him.

“No, the sound of older voices,” Ian said quietly.

“Well, I bet you’ll be tired of the parents’ voices a week after they get back,” Lance laughed, punching Ian in the arm.

Seeing the boys coming, Heath grinned. “I must say, when your parents get here, they will be very impressed,” he said.

“Heath, the parents gave birth to them. They know what they can do,” Jennifer assured him, filling glasses of tea. “They will be proud of them, but to be honest, if Lance and Ian had a Space Shuttle parked here, then I think that would surprise them.”

Heath watched Jennifer as she passed out glasses of tea. “I’m not being rude,” Jennifer said. “I lived next door to them and yes, they still impress me. But their parents talked to mine all the time, and their parents knew what they could do. If I told you just what I know they did before this, you would pass the fuck out.”

“Hey, you took a vow, woman,” Ian snapped.

Walking back to the bar and grabbing more filled glasses, “I will never tell,” Jennifer giggled.

A small hand slapped the table with a loud smack, making everyone jump, “Eight times six, Denny!” Carrie shouted.

Almost jumping up in a dead run, Denny gave Carrie a deer in the headlights look for a second, “Forty-eight,” he cried out.

When the adults saw Carrie smile at Denny, each exhaled in a sigh of relief. “Very good,” Carrie beamed, pulling her hand back from the table and grabbing the glass of tea Jennifer had put down for her.

“What happens if he gets them wrong?” Robin asked, looking at her son while he looked around grinning.

“I do pushups,” Denny said proudly. “I thought my arms were going to fall off last night.”

“You make him do pushups?” Robin asked in wonder at the ladybugs.

The ladybugs looked at her, confused. “Mom,” Denny said, and Robin turned to him. “You punish yourself for not being the best you can be.”

Having a thought, Kathy looked over at Carrie. “Carrie, twelve times nine?” she asked.

“One hundred and eight,” Carrie answered almost before Kathy stopped speaking.

Cutting her eyes to Jodi sitting beside the two, Kathy asked. “Jodi, seven times six?”

Thinking for a second, “Forty-two,” Jodi smiled.

Dwain leaned over and hugged her, “That’s so good,” he told her.

“Did you do pushups?” Kathy asked, and Denny laughed out.

“Not as many as I did.”

A beeping sounded, and the adults jumped as everyone who lived at the cabin pulled out cellphones and their kids turned to the monitor on the wall. “Pussies are heading home,” Ian sighed, tapping his phone and the beeping stopped.

Dwain was looking at the monitor mounted beside the large projection screen and saw the tigers walking past a camera and outlined in white boxes that followed them. “You have a program that tells you if it sees something moving?” he asked in awe.

“Yeah, I only had to tweak it a little bit,” Lance admitted as the monitor blinked and divided its picture into dozens of smaller screens.

“How far out are you protected?” Heath asked.

“Booby traps start a half mile out, but in a few places, go out further,” Lance answered, walking to the fridge. “Electronic surveillance starts at five hundred yards out.”

“Can you show me how to set up a monitoring system like that?” Dwain asked hopefully.

“Uncle Dwain,” Denny moaned. “Why do you think I’m learning that computer code?” Dwain looked over as Denny rolled his eyes away, like only a preteen could.

Opening the fridge and pulling out tinfoil-covered baking sheets, Lance set them on the kitchen island. “I’m going to start the grill.”

Jumping up out of her chair, “Lance, please let me or Lilly do the steaks?” Jennifer begged.

“No!” Lance snapped. “Dad said the grill is a man’s domain and the man code verifies that.”

Turning to Ian with pleading eyes, Jennifer saw Ian shaking his head. “The grill is man only, especially steak,” Ian said proudly.

Raising his hand, “I’m going to agree with them on that,” Heath said, and Robin leaned over, popping the back of his head.

“See? Even they heard of that man rule,” Lance said, heading for the back door.

“Lance,” Lilly cried out, jumping up. “That’s a lot of meat. Can I at least help?”

“Not on the grill,” Lance popped off, opening the back door. Lance walked out and before the door closed, Ian followed him.

With a snarl on her face, Lilly spun around on Heath. “Get your ass out there and make sure they don’t burn the steaks,” she snapped, and Heath took off, almost knocking his chair over.

Stepping outside, Heath found Ian and Lance on the back porch turning on a large black grill. Looking under it, he didn’t see propane bottles. “Where’s the tank?”

Lance pointed past the ATV shed. “Buried over there,” he said, looking at the burners.

Walking over beside the two, Heath looked at the hot tub behind him and sighed, hoping they could get theirs cleaned soon. “What else runs on propane? I know where a truck is at,” Heath told them as Ian grabbed a wire brush and started cleaning the already clean cooking racks. “You don’t have to clean them if they are already scrubbed.”

“Dad said it makes prettier grill marks on the steaks,” Ian grinned, scrubbing the racks.

“What’s that going to be?” Heath asked, pointing at the massive greenhouse wrapped in black plastic.

“Greenhouse,” Lance answered, moving over beside Heath.

Dropping his arm in shock at the size of the building, “You could feed an army from that,” Heath mumbled.

“Not quite, but we will be able to feed us, the animals, and grow soybeans for biodiesel,” Lance laughed.

Stepping off the back porch, Heath headed over and realized the roof wasn’t on. “You’re going to bury it,” he cried out in amazement.

“Yeah, dirt is a great insulator,” Lance replied, walking past Heath since Heath seemed interested in the greenhouse. “We’ll use hydroponics and with two levels, have almost nine thousand square feet of growing room. From our projections, this greenhouse will grow the same amount of food a ten-acre garden would, but it will grow food year-round.”

Following Lance over, Heath saw a hallway leading into the greenhouse on the closest side that was only half as tall as the structure. Walking through the tunnel, Heath saw wire racks sitting in the hallway, then he stepped into the structure. On the south wall toward the cabin, windows lined the upper wall and sloped back to the first line of columns cemented into the ground. “Lance, how do you do so much and make this?” Heath asked, feeling like the laziest person on the planet.

“Three hours a day,” Lance shrugged, and Heath turned to him. “We dedicate three hours a day to the greenhouse. Well, most days. We keep several projects going at once but if we need to, we devote more time to one if it’s important.”

“How long do you sleep?”

“I can get by with four hours, but if I’m tired, I need six,” Lance told him and then laughed. “After we got here, I slept for over a day.”

Moving closer to the wall, Heath ran his hands over the boards. “This is green lumber.”

“Yeah, had to take trees down for the inner fence, so Dad, Mr. Bill and Uncle Doug decided to use lumber from here, instead of storing it.”

“This is amazing,” Heath said, stepping back and looking up at the windows. Each window was set in a box frame with a sheet of Plexiglass on each side and a six-inch space between the glass.

“Come on,” Lance said, and Heath followed him out.

Chapter 17

Following Lance out, Heath kept trying to wrap his brain around the fact that Lance and Ian had accomplished a thousand-fold what his group had. Seeing Lance turn right, Heath followed to a door buried into the hillside. Lance opened it and stood inside the door. “This is the gym,” Lance told Heath when he’d stepped in. “Workouts every day, except Sunday and Wednesday.”

Very impressed with the layout, Heath nodded. “Yeah, the house we moved into has a nice gym,” Heath said as Lance walked back outside.

“Use it,” Lance said, but Heath could hear the command.

Closing the door, “We will, don’t worry,” Heath assured him, and followed Lance to another building that was half-buried in the hillside.

Walking to the building, Heath stopped to hear the hum of an electric motor. Looking past the door, he saw a motor sitting on a stand, driving a steel cable. Below the motor was a large rock with the cable the motor was turning, dragging across it and slowly cutting a groove.

Lance turned to see Heath pass by the outer shop door and walk over to the stone cutter. “Yeah, that’s the stone cutter we made,” Lance stated proudly, walking over as Heath looked in the steel tub the rock was sitting in. “We started with a plastic swimming pool, but it broke on the second rock.”

Waving his hand at the machine, “Why?” Heath asked, racking his brain.

“To build cisterns to melt metal,” Lance told him, and Heath just felt his body go numb. Lance pointed at a stack of one-inch-thick, one-foot-square plates of stone.

“Lance, you can find metal pieces to work with!” Heath cried out.

“Maybe, but you would have to look and build to what you find. This way, we can make what we want,” Lance told him. Then Lance pointed at a five-foot-tall steel vat. “That will be the next induction furnace we build. It will give us over six hundred kilograms of product.”

“You have one already?” Heath asked in shock.

