The Security
My best friend was the macho survivalist and between us we had all the popular “survival” stuff. Running our generators to maintain our house’s air conditioning and refrigerators soon used up our gasoline reserve faster than what we’d previously figured. A week at the most before the authorities would have the power back on was our thinking.
When we figured out how to siphon gas out of our cars is when we decided running one generator just long enough to keep the frozen food from spoiling was the new plan. One generator at my friend’s house with an extension cord snaking back over to my house.
Then taking gas from what we assumed where abandoned vehicles. Finding neighbor’s extension cords plugged into the generator! Verbal fights with the neighbors until a ‘bring gas' agreements were reached.
It was after there wasn’t any more gasoline to scavenge that we decided it was best for our families to head for the country. What was before a really nice and friendly subdivision had turned really nasty. Just at dark I put the last of the gas into the generator and fired it up. The electric power would pacify the neighbors and the sound would cover our retreat to the county.
That’s when I learned a group of families walking down the middle of a paved road wasn’t such a good idea. We were ambush. That was a year ago and a lesson I learned the hard way. That’s why today I was walking parallel to the road just inside the tree line. I could follow the road without exposing himself.
You think you know somebody. You work with them, get drunk together, take turns hosting each others families and take vacations together. You know that person inside and out right? Until the world goes to SHTF and you see your best friend take off running leaving you alone with the wives and children. Regaining consciousness and seeing the bodies of your children covered in flies. Your wife…
It took a week but I found him. Other than the tattoo on his arm he was almost unrecognizable and that’s when I learned not to look into someone’s eyes before you kill them. You hesitate. Have second thoughts. You start over thinking. His eyes were vacate, clearly his mind was gone. Guilt on what he had done? I supposed so.
It’s been a rough years for me. That’s why when I saw the settlement I took the risk. What’s the worst they could do? Killing me would end my nightmares of my wife and our children. I have no marketable skills. Staying alive might count for something? I took my day bag with me as I slowly approached the settlement whistling a tune with my arms raised.
Well they didn’t kill me, not sure if that was good or bad. They offered me a meal in exchange for news of the outside, then I would have to leave. Stew of meat (I didn’t ask), potatoes and a few bits of carrots, it was good! I learned they traded with another community in the next town to the east and been having some problems doing so. Bandits? They didn’t know. They did know sometimes their people wouldn’t return and the other Town claimed having the same problem at least that’s what they radioed. They wanted to know if I had any military experience. Instead of telling the truth “No” I told them I had worked in Security. What I didn’t tell them that my total security education was working during college keying a watch clock for a warehouse. They offered me a deal. If I would eliminate the Bandits or whatever that was interfering with their trade I could have a permanent place with them as their Security Officer. What did I have to lose? Nothing, I said “Deal”.
That is why I am now hiking beside a four lane potholed asphalt road that lead to the next Town. Somewhere between the two towns should be evidence of where and hopefully who or where the bandits could be. Between the trees I can see the road curving out of site. I slow my steps and stop on a slight rise but still offers concealment. I remove my binoculars from the backpack side pocket. Listening while I slowly scan both sides of the road and the roadway ahead. Nothing. I take a deep breath before moving forward a couple hundred feet. Click the binoculars to their highest magnification and look down the road again. I can just make out a burned out car blocking the two east bound lanes and some movement. As quietly as I could I moved forward periodically scanning with the binoculars until I can see what is causing the movement.
I stepped out on the pavement to get a better look. In this day and age I’d guess her age was somewhere between twenty and forty. Her long hair wasn’t matted too bad. Arms were well tanned skin with some dirt. Couldn’t tell her height because she was sitting on the pavement in the shade the car provided. Her clothing was normal for old scavenged clothing. Worn holes, decaying or stretched stitching having a hard time holding the pieces of cloth together. She favored her left leg as she tried to look periodically under the car. She was anxious and afraid of something. Could be she was from the other Town and was a survivor of an ambush? I was walking down the center of the road towards her when I started to whistle Dixie. As she quickly turned towards me the thread that held the last button on the front of her shirt together let go. What she was showing left nothing for a male to imagine and she appeared not to notice. “Can you help me? Please! I broke my leg and I think they are still after me.” She grimace in pain as she tried to move towards me. “Please. I’ll do anything you want if you help me.”
I was grinning ear to ear as I stepped closer to her and stopped whistling. Almost simultaneously I heard gun shots from both of my flanks. When the woman heard the shots she instinctively jumped to her feet and started running towards me. The look on her face when she saw me still standing was priceless, happy and smiling to confusion and astonishment. “Didn’t you say your leg was broken?” She didn’t have time to answer as my 5.56 round stopped any further thought process inside of her skull.
“Yea one of these days you’re going to get killed running point that way!” Willy said scratching his beard. “But it was your turn. I started moving up when the squirrels stopped their chatter and started barking. You too Deacon?”
“Yup. I had the two on my side sighted in when I heard Dixie. One of these days this Yankee is a going to shoot the Whistler instead! What gave them away?”
“Classic ambush sight. In a bend of the road so any fool walking down the road wouldn’t see it until it was too late. But mainly it was the tires on the car. Fully inflated when they should have burned when the car had. Roll out the car when it’s ambush time or time to move to a different location. Easy Peasy.”
“Shame about the woman.”
“Here.” Deacon threw the diary he had found in the dead woman’s belongings to Willy. “You would have woken up dead with her knife in your back!”
“Let’s make sure the rest of the way is clear before reporting back to our employer.”
“Think they’ll be upset when they learn there is three of us instead of one?”
“If they are the good people as they appear to be, no. And if they are will just move on again.
The End