“Yeah, but it only has a twenty-five cubic feet capacity, so we have to keep it working hard,” Lance said, and then pointed to the steel vat. “I’m going to have to increase our power big time to use this monster after we cover it in stone.”

Turning back to the rock cutter, “So, you’re making a liner for the vat?” Heath asked.

“No, we’ve done that. This is just for me and Ian,” Lance said, then pointed beside the ATV shed to an oven sitting under a small roof. “We dry the slabs out with the oven and store them in the shop. Right now, Ian and I are making stone blocks.”

Seeing Lance pointing elsewhere, Heath turned and saw a stack of stone blocks. Some were two-foot cubes and others were foot cubes. “You’re just making blocks?”

Nodding, “Yeah, I want to use them to rebuild Ian’s damn chemistry shop. I don’t like that tin building we set up for it,” Lance told him. Seeing the look on Heath’s face, Lance turned to face him. “Heath, it doesn’t take us any time. Granted, the saw averages about an inch an hour, but tonight before we go to bed, this cut will be done. Then Ian and I will flip the rock and go to bed. When we wake up, we’ll flip it again.”

Turning back to look on the other side of the greenhouse at the mound of dirt removed from the hillside, Heath could see several large rocks set to the side. “Won’t run out of material around here,” Heath chuckled.

“No shit,” Lance laughed. “I thought working with metal was tough, but rock is a pain in the ass. You have to use copious amounts of water.”

Looking at the outside wall of the shop, Heath saw a small lathe and an old end mill. “So, you work on stone outside?” Heath asked.

“Yeah, I’m not putting that shit on my good machines,” Lance scoffed, then walked in the outer shop door with Heath following.

“This is the wood working area,” Lance told him, and Heath saw the electric saw mill and other machines with a stack of green lumber at the end.

With the hidden shop door open, Lance walked into the machine shop and Heath saw four complete frames assembled for the Battle Bots. Two of the bots already had some motors and electronics installed. Looking around, he saw the induction furnace sitting beside a metal table, and a small one sitting on the table. “Holy shit,” Heath said, seeing the stacks of stuff taken from Bones along the right wall.

“Yeah, we took that from the Devil Lords. You are moving some of it to your house after you get it secured,” Lance informed him, and Heath turned to him in shock. “That’s not all of it and we need the room. You need the shit, but we decide what goes. You’re not getting the Javelins.”

Seeing Heath just blink at him, Lance crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m serious, until Ian and I get to shoot one, they stay with us,” Lance told him.

Seeing a large frame in the back, “What’s that?” Heath asked, almost afraid to ask.

“Oh, Ian’s next creation. It will be a tracked buggy,” Lance told him, and they walked over. Making a guess, Heath put the frame close to eight-foot-wide and Heath could see two huge electrical motors at the back. Moving beside the frame, he guessed the body was just over sixteen feet long. Along the center of the frame, he saw stacks of aluminum boxes bolted to the frame and then a diesel generator.

Giving an impressed nod, “He balanced it well from the looks,” Heath said, and then looked closer at the metal boxes. “Are those hybrid car batteries?”

Laughing, “Yeah, you won’t find a Prius or any other hybrid car within five miles, Ian hasn’t ripped the battery pack out of,” Lance told him.

Very envious of the design, Heath turned to the back counters and saw electrical gears broken apart, then noticed a map on the wall. Moving over, he saw it was a map of the area with Battle Bot locations. Each spot was in a valley that led into the small group of hills they were hiding in.

Seeing all the locations, Heath felt very bad. Lance and Ian could’ve put the first ones into the valleys that led to them. Instead, they had set them up in the two valleys that fed into the area where Heath and his group was. “Robin was right,” Heath mumbled. “I knew she was, but seeing it with my own eyes…”

“Heath, this next batch will be going near Dewitt. You needed the bots more than we did,” Lance admitted, standing beside Heath. “Besides, they do help us on patrol to the north and east. We didn’t want you to learn how to patrol with masses of stinkers in your area.”

Smiling, Heath looked away from the map and back at the counter, then it struck him. Everything was neat. Turning around rapidly, he saw everything and everywhere he looked was stacked neatly and the areas were cleaned up. Thinking about it, everywhere he had been, including the cabin, was immaculate.

“What?” Lance asked, seeing Heath look around.

“It’s neat!” he gasped.

“Uh, yeah,” Lance said, not looking around. He knew it was neat. “Cluttered areas lead to cluttered minds.”

Heath made a mental note of that because the house they’d just moved in to, already had tools everywhere in the shop. Seeing something on a stand, “What’s that?” Heath asked.

“Pneumatic gun,” Lance shrugged. “We found over a dozen fifty-five-gallon drums of half-inch ball bearings.”

“We have guns,” Heath mumbled.

“Heath, we don’t have enough bullets, or the time to use them. We’ve heard other people talking about gangs on the radio. The Nazis and Devil Lords weren’t our only worries. Granted, stinkers are the bigger worry now, but I would like to save bullets for threats that shoot back. We also started putting together a centrifugal gun that’s showing real promise. Ian and I made a small rail gun last year, and we’ve toyed with the idea to see if we can get it set up. Saw a guy on YouTube make one and we had to try it,” Lance shrugged.

“Lance, you can’t show this to anyone,” Heath panted, moving back until he could lean against the wall.

Uncrossing his arms and letting them fall to his side, “You think I would show this to just anyone?” Lance asked, and Heath just panted, trying not to pass out. “Heath, you let your kids come here,” Lance said in a respectful tone. “You and Dwain entrusted us with your kids. That is a sign of trust I don’t know if I could ever give, and I am a kid. But I’ve heard my mom and dad talk about it, and you did it. Ian and I will never break that trust,” Lance finished and then grinned. “Even the man code excludes your kids being loaned out.”

Feeling very prideful, Heath pushed off the wall, turning to Lance. “We knew they were safe with you,” Heath confessed and then turned his head, looking side-to-side with wide eyes. “Hell, they are safer here with you than anything we can provide.”

“In time, you will,” Lance said, walking past him and heading out. “You guys need to stop thinking so rigidly and start learning.”

“We set up that laptop you gave Denny and started,” Heath assured Lance, following him out. Inside the shop, Heath had seen doors that looked like shipping containers on the wall behind the stacks of munitions. He knew Lance wasn’t telling him everything, and he was thankful because he wasn’t asking. Heath was flattered at the trust, but if he ever got captured by someone, he didn’t want to know what all was here. There was no doubt in Heath’s mind, if something happened to him, Lance and Ian, teenage boys that acted like men, would protect his family.

As they walked to the cabin, Lance pointed at the two RV awnings on each side of the cabin. “We’re enclosing those to make storage rooms, but it will be a little bit before we start that,” Lance said, and Heath looked at the stacks of stuff along the ATV shed, like everything else, stacked neatly.

“Why did you dismantle that truck?” Heath stopped, pointing at a frame with little else.

“Recycling metal, dude, and getting the electronics,” Lance laughed. “There was another one, but it’s all gone.”

They walked onto the porch as Dwain walked out with Ian, carrying sheets of steaks. Heath saw the slabs of marinated meat and his mouth watered instantly.  Walking over, Ian opened the grill and placed the slabs on the racks. “Jennifer is still ranting about us burning the steaks,” Ian grumbled, closing the grill.

“Ian,” Dwain said, taking the pans. “Trust me, let it go.”

Nodding as Dwain moved to the door to carry the pans back in, “I’m finding that out,” Ian admitted, moving over with his key and opening the door for Dwain.

When Dwain went inside, Heath moved to his side by side. “Oh, guys, found something you asked me to keep an eye out for,” Heath said, stopping at the bed of his side by side and grunted, picking up a five-gallon bucket and carried it over before setting it down on the cement slab which formed the porch.

They looked inside to see the bucket was filled with silver coins. “That house had a safe and I finally got inside. That’s fifty pounds of silver,” Heath told them with a grin.

“We can stop looking for silver now,” Ian chuckled.

Watching Lance grab the tongs and open the grill, Heath chuckled as Lance inspected each steak and then closed the lid. “When will the next batch of bots be ready?” Heath asked.

“Three days, because we are making more changes,” Lance answered, putting the tongs down.

“What about bot one, are you going to rebuild it?” Heath asked.

“Would like to, but we think it would be faster to just make two new ones. The newest ones we put out I have programed to radio out the specs of what it did. The hydraulic bots are much more efficient but runs hotter, so we need to put a bigger fan in,” Lance said, and Heath looked at him, worried. “The radio is only a one watt, so unless they are close, we don’t have to worry.”

“How about you let us take the patrol area for the next few days?” Heath asked, expecting the boys to jump at it.

“Well, you don’t know how we patrol,” Lance said, grabbing the tongs again and this time, flipping the steaks.

Moving beside Lance and watching, “If we showed you, I guess, but we check the houses and area to see if anything has changed,” Ian said, breathing in the smell of steak.

As Dwain came out and Lance closed the grill, “Guys, we want to make a proposal,” Heath suggested, and Dwain nodded.

“What?” Ian asked, turning around.

“You are going to approach that group to the north. Let us do it,” Heath offered, and saw the boys frown. “Guys, we can’t lose you and I’m not ready for it. Nobody in my group wants to die, but let us take some risks like that. You can talk to them at the meeting like you did with us, but let us set up the meeting. Please. I’m not kidding. If they even looked at you two wrong, we would kill the entire group. Your group can teach us how to live through this.”

“How are you going to do it?” Lance asked.

“Leave them a message like you did for us,” Dwain said.

Lance and Ian looked at each other and nodded. “Okay,” Lance huffed, and Heath sighed with relief.

“Ian showed me the thermal camera you’re making,” Dwain said, and Heath looked over in shock. “Never thought I would see someone build one.”

“Don’t know why. You sound like Jennifer,” Lance scoffed. “If you can buy it, you can make it. Before this, it was just cheaper to buy it. Now, we have to make stuff just to have stuff.”

“Lance, you mind if I show Dwain what you showed me?” Heath asked.

“No, just don’t go where we didn’t,” Lance answered as Ian grabbed the tongs.

“On my word,” Heath vowed, heading for the greenhouse. Like Heath, Dwain was blown away. When they entered the shop, Dwain looked around while Heath explained. “They are something else, aren’t they?”

“I want to know what their parents did to make them like this,” Dwain mumbled.

“Whatever it is, it’s contagious. Hell, you know the trouble we had with Denny in school. He’s twelve years old and until coming here, had to use his fingers to do the multiplication table. Dwain, he’s inside studying on his own!” Heath cried out in pride.

Nodding, Dwain looked at Heath. “I know. Jodi told me all they did yesterday. Heath, she told me about helping build an electrical motor, and explained why there had to be so many loops of wire. I don’t know if she’s right, but damn it, it sounds good,” Dwain told him.

“Yeah, even Robin wants the kids to come back soon,” Heath grinned.

Staring at Heath for a few minutes, Dwain took a deep breath. “I’m asking Lance and Ian if Jodi can stay here with them,” Dwain admitted in a puff of air.

The grin fell off Heath’s face. “Kathy will kill your ass,” Heath warned.

Shaking his head, “She’s the one who told me to ask,” Dwain admitted in disbelief. “She told me the kids aren’t learning with us. Here, they are. Plus, we don’t have to worry about them wandering off.”

A dark look filled Heath’s face. “I swear, if Denny had been older, I would’ve beat his ass with my fist for sneaking off,” Heath growled. “We had just killed three stinkers in the yard and then he leads the others kids off to explore.”

Nodding vehemently, “Now we’ve seen lions, and they have tigers here. Who knows what else is roaming out there with the stinkers and marauders? It will be a long time till our place is as secure as this one is and even then, we can’t teach them like they can,” Dwain exclaimed.

“You think they will?” Heath asked, and Dwain shrugged.

“I don’t know, but Kathy said we would do whatever they asked, if Jodi could stay. They seem to like teaching and didn’t mind the kids being here, so I’m optimistic.”

Heading to the door, “Let me get Robin off to the side and talk to her,” Heath said. “We can ask them together.”

“Heath, we can never teach our kids what they can,” Dwain grunted, then cocked his head to the side. “Well, I guess we could, but we would have to learn it first and then teach it, but by then, they wouldn’t be kids anymore.”

Glancing back to see Dwain following, “I know, Lance was explaining stuff like a military commander crossed with a scientist, and all I could do was nod,” Heath chuckled, seeing Ian flipping the steaks. “Those are going to be the most tended-to steaks we’ve ever eaten.”

When the steaks were done, they carried them in and found the table set and filled with food. The table was big enough for Ian and Lance’s family with extra room, so it fit the group with ease. It made them feel good to see most of the table occupied, since they normally only ate at one end.

With Lance and Lilly sitting at one end and Ian and Jennifer at the other, everyone sat down, and Robin did a double-take to see Lance open a bottle of red wine. Lance saw her look and cocked his head to the side. “It’s Sunday lunch. Don’t you have wine at Sunday lunch or supper?” he asked, and Robin looked at Heath and then back at Lance.

“Um, no,” Robin admitted.

“At least they put the good wine out here,” Allie smiled as Lance poured some in her glass. “I don’t like that dark red stuff, it tastes like paint.”

Robin relaxed, seeing Lance only pouring small amounts in all the wine glasses as he walked around the table. Just the way Lance was pouring it, she could tell he was copying a family tradition he had been taught. “I must say, this group was taught very well,” Robin smiled, looking at Heath.

“I never drank wine till I got here,” Lilly laughed.

“We never had soda in the house, but there was wine at every Sunday dinner,” Jennifer said as Lance sat down. “Bring a soda into our house, you got in trouble.”

The parents were shocked when everyone, including their kids, reached out to hold hands. Holding hands with the person next to them, they bowed their heads as Ian said grace. When grace was done, Lilly turned to the corner, “George, Judy, stop whining,” she snapped, and the German Shepherds laid down, sulking.

“They’re hungry,” Carrie whined.

“And they will eat later,” Lilly sighed, grabbing her glass of tea and hoping a battle wasn’t about to start.

Everyone dug in and enjoyed the atmosphere. When the meal was over, Heath and Dwain asked Lance and Ian to go outside. As they walked out, Lance saw Robin clasping her hands with her eyes closed like she was praying.

Sitting down with Heath and Dwain on the porch, Ian saw they were both nervous. “What’s wrong?” Ian asked.

“Okay, just hear me and Dwain out, but whatever you two decide, we will live with it and no hard feelings,” Heath blurted out and started talking. Several times, they had to tell him to slow down and relax. Then Dwain started. For over an hour, Lance and Ian listened to them beg, plead, reason, and justify about letting their kids stay.

Finally, Ian held up his hands for them to stop. When Ian did that, Heath and Dwain slumped down in their chairs in defeat. “Guys, we were going to ask you if they could stay,” Ian told them, and Dwain and Heath looked up in disbelief.

“Heath, Dwain, I’m sorry, but your kids don’t know shit,” Lance said with sympathy. “In the old world that didn’t matter, but your kids would die without you in minutes. I mean, they didn’t even brush their teeth two times a day.”

“Shit, Jodi looked at the ladybugs like they were crazy when they flossed before bed. Granted, they use the water pick more, but still,” Ian sighed with regret. “They stayed up late, teaching her how to floss.”

“Okay, that’s on me,” Dwain said. “I should’ve taught her better.”

“Dwain, if you don’t take care of the body, it won’t take care of you,” Lance said, and Dwain furrowed his brow, thinking something about that didn’t sound right, but it did sound good.

“So, what do we have to do to repay you?” Heath asked with relief.

“Tell them they have to follow the rules here,” Lance shrugged. “But I will say, when our parents get here and if they have a problem, then that’s the way it will be.”

“I understand,” Heath said, making quick calculations. “That will be almost two months, and I know that will make a huge difference.”

“Hey, they might not say they have to go, but we are just letting you know,” Ian explained.

“Aren’t you going to talk to the others?” Dwain asked.

Shaking his head, “No, we did that last night,” Ian told him. “Sorry, but we agreed they need to learn.”

“We will bring some clothes over for them tomorrow,” Heath said, feeling much better.

“No,” Lance stated flatly. “Lilly and Jennifer are going to show them how to make clothes. Sorry, but the stuff you’re wearing doesn’t hold up well and they will be working here. We know where to get other stuff they need, like boots and good tennis shoes.”

Ian looked over at Lance. “We can let them start on making some dressers tomorrow,” Ian said, and Lance nodded.

“Make?” Dwain mumbled.

“Yeah, make,” Ian said. “Of course, Jodi will get lots of help, but this will teach them you can make what you need. But most importantly, it will show them how to build and think.”

“I don’t want you going out to get stuff for my kids!” Heath cried out. “Tell me what you need for them.”

“That’s the problem,” Lance said. “You have to let them see they can do it. I didn’t say ‘I’ was going. But if you want to help, we need lumber. Real lumber that’s been treated.”

“What kind?” Dwain asked, pulling out a notepad and saw the boys looking at it. “You two always carry one and now, so do we.”

“Nice,” Lance grinned. “1x6s, 2x4s and 2x6s mostly, because they will have to make desks as well.”

“Oh, office chairs,” Ian added quickly. “Try to look for nice ones because they will be using them. We will keep an eye out too.”

“Don’t bother, I know where some are,” Dwain said, writing. “How much lumber are we talking about?”

“A lot,” Ian said. “How much you bring, decides how much they build to make their lives easier.”

Writing on the pad, “Heath, we can get the lumber from the Dunstan place, they were building that new shop addition and the chairs from the office. Both are secluded, so we can get it and go.”

“Where are these places?” Ian asked.

Heath pulled out the map Lance had given him and unfolded it. Moving over beside Lance and Ian, Heath pointed. “Same place, just across a parking lot. This is the new shop and here is the office,” he said.

“Dude, that’s two miles north of you!” Lance cried out. “That means it’s two miles outside our patrol area. We don’t know what’s up there.”

“Like you’ve said, I know it’s there and I don’t have to look around here,” Dwain said, looking up.

“When was the last time you saw it?” Ian asked.

“Rhonda saw it the day before we met you. She has been that far hunting,” Dwain told him.

“Yeah,” Heath chuckled. “She’s a country girl, as you can tell. We lived on the farm, and she grew up there. Dwain and I left the farm as soon as we could. She always went that way because there were fewer stinkers.”

“That could be good or bad,” Lance said.

“Bad how?” Dwain asked quickly.

“Are there a lot of stinkers around here?” Lance asked. “Why? Because we patrol and take out those in the woods where we stay.”

“Didn’t think of that,” Dwain sighed.

“Or it could just mean, the terrain there funnels them out naturally and from the looks of the map, that’s very possible,” Lance explained. “The point is, we’ll go with you. If for nothing else than pulling guard.”

Not liking Lance and Ian going, but knowing they were right, Heath nodded. “Okay, let’s tell the kids,” he said, getting up.

“No, let us,” Lance corrected, standing up. “You will present this as a free gift that’s not earned. We will present it as a commitment they must pledge to follow. Nothing given is respected, and what you earn is.”

Dwain moved to the door, waiting for them to open it. “Fine by me. My little girl was trying to explain how an electrical motor worked and I just nodded.”

Opening the door and walking inside, Lance called the kids to the sectional and looked at them with Ian standing beside him. “Lori, Denny, Jodi,” Lance said, looking at each one. “Your parents have asked us if you could stay.” The three sucked in breaths, clasping their hands hopefully.

“You’ve seen how we work here and it doesn’t stop. Learning is part of the work,” Ian told them and they all nodded. “We do take time off, like watching a movie at night, but if we stop, we will die. I want you to listen and think. Can you do what it takes to stay here if we agree?”

“Yes!” the three cried out, almost vibrating on the couch.

“If at any time, you interfere in our tasks, we will take you home and that’s the end of discussion,” Lance warned. “We will teach you and you don’t have to learn at our pace, but you do have to learn.”

With a huge smile, Denny looked at his sister and Jodi, then turned to Lance. “We will do our best to be our best,” Denny vowed.

“Okay, when our parents get here, if they say this ends, it ends,” Ian said, and saw the three’s excitement drop just a bit. “Will they? I doubt it, but it’s their call to make. Only rarely do we go against the prime directive, and this will not be one of them.”

Lilly jumped at hearing that and turned to look at the ladybugs standing beside her, holding hands and bouncing on their toes. “So, that confirms where the prime directive comes from,” Lilly mumbled to herself. “Nobody ever asked them if they broke the prime directive, so they’ve never lied.”

“You will have to work to set your area up. That means build your own desk, a dresser, and a chest like we did. We will help, but you will do it,” Lance said, and Jodi raised her hand.

“I hit my fingers with the hammer,” Jodi confessed in a small voice with her bottom lip trembling.

“You will use a screw gun, with us helping. We don’t use hammers much,” Lance told her, and Jodi sighed with relief. “Now tonight, Jennifer and Lilly are starting clothes. Our parents or I should say, our mothers, bought bolts of cloth for clothes. You will learn how to make pants like we wear, gloves like we wear, and vests like we wear. We will help, but you will do it.”

“Hold on there, Lance,” Jennifer snapped, stepping up. “We have two sewing machines and yes, you and Ian can sew, but when either of you get mad, you start forcing stuff to bend to your will. Those are nice machines, the best I’ve ever seen, so Lilly and I will help them on the sewing machines.”

“Woman!” Lance snapped, and Jennifer put her hands on her hips, ready to fight. “We have to make our new clothes as well! You see how tight our clothes are now?!”

Not even trying to deny that, Lilly stepped up beside Jennifer. “I’ve been told why you aren’t allowed to use the washer. I’m with Jennifer on this. Tell us what you want, and we’ll do it.”

“I want some pants like Doug has down in the bunker, but all of us could fit inside Doug’s pants,” Lance snapped. “There are other things I want to try and see if they work.”

“Lance, I was a cheerleader, I know how to sew,” Jennifer reminded him, looking at the two sewing machines on small tables by the front door. “Those machines cost serious money. One, I know was over two grand because I wanted a Reliable and my dad laughed at me.”

“What?” Lance cried out, looking over at the sewing machines.

“Can I make an offer?!” Robin asked loudly, and everyone turned to her. “I have several nice sewing machines, Lance. How about I give you two? Then you, Ian, and the kids can practice on them before going to those.”

Lance turned to Ian, “Is that punking out?” Lance asked in a low voice.

“Our mothers spent over two grand on a sewing machine and you are worried about punking out?” Ian hissed back. “We got in serious trouble for breaking the blender at your house, and it only cost a hundred bucks. I’m scared what our moms would do, if we broke a sewing machine that cost that much.”

“Ian?” Robin said, and he turned to look at her. “Your other machine is a Juki; it cost a little more than a Reliable.”

“We’ll take your offer!” Ian cried out in shock and Lance hissed at him. “Dude, we break those machines and our moms will skin us alive! Fuck punking out!” Ian snapped.

Snarling at Ian, Lance turned to Jennifer. “We’re putting another washing machine in,” he growled.

“Fine. Same rule applies,” Jennifer said, crossing her arms.

“What if we don’t put in a heavy load?” Ian asked.

“Ian, I’ve talked to your sister. She’s seen you stomp clothes into the washer to close the lid. Jason was wrong, that’s not a ‘full load’,” Jennifer told him calmly, and Ian turned to Allie who just smiled.

“What if we wash like you teach us?” Ian offered.

“No,” Jennifer said flatly. “You two get excited and move too fast. Washing takes time, and you two don’t like devoting time to it. I don’t mind because I’m not washing more shit by hand than I have to. I do let you two wash your vests by hand.”

Putting her arm over Jennifer’s shoulder, Lilly grinned. “Keep on, and we can change that.”

Lance’s face twitched as he fought not to unload. “They have to learn,” he rumbled.

“We will teach them to wash and to never do what you do to a washing machine,” Lilly smiled.

Raising her hand, “I’m taking their side,” Robin said, and Heath reached over, covering her mouth. Robin snatched his hand away, “You put your damn work boots in my brand-new washing machine!” she bellowed, making the dogs run down to the basement.

“Wow, that’s a good idea,” Lance mumbled to himself, then looked over at Heath and asked, “Did it get them clean?

“He broke my brand-new washing machine!” Robin screamed, glaring at Heath.

“Um, I don’t know, Lance. Robin kind of burned my boots in the front yard,” Heath mumbled, looking at Lance and feeling Robin glaring at the side of his face.

“Lance, I see boots anywhere near that machine, you will wake up with them shoved up your ass!” Jennifer snapped.

“I’ll hold your ass down for that one,” Lilly added, and Ian grabbed Lance when he moved to walk over to them.

Shoving Lance behind him, Ian nodded. “Okay, we will forgo the washer, but I want to leave open the possibility that we can use it in the future,” Ian said, holding Lance behind him.

Seeing Lance trying to get out from behind Ian, Lilly glanced at Jennifer and they both nodded. Lilly turned back, “We agree to that,” Lilly said, and Lance quit fighting and stuck his head out from behind Ian. “When the parents get here, we will let your mothers show you.”

“Deal,” Lance said, and Ian sighed, letting Lance go. “My mom will let me take care of myself.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, “Ms. Sandy worships the ground you walk on, but tell you what, I’ll bet you ten shifts at the control desk watching monitors, she takes my side,” Jennifer snarled.

Suddenly not so sure, Lance looked at Ian, who shook his head very minutely at Lance. “Um, I’m not taking that bet because Mom’s a girl, and might side against a ‘man card’ holder,” Lance said slowly.

“Smart,” Ian grinned.

“Ian, when we get a chance, let’s build a washer that will do what we want, like wash boots,” Lance said with excitement.

Before Ian could answer, “Lance, Ian,” Lilly said. “We have other shit to do. So any washing machine you build becomes our possession.”

Lance’s mouth fell open as Ian nodded. “Point taken. We concede this battle in your favor,” Ian declared.

“Get your notepad out and take notes,” Robin whispered to Heath, who still wasn’t looking at her.

Giving up, Lance turned to the three on the couch. “So, you’ve heard the rules, and everyone follows them. If we agree, do each of you pledge to follow them?” Lance asked, and the three jumped up, shouting ‘yes’.

Lance looked from Ian, then to Jennifer, Lilly, and the ladybugs. “I move to allow, Denny, Lori, and Jodi here on temporary basis,” Lance said, and the others said ‘aye’. Looking back at the three now standing, “It’s up to you to show us we were right.”

After escorting the parents past the diversion fence, the three new charges started on becoming the best that they could be.

Chapter 18

North of Hollywood, Missouri

Kicking her horse, Sandy moved closer to Johnathan who was leading. “Johnathan, we need to find a place to bed down,” she said softly behind him. “We only have a few hours until daylight.”

“I know, Sandy, but we aren’t stopping till we cross that bridge,” Johnathan told her.

Looking around the vast flat farm land, Sandy didn’t want to stay there either, but didn’t want to move during the day. “Johnathan, the I 155 bridge is over thirty-four miles to the northeast. Even if we ride hard, we won’t make it before sunup,” Sandy said, looking at a farmhouse to the east as they rode across the fields.

“Sandy, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out where we are going,” Johnathan said, looking around. Around them, he could see the shadows of stinkers in the distance, stumbling through fields. What he didn’t like was that all seemed to be moving toward them. The closest was well over three hundred yards away, but didn’t seem to have any problems seeing them.

“So, they can wait for us at night, just as well in the day,” Sandy said as Mary moved closer.

“Sandy, there are people around us, I know it. What I’m hoping for, is to make it across before they set up. If we are really lucky, they will think we are traveling to someone local,” Johnathan told her, glancing down at Dan who was looking around tensely.

“Then let’s ride fast,” Sandy told him, gripping her AR tight.

“Sweetheart, what would you think, seeing three people on horses, leading five pack horses at a fast gallop?” Johnathan asked.

“They want to get away from stinkers,” Sandy answered honestly.

“What about, they just wiped out a local family and took their supplies,” Johnathan offered, looking around more rapidly.

“We didn’t,” Sandy said.

“Sandy, there is no court. All it takes is suspicion for someone to shoot. If I couldn’t see for miles at a time, I would be willing to hide until nightfall, but I’m still worried that someone has seen us and radioed ahead.”

“Okay, then speed up to a trot,” Sandy offered.

“Sandy, we might need the horses, so let’s save what they have,” Johnathan said as they crossed a road, moving into another overgrown field of cotton.

“Johnathan,” Mary called out. “How about we turn toward the bridge now, instead of crossing I 55 and then turning north?”

“That will only confirm where we are heading. I want anyone watching to guess,” Johnathan answered.

Mary looked at Sandy who just shrugged. “If we head for the bridge now, it doesn’t really matter then, if you think they will figure it out,” Mary said.

Johnathan turned in his saddle to look at them, and both realized he had never done that, he’d always stopped. “Guys, we have been seen by that one house I told you about back there. That wasn’t a stinker running across the yard into the house, that was a person. We could be going to family around here, but if we head straight for the bridge, then they will know.”

Mary looked at Sandy, who nodded at Johnathan. “Okay, honey, we understand,” Sandy finally said.

“Guys, I don’t like it here either, but this was always the most dangerous area for people,” Johnathan sighed, turning back in his saddle. “There just aren’t a lot of places to cross the Mississippi River.”

“With all this,” Mary said, waving her hand around at the shadows in the distance. “And humans are still our greatest threat.”

“Both of you remember our route to the bridge, right?” Johnathan asked over his shoulder.

“Yes honey,” Sandy shivered, feeling her skin crawling. “Let me lead.”

“No,” Johnathan snapped, making both jump and then he turned back. “Guys, stay spread out. Only ride close for short periods and move your horse from alternating sides behind me.”

Hearing the tension in Johnathan’s voice, Mary pulled back her horse, as did Sandy. With his pack horse and Bill’s horse, Sandy was over ten yards away from Johnathan. Glancing back, she saw Mary wasn’t that far away, since Sandy only had one pack horse and Mary had Bill’s with hers.

Sandy sighed, remembering when they had left the Boy Scout camp and moved half the night. Out of nowhere, they’d heard lots of gunfire to the east and had taken their southern alternate route, swinging into Arkansas. They had pushed hard to make the St. Francis River to camp  on the Arkansas/Missouri border, but there had been large groups of stinkers moving around. They had been down to forty arrows they didn’t have to pick up, and they’d used several hundred rounds of .22 until they had finally broken through, finding a small island on a river.

Leaving well after sundown, they didn’t make the St. Francis River until just after midnight, passing the town of Paragould, Arkansas burning to their southwest. With the sounds of gunfire coming from Paragould and the surrounding area, they didn’t stop in the wooded area of the St. Francis River. They entered the small boot heel of Missouri, and Johnathan wouldn’t slow or stop.

A gunshot rang out, making Sandy jump and look to the north for the sound. Another gunshot sounded, and Sandy turned more to the northeast, tracing the noise. “Fuck,” she breathed, because that was the way they had asked Johnathan to turn a while back.

“That was only a mile away,” Mary said behind her.

“Yeah,” Sandy whispered back, looking ahead and seeing Johnathan heading for a stand of trees. “I fucking love trees and will plant as many as I can, as long as I live,” Sandy vowed.

When they entered the trees, Sandy felt her horse relax under her. Climbing off her horse, Sandy led the horse over to a creek, letting him drink. “Let the horses graze and drink and then we roll. Next stop will be across the Mississippi River,” Johnathan told them, looking around the trees.

“What about that gunshot?” Sandy asked as Mary came over.

“That’s why we are taking a break,” Johnathan said. “We aren’t the only ones moving at night.”

“How do you know?” Sandy asked, looking around and holding her AR just a little tighter.

“Sandy, anyone alive now will only use a gun against a bad threat. Like a person. I’m sure by now, most deal with stinkers quietly. Especially from their homes,” Johnathan answered.

“Then we need to move,” Mary said with wide eyes.

“Guys, if we run out across the land, after someone shot at someone, we are presenting targets. That gunshot was a mile away and we will ride east, putting distance between us and them. You guys need to think how other people will reason. They will shoot first and talk later. I’m sure what happened in Paragould is all over the CBs around here,” Johnathan sighed, feeling tired.

“You’re that sure they were attacked?” Sandy asked, and Johnathan looked at her. “I know it felt wrong, but I’m asking your brain, not our perception.”

“Sandy, you heard how the gunfire was coming from around the south of town, but also from the town. That was people shooting at each other. If it was against stinkers, the gunfire would’ve been centered in one spot.”

“You were only in the Army for three years; how did you learn this much?” Sandy asked.

“Doug,” Johnathan said, taking a cup of coffee Mary passed to him. “I would give a lot to turn back the clock, just to have Doug start Lance and Ian’s training last year, instead of this one.”

“I would change a lot more than that,” Sandy admitted, taking a cup. “Like Mary and I training with the boys, instead of this learning on the fly.”

Grinning, Johnathan turned to look at Sandy. “Yes, I would give a lot for that as well.”

“What about when we cross the river?” Mary asked, sipping her coffee.

“They can try and follow but unlike now, they don’t know which way we are heading. Head north off the interstate as soon as we cross, and we will reach trees and stay in them until we cross I 69,” Johnathan said, and Sandy spit out some of her coffee as she chuckled.

“Sweetheart, I promise you wouldn’t like it right now. I would have to take a weed eater to my hair,” Sandy giggled softly, then Mary joined her.

Thinking hard, Johnathan replayed what he’d said that could be funny and then grinned. “I 69, cute. Didn’t see that one,” Johnathan chuckled.

Feeling much better after the few seconds of laughter, “So, what’s your next most worrisome area?” Mary asked, taking another sip.

“Kentucky Lake, but we can go around it, so I have to say, I’m more worried about getting close to the cabin,” Johnathan admitted. Seeing the shock on both mothers’ faces, Johnathan shook his head. “Ladies, we all know what they are capable of. I told Lance firmly, don’t do shit to the road from the field below the cabin, but if they’ve had problems like people, they will. That’s why from Dewitt on, we stay on the fucking road. Even around Dewitt, we’ll need to watch for booby traps.”

“They should stay near the cabin,” Sandy said hopefully.

Giving a long sigh, Johnathan looked at her with sorrow. “Sweetheart, if bad guys are close, you don’t let them set up camp. How many HOA officers found that out?”

Wanting to smile but couldn’t, Sandy looked off. “You think they are okay?” she asked, and Mary held her breath.

“I’m going to be honest,” Johnathan said, and then grinned. “I know they are, because they will be themselves if they feel threatened. My only concern is they will become very lethal, and I don’t want them to feel guilt later.”

Thinking of all the things they suspected the boys had done, Sandy and Mary both nodded. “They are good,” Sandy nodded, turning to Mary.

“Yes, they are,” Mary grinned.

“I’m surprised they didn’t seriously hurt anyone with the crap they’ve done,” Johnathan chuckled and then stopped. “I don’t think they will show restraint now, and that’s why I’m worried about approaching the cabin.”

“They would leave a way for us to get in,” Mary said.

“Mary, they would expect us to see what they set up,” Johnathan sighed, and dread filled Mary’s face.

Giving a long sigh, “Where do you expect them to start booby traps?” Mary asked.

“In the three-mile patrol area,” Johnathan said. “I know Dewitt is out of that, but it’s the most viable access to the valley that eventually feeds to the cabin. The boys are smart and I’m certain that’s where they would start. You realize even after we reach the cabin, it will be weeks before we leave outside the fence without them.”

Both moms looked at him, confused. “Guys,” Johnathan said, shaking his head. “They’ve had months to put traps around the cabin. Have no doubt, walking outside the fence without them would be a death sentence.”

Sandy nodded, “We stay on the road from Dewitt and will only approach the field below the cabin in daylight.”

“If it’s dark, I say we stop on the hill overlooking Dewitt, and ride the five miles on the road to the cabin in daylight,” Johnathan said, draining his cup.

“I like that idea,” Mary agreed. “I would hate to get hurt by one of their contraptions when we’ve reached our goal.”

“I think most of their contraptions will kill, not maim,” Johnathan clarified, washing his cup out in the creek.

Sandy and Mary looked at each other. “We wait,” they said together.

“You two ready?” Johnathan asked, and they nodded. “If we get split up, head to the bridge at all costs. Remember, there are irrigation ditches all around here. Keep where we are in your mind, and if I say haul ass, haul ass.”

“Split up?” Sandy gasped.

“Sandy, it can happen if we run into trouble,” Johnathan said as Dan and Ann growled. Johnathan turned to see two stinkers stumbling into the woods. “Leave ‘em, and let’s go,” he instructed, moving and climbing on his horse.

Making sure Mary and Sandy were on their horses, Johnathan led them across the creek and out of the trees before the stinkers got close. Again, the uneasiness filled him as he led them east. Looking at the vastness of the delta around him, Johnathan looked at the overgrown fields. They hadn’t passed but a few houses and he had wanted to slip by unnoticed, but when you could see and be seen from miles, that was hard. Glancing up at the clear starlit sky, Johnathan almost wished a thunderstorm would roll in.

When Johnathan headed north, Sandy almost sighed with relief, but then realized they hadn’t crossed I 55 yet. Surveying ahead, she could see lines of big irrigation ditches running straight across the land. “Yeah, those were made. A river can’t run straight, just like a deer can’t,” Sandy mumbled.

Hearing the clack of horse hooves, Sandy jerked her head forward and saw Johnathan on a blacktop road, going over the row of irrigation ditches. “I thought this was a dirt road,” Sandy said, guiding her horse to the side of the road.

“So did I,” Mary whispered behind her.

Seeing Johnathan pulling his bow back, Sandy started to worry they hadn’t studied the map as well as they thought they had. Looking ahead when Johnathan released an arrow, Sandy watched a stinker drop, but it had friends. Pulling her bow out, Sandy moved up beside Johnathan, pulling back her bow.

They both released together, dropping the stinkers. “A double,” Johnathan noted, pulling another arrow.

“If we hadn’t done that, like, a thousand times, I would be impressed,” Sandy claimed, releasing another arrow.

Halfway across and sixteen stinkers later, “Want to use the guns?” Sandy asked, releasing another arrow.

“No, they are spaced out enough and because my wife is a genius, we don’t have to get the arrows,” Johnathan answered, releasing an arrow.

“Johnathan, we thought this road was dirt,” Sandy admitted shamefully.

“No, it’s marked correctly on the map. You’re thinking about the crossing we take after this one,” Johnathan explained, taking another stinker. When they cleared the ditches that were bigger than many rivers they had crossed, Johnathan led them out into a field on the north side of the road.

“That road heads east,” Sandy said, following him.

“Yeah, and it’s full of stinkers,” Johnathan replied, pulling away from her.

Glancing at her watch, Sandy groaned to see it was just after four. She looked to the eastern horizon. “Will you come up just a little later today?” she begged the sun.

The bark of gunfire to the east made Sandy jerk up her rifle and then she realized it was far off. Lowering her rifle, she saw Johnathan wave them up. Kicking their horses, they pulled up behind him.

“That was near Steele. We are making our turn for the bridge now, so keep your eyes peeled,” Johnathan told them. “Put your bows away. Any stinkers get close, use your .22 pistol, but keep your AR ready.”

Both nodded as more gunfire sounded from Steele and Johnathan headed northeast toward the bridge. Scanning around, Sandy could see shadowy forms of stinkers, but they were far off and seemed to be heading for the gunfire. “Yes, be good and see what they are doing,” Sandy praised, glancing at the horizon.

Crossing through another irrigation ditch, Sandy was tired of the things as much as the horses were. Both dogs were covered in mud as Sandy looked to the east and felt panic, seeing the sky getting brighter. Not even bothering to look at her watch, Sandy scanned around as the ‘darkest before dawn’ took effect, and they slowly lost the star and moonlight.

It was very easy to spot drainage ditches because there were ribbons of trees that ran along them. Trying to remain calm, Sandy breathed in her nose and out her mouth slowly and the gunfire from Steele suddenly stopped.

Turning to the southeast toward Steele, Sandy could still see forms moving away from them. Looking to the east, Sandy smiled at seeing the interstate in the distance. Then the smile fell off, realizing stinkers would be on it and they would be crossing it then.

“We are going to have to move fast from I 55 to I 155,” Sandy mumbled to herself, surveying the area and making sure it matched her memory of the map, going over the lay of the land.

As the pink light started filling the horizon, Sandy turned her cap around with the bill facing forward and saw Johnathan do the same. Seeing trees ahead as dawn broke over the land, a part of Sandy groaned and hoped this ditch wasn’t as deep as the last one.

Watching Johnathan enter the trees and his horses didn’t start down an embankment, Sandy smiled that more mud wasn’t called for yet. Losing sight of Johnathan for a second when the tree branches flipped back after the pack horses passed, Sandy guided her horse and moved her face back, so the branches wouldn’t hit her.

‘Boom!’ sounded right in front of her and she heard the rapid cough of Johnathan’s AR. Kicking her horse to go, she saw Johnathan coming back through the trees. “Get back!” he yelled.

Pulling her reins back and putting her horse in reverse, Sandy heard things whizzing past her and far-off soft cracks, watching the limbs falling off around her. Backing out of the trees and hearing faint far-off ‘pops’ past the trees intensify, Sandy saw Johnathan shooting through the trees. Raising her rifle, Sandy shot through the trees like Johnathan was.

Changing her magazine, Sandy heard a crash and turned to see Johnathan on the ground. “Johnathan!” she cried out, jumping off her horse.

Johnathan pulled up to his knees, taking off the tool belt. “Shoot, Sandy!” he gasped, dropping his tool belt and taking off his shirt.

Sandy turned and heard things hitting the trees, but couldn’t see past the leaves. “What is that?” she asked.

“Sandy, they are shooting at us with suppressors,” Johnathan coughed, and she heard a gurgle in his voice. When she saw a bullet hit a tree, Sandy could tell what direction it was coming from and aimed, squeezing the trigger as fast as she could.

Changing her second magazine, Mary saw Sandy shooting more to the east. Adjusting her aim, Mary started spraying bullets.

The angry whizzing died down to nothing as Sandy changed magazines and turned around. “No!” she yelled, dropping down as Johnathan spread a plastic bag over the side of his chest. Seeing Johnathan reaching for a roll of duct tape, Sandy grabbed it, tearing off a piece.

She looked at the huge hole beside Johnathan’s nipple as frothy blood settled under the plastic. “We have to get you somewhere we can defend,” Sandy barked, grabbing him under the shoulders.

“Sandy!” Johnathan snapped, and coughed up blood. He handed her his tool belt, taking two magazines for the AR and his pistol out. “Go, I’ll hold them as long as I can.”

“No!” Sandy cried.

“Sandy, I’m dead. Even if I was on an operating table, I’m dead. They know where you’re going to go,” Johnathan explained, pulling his body toward the trees.

Picking up the tool belt and Johnathan’s messenger bag, Sandy looked down and pulled the hand grenade out of the tool belt. She walked over, handing it to Johnathan. “Here,” she said, and when Johnathan turned to look at her, his face was pasty white.

“You need it,” Johnathan wheezed.

“Take it, or I stay with you,” Sandy told him with tears running down her face.

Reaching out, Johnathan took the grenade. “Go,” he mouthed.

Running back, she saw Mary climbing back on her horse with Johnathan’s backpack.

Grabbing the reins of Johnathan’s horse, Sandy climbed on hers while giving Johnathan a last look. She saw Johnathan taking his suppressor off his AR. “I love you,” Sandy said, kicking her horse as bullets started striking trees again.

With Mary behind her, Sandy kicked her horse into a gallop, churning up the dirt. Behind her, she heard the roar of Johnathan’s now unsuppressed AR. Feeling Johnathan’s horse tugging against the reins she was holding, Sandy wrapped them around her saddle horn and the horse sped up.

Keeping the trees to their side, Sandy saw a road ahead and glanced back, seeing they were over a half a mile from where Johnathan was when his rifle roared again. Seeing Mary wearing Johnathan’s pack and her small pack on her chest, Sandy turned around and steered her horse onto the dirt road. Glancing to the field the ambushers were on, Sandy snarled because trees lined the road, blocking them from view.

Looking ahead, she saw the interstate a mile away and now could see it was full of stinkers, but the stinkers were moving off the interstate. She could see them knocking down the fences that lined the interstate as Johnathan’s rifle roared in rapid bursts behind them and falling further back.

When the road turned north, Sandy charged off it and into a field. Stinkers in front of her were heading to Johnathan’s timed shots. “He’s pulling stinkers, so they can’t chase us,” Sandy said tearfully.

***

Pulling his body up to a tree, Johnathan looked out over the field and saw three men a hundred yards away, pointing where they’d shot him. Struggling, Johnathan turned and caught sight of Sandy and Mary turning on the road past the field and lost sight of them. “Go, baby,” Johnathan mouthed and lifted his AR up.

Holding steady on the man in the center cradling a hunting rifle, Johnathan knew that was his killer. Squeezing the trigger, Johnathan saw the man flinch and continued firing rapidly into the other two. Seeing both drop with their buddy, Johnathan ejected the magazine after feeling the bolt lock back and slapped in a new one.

Seeing a man run from a stand of bushes to the three, Johnathan aimed at him as another man stepped out. Squeezing the trigger, Johnathan saw the man grab his leg before dropping to the ground, and the other man darted back into the bushes.

Hearing bullets striking around him, Johnathan struggled to hold his eyes open and saw stinkers moving off the interstate and toward the gunfire. “My ideas work, most of the time,” he wheezed, then aimed at the bushes and squeezed slow, steady shots, raking the bushes until his bolt locked back.

Ejecting the magazine, Johnathan struggled to breathe as his own blood filled his lungs, slowly drowning him. Putting in his last magazine, Johnathan aimed at the bush and fired rapidly into it, then back at the four wounded. When his bolt locked back, Johnathan dropped the AR, struggling for a last breath.

He coughed up mouthfuls of blood, but got his breath. Pulling the pin on the grenade, Johnathan laid down, ‘I won’t be a stinker’ he vowed, pulling his pistol beside his head as his vision started to turn dark. He was a surgeon, Johnathan knew where to aim and a muffled gunshot sounded over the field.

Ten minutes later, a man stepped out from the trees aiming at Johnathan’s body. “I got ‘em!” the man yelled and shot Johnathan in the side of the chest twice. Two others moved toward the suppressed shots and stepped out of the trees.

“I told you the others had run off,” one said.

“Dave, shut up, we got one,” the first one out said.

“We aren’t even sure this is the same group that hit Jason,” the third man said.

“Preacher, it don’t matter. Pat, Richard, and Geoff are dead, and Wayne is going to lose that leg,” Dave said as they moved up to Johnathan.

“Pat shot him first,” Preacher pointed out as the first man moved over beside Johnathan.

“He’s got an AR and look, he has a suppressor he took off,” the first man cheered, and the others moved over. “I told you they had gear.”

The others watched as the first man rolled Johnathan to get the AR from under his body. They heard a ‘kang’ and looked, but the grenade under Johnathan’s body had rolled into the thick grass at the man’s feet.

“Wh-,” Preacher started to say when the grenade detonated. Already over the interstate, Sandy and Mary didn’t hear Johnathan’s last gift.

Chapter 19

Getting closer to the interstate, Sandy cursed seeing the cable dividers between the north and southbound lanes. Glancing to the north, she saw an overpass half a mile away and turned her horse. Glancing back, Sandy saw Mary right behind her and nobody following.

Turning around, she eased her horse back to a trot, patting his neck. “Might need what you have left for later,” she whimpered and then shook her head. “No!” she snapped, hearing the rapid gunfire from Johnathan in the distance.

“You will make it. Johnathan did what he had to, and you will accept it,” Sandy growled at herself and fought not to give in.

“I don’t see anyone behind us,” Mary sniffled, moving up beside her and putting up her binoculars. “Want me to lead?”

“No, we are getting across that river, even if we have to kill every fucker around here and use their bodies as a raft,” Sandy snarled. Then she saw Mary was only wearing Johnathan’s backpack. “You lose your pack?”

“No, I tied it on my pack horse,” Mary said. “I had to get his pack, I’m sorry. Johnathan has a lot of ammo in it.”

“Don’t be sorry, that was thinking,” Sandy replied as they started up the overpass. Looking to the north and then the east, Sandy thought she could see the Mississippi River Bridge over the trees, but she wasn’t sure. One thing she did know, the bridge was only seven miles away.

“Mary, if we cut through the fields, it’s going to take us over two hours to reach the bridge. That dirt road to the north runs right into I 155. I say, let’s get on it and cross that damn river in an hour,” Sandy offered. “Your call.”

“That run took a lot out of the horses,” Mary reminded Sandy, and Mary scanned all the stinkers around them. But then, noticed the stinkers were moving off the interstate toward Johnathan’s gunshots, or where they’d heard them last.

Coming down the overpass, “I say, let’s try that road and if it’s full of stinkers, we’ll go cross-country,” Mary suggested, and Sandy nodded. “They know we are here, so we see a person, we fucking shoot. I don’t give a shit who they are.”

“You got that shit right,” Sandy growled, cutting across the field northeast to the dirt road. Turning to Mary, Sandy saw her reloading AR magazines while she kept watch around them. Reaching down into her saddle bag, Sandy pulled out a box of 5.56. Holding the reins in her teeth, Sandy opened the box and pulled an empty magazine from the feed bag each used as a dump bag. As she pushed the bullets in, Sandy was very proud of herself that she had used the dump bag without thinking. In truth, she was flooding her mind with tasks to remain sane.

Reaching the dirt road they headed east, and Sandy filled her last magazine. She glanced down and saw Dan struggling to keep up with the trot. He was covered in various stages of drying mud and panting hard. Glancing around, Sandy didn’t see anything close and pulled her horse to a stop.

“What?” Mary asked when Sandy jumped off her horse.

“Ann,” Sandy snapped, and Ann moved over while panting hard. Reaching down, Sandy grunted with picking Ann up and giving her to Mary.

“Good idea,” Mary nodded, and she held Ann across her saddle.

Grabbing Dan, Sandy held him with his head over her shoulder and climbed up on the horse, feeling lightheaded once she hit the saddle. Moving Dan to lay across her saddle, “Dan, stay,” Sandy commanded, kicking the horse back into a trot.

Moving along the road, they passed a house that was under siege from stinkers. Sandy fought the urge to run over and rip the door off for the stinkers. As far as she was concerned, everyone here was guilty by proximity in Johnathan’s death. Spotting a small bridge ahead on the dirt road, Sandy slowed while patting Dan. “We need to water the horses,” Sandy said, putting on her sunglasses. “We may have to run them all three miles across the bridge.”

Leading the horses off the road and to the small ditch, they let them drink. “Sandy, we may have to head farther into Tennessee before we get off the interstate. I think we need to save the horses for a dead run when we have no choice.”

“How was your horse doing at a trot?” Sandy asked, pouring water from a bottle into her hand for Dan.

Seeing Sandy watering Dan, Mary gave Ann some water. “They were doing good at a trot, but galloping through that field, I almost lost a pack horse.”

Patting the dried mud on Dan’s back, “Mary, I say let’s just trot across that bridge,” Sandy finally answered. “If we have to, use the .22s to clear a path, but I don’t want to unless we have to. We don’t want to help those following us by clearing them a path.”

“You think they will?” Mary asked.

Pointing ahead toward the Mississippi River, “They will until we cross that. Like Johnathan said, they know where we are going. Let’s get it the fuck out of the way,” Sandy replied in a breaking voice.

“What about the dogs?” Mary asked. “Ann is so tired.”

“We keep them with us as long as we can, then move through and hope they keep up until we’re clear and can carry them again,” Sandy answered, buckling Johnathan’s tool belt around her waist.

Leading her horses back to the road, Sandy headed east. Holding her AR over Ann’s back, Mary put her sunglasses back on after wiping her eyes and followed Sandy along the road. Seeing a stinker ahead, Sandy reached under her left arm and felt both hers and Johnathan’s .22 pistols.

Pulling hers out, Sandy pushed her horse into a trot. When the stinker was ten yards away Sandy lifted the pistol, squeezing the trigger as a muffled ‘pop’ sounded and the stinker dropped. “You hear that?” Mary asked behind her.

“Of course, I heard it, I pulled the trigger,” Sandy huffed over her shoulder, and Mary pulled up beside her.

“No, listen,” Mary whispered, pointing to the northwest. It was hard to hear over the thump of the horse hooves on the dirt road, but slowly, Sandy heard the sound of engines.

“I can’t tell what they are doing, can you?” Sandy asked, holstering her pistol.

“It sounded like they were moving away from us,” Mary answered. “I swear, when I first heard them, it sounded like the engines were coming from Caruthersville. Then they faded away. I think they were driving along the interstate, going away from us.”

“Maybe we can get one lucky break; we’re due one,” Sandy mumbled, patting Dan.

“Sandy, those were ATV engines. They can move fast to search for us,” Mary said, looking at a house off the road. Seeing the windows and door busted in, she paid it no mind.

Seeing a stinker stumble onto the road, Mary reached for her pistol. “No,” Sandy told her. “We will pass it before it gets up. I don’t want to kill many in this area, so maybe every cocksucker around here dies a cold hard death.”

“Got my vote,” Mary nodded. “I say we come back and kill every fucker west of the Mississippi.”

Standing in her stirrups, so she wouldn’t bounce in the saddle, “We get the kids raised and we are taking a road trip,” Sandy grinned malevolently.

“Real-life ‘Thelma and Louise’,” Mary agreed with the same grin.

Seeing I 155 ahead, “Turn here, and we’ll get on at this ramp,” Sandy said.

“It’s still a while to the bridge, like two miles,” Mary noted with uncertainty.

Looking over as they turned, “You want to stop and cut fences?” Sandy asked.

Mary looked ahead at the interstate, “That’s not so bad,” Mary answered, seeing the stinkers pretty spread out. “I like this route.”

Riding up to the interstate, they scanned for threats. Guiding the horses along the shoulder at a trot and almost side by side, Mary looked over at Sandy. “Keep them in the grass as long as possible. I’m sure, with the mud and water we’ve been through, the hooves are soft,” Mary told her.

“I will,” Sandy said, looking at the stinkers they passed, reach out and stumble after them. The few on the other side were moving to the median and Sandy watched a few hit the damn wire divider and flip over it. “You can fucking block horses, but not stinkers. My government at work.”

“Sandy, look at the trees beside us,” Mary gasped in a quivering voice.

Turing to look, Sandy felt her body shiver. Stinkers were packed under the trees, just standing until they passed and then stumbling toward the road. Glancing back, she saw the once-sparse interstate ditch behind them was now packed as stinkers poured from the shade of the trees. “Never seen that many take a sun break. We know they don’t like sunlight, but my word!” Sandy gasped, turning around and stopped, looking through a break in the trees to the south.

“Mary, look to the south,” Sandy said, but couldn’t point while holding the reins, Dan, and her AR.

Looking to her right, Mary grinned, seeing a line of ATVs speeding along the dirt road they had been on, and heading west where they would’ve been. “You da man, Sandy!” Mary sang out as trees once again blocked her view. Seeing a weigh station on the opposite side of the interstate, Mary was shocked at all the big rigs parked there. “I wish we could just get in one of those and be home by tomorrow,” Mary mumbled.

Stinkers stumbled out from the trees beside the interstate, crawling up the embankment, but the women were long past before the stinkers reached the interstate. “Only a little further,” Sandy said, seeing the bridge a quarter mile ahead and she led them in a fast trot. Letting Dan go for a second, she patted the horse on the neck. “You’re doing good, boy. Just a little further and you can rest.”

When they passed the last clump of trees on their right, Sandy turned and saw ATVs racing around in the distance, then looked further south. Curling her lip, Sandy saw the line of ATVs they’d spotted heading west were speeding back. Turning ahead, she saw where a county road ran under the interstate, right before the bridge.

Realizing the ATVs were heading for that, Sandy looked ahead for a place to make a stand as they crossed over the road. “Holy shit!” Sandy gasped, seeing thick trees really close to the interstate. “They are supposed to cut them back!” Sandy shouted and could already see stinkers under the trees.

Looking away as the ATVs turned onto the road cutting under the interstate, Mary felt flushed when seeing the trees packed with stinkers moving toward the roadway. “I fucking hate the west,” Mary grumbled, watching more stinkers stumble to the road.

Afraid to look back while she weaved around a stinker that was in the road, Sandy could see the stinkers to their front moving toward the road before they would get there. “Don’t shoot unless you have to. They are starting for the road already to our front, but we are staying just ahead of them,” Sandy called out.

Before Mary could answer, gunfire erupted behind them and both glanced back and gasped, seeing the road was literally packed with stinkers. “They are trying to follow us,” Mary said, turning back around and seeing the river ahead.

Sandy just nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek with the back of her hand that was holding Dan and they reached the start of the bridge, moving onto the roadway.  Feeling one of her pack horses stumble, “Slow down,” Sandy said, pulling back on her reins. The sound of gunfire was increasing in intensity behind them and Sandy glanced back again. There were so many stinkers on the road behind them, she couldn’t even see the road, but she grinned to see all the stinkers turn and move toward the gunfire.

“Only a few stalled cars on the bridge!” Mary called out, and Sandy looked ahead.

“No shade if they want to stop,” Sandy said as the gunfire continued. “That son of a bitch,” Sandy said with a crying chuckle.

“You figured it out, huh?”

“That’s why he was so insistent on crossing in the day!” Sandy cried out, fighting not to cry.

“When I saw the first group under the trees, it fell into place,” Mary admitted, grabbing a bottle of water.

Wiping her muddy glove across her face, Sandy smeared mud across her cheeks. “I wish he would’ve said something,” Sandy said in a breaking voice.

“To be honest, knowing Johnathan, he just really suspected the bridge would be packed at night,” Mary answered, taking a drink and passing the bottle over.

“I know. He never shared his hunches,” Sandy admitted, taking the bottle as Mary looked down at the Mississippi River.

Seeing treetops well away from the banks, Mary realized how high the water was. Looking ahead, she saw the river lined the interstate for well over a mile into Tennessee. “Shit, we are going to have to stay on this for a little longer.”

Letting Dan go, Sandy dug out her binoculars. “No trees near the road, so I don’t care, and there can’t be more than a dozen on the roadway,” Sandy replied, putting the binoculars away. Behind them, the gunfire was very distant, but started falling off rapidly. “Hope they died in the most painful way possible.”

“Never heard of stinkers taking prisoners, so I’m sure they will,” Mary said as the two led their caravan into Tennessee, wandering down the interstate on tired horses and holding their muddy dogs while the sun beat down on this forsaken world.

THE END

Click on the Links Below to Check Out Other Works by

Thomas A Watson

Thank You for Reading, Please Remember to Leave a Review

Other Books in this Series

Forsaken World: Innocence Lost

Forsaken World: Coming of Age

Forsaken World: Rite of Passage

Like Thomas A Watson Facebook Page

Join Us on A-Poc Press Page

Follow me on Twitter

Check out My Website