Resurrecting Home Page 14

  Invigorated with the nourishment, the kids started running around screaming and shouting. Some were wrestling, as kids will do, while some version of tag seemed to be going on with the majority. As an afterthought he started tossing them the packs of gum each MRE contained as well, and soon all of them were smacking their gum as they ran and played.

  Perez stepped out of the truck. “Here they come!”

  Ian looked up the road to see a line of trucks and Hummers approaching. The column pulled up and stopped in the road beside him. Ian walked out to the lead Hummer that held Sarge, Ted, Mike, and Doc.

  “You guys ready to have some fun?” Ian asked.

  Sarge smiled. “Ah, this ain’t going to be nothing.”

  “I just can’t wait for that ole boy to tell you that you’ll be working for him,” Ian said with a laugh.

  “Oh, this is going to be rich,” Mike said from the turret.

  “We ain’t getting anywhere standing here chewing our cud. Let’s get this goat rope on the road,” Sarge said.

  Ian slapped the top of the Hummer and quickly returned to his truck, climbing back up into the turret. With so many trucks there, the kids stood with mouths open in awe, many waving at the Guardsmen. Some of the Guardsmen were tossing out items to them: bottles of water, whole MREs, and whatever else they could come up with. Seeing the kids in such bad shape clearly had affected them.

  Ian’s two Hummers took the lead of the column as they pulled back out onto the road.

  “The roadblock is just up ahead. How do you want to handle it?” Ian called.

  “What’s blocking the road?” Sarge asked.

  “Some cars—they’ve got one they roll out of the way like a gate.”

  “Just head for that car. If they don’t want to move it, we will. We need clear access to the armory.”

  “Roger that.”

  Perez lined the truck up with the gate car as they approached. Just as previously they could see the men behind the barricade peeking out from behind it, Ian kept his eyes on them as they drew near. Stopping short of it, he called out, “Move that car!”

  One of them men on the other side stuck his head up. “The sheriff told us not to let anyone through!”

  “What’s going on up there?” Sarge asked over the radio.

  “They don’t want to open it.”

  “Whatever truck has the Mark 19 on it, pull up to the front.”

  After a couple of minutes a Hummer pulled up beside Ian, then Sarge walked up with Ted and Doc in tow. He looked up at Ian. “Cover us, I’m going up there to have a talk with ’em.”

  Ian nodded and shouldered the weapon as Sarge and the guys walked toward the line of cars blocking the road. Behind them the men on the other side shared glances, unsure of what was going on. Stopping twenty or so feet away, Sarge called out, “Which one of you booger-eaters in charge here?”

  “The sheriff isn’t here right now,” came the reply.

  “That’s not what I asked, I asked which one of you idjits was in charge here.”

  One man rose up behind the cars. “I guess I am.”

  “What’s your name?” Sarge asked.

  “Mitch,” the man called back.

  “Well, Mitch, you need to move that car out of the way or we will. If we do it, you won’t be here to see it.”

  “Like I said, the sheriff said not to let anyone through.”

  “Mitch, you seem to be missing the point here. I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.” Sarge turned and pointed at the Mark 19. “You see that thing up there?”

  Mitch looked over at the weapon mounted to the top of the truck, then back at Sarge.

  “You know what it is?” Sarge asked. Mitch shook his head. “It’s a Mark 19 forty-millimeter grenade launcher that can rain three hundred and twenty-five of those nasty little bastards down on you in a minute. Now, if you don’t move that car out of the way”—Sarge pointed to the gunner behind the weapon—“he will.”

  The men behind the barricade once again shared furtive glances. After a quick whispered exchange the car began to roll back.

  “Smart man, Mitch!” Sarge shouted.

  Perez pulled through the barricade and off the side of the road, covering it from the rear. Ted ran back and brought their truck up, picking up Sarge and Doc. As they pulled through the barricade, Sarge motioned for Ted to stop and waved Mitch over. “Now, we’re going to be coming back out in a bit. Over the next few days we’ll be making several more trips. We won’t have to have this discussion again, will we?”

  “I’m just doing what I’m told. I’ll tell the sheriff.”

  “Well, tell him to come see me.”

  “Who are you?”

  “Just tell him to ask for Sarge.” Mitch nodded and Sarge waved Ted on.

  The short drive to the armory occurred without incident and all the trucks were soon inside the fenced yard behind the facility. Along with the mountain of supplies, the trucks carried a contingent of twenty Guardsmen who would be left behind to provide security. Everyone got busy quickly to get the trucks unloaded while Sarge went in to check out the hall, telling Ted to call the camp and let them know they had arrived.

  After looking the facility over, Sarge came out and found Ian. “Why don’t you and Perez stay here, keep your truck too. Take control of this place and start getting things set up.”

  Ian nodded. “Sure thing. We’ve got to fix a cut in the fence back there. We’ll get that done and get some security established.”

  “Good deal. You’ve got enough food and water for a few days, but take it easy on it just in case.”

  “Will do.”

  “All right, let’s get this circus back on the road,” Sarge shouted.

  After a little jockeying of trucks, they were all lined up in front of the armory. The activity was once again drawing a crowd of onlookers, though they kept their distance. Sarge walked the line of trucks, making sure everyone was ready. He still used the cane but was relying on it less and less every day. Shouts from the rear of the column got his attention, and, turning around, he saw a couple of ATVs stopped at the rear. Word quickly spread down the column that a man claiming to be the sheriff was back there. Sarge walked back down the line to where a group of Guardsmen were covering the men.

  Sarge walked straight to the men. “What can I do for you fellers?”

  “I’m Sheriff Parker,” a big man replied.

  “Well I’m King George,” Sarge replied, getting a perplexed look from the man. “If we’re making shit up, why not be king?” Sarge added.

  The man’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not making nothing up. I am the sheriff of Eustis.”

  Sarge crossed his arms. “Were you elected?”

  “Well, no, someone had to step up, so I did. We’ve made the town safer. It was rough around here for a while.”

  “That’s good, good you’re working to make the town safer. Back to my original question, what can I do for you?”

  “Are you guys moving into the armory to stay?” the sheriff asked.

  “We are. There’s a lot more coming too.”

  Parker looked around. “Are you bringing in supplies for the town?”

  Sarge shook his head. “Not right now. We’ll be able to support ourselves, won’t need anything from the folks here. But right now we can’t offer them any help either.”

  Parker licked his lips. “How many men are you bringing in?”

  Sarge smiled and rocked on his heels, not answering the question. Parker waited a moment for a response then asked, “Where’ve you been?”

  “We had to deal with some federal boys. Now that that’s taken care of, we’re coming back.”

  Parker kind of nodded his head. “Oh, okay. I was telling one of the guys that was here earlier that I heard a broadcast from the government that the National Guard was supposed to put themselves under control of the local authorities.” He paused for a moment, then continued, uncertainty clearly present in his voice, “And since I’m the
sheriff, that makes me the local authority.”

  Sarge rocked back on his heels again and spit into the dust at his feet. “Well, Sheriff, it’s like this: we’re not going to be under your authority. We’re under the authority of the Department of Defense, and that’s not going to change. But I’ll tell you what, you take care of your town and we won’t get in your way”—Sarge pointed at him—“so long as you’re doing the right thing. I catch you fucking up and you’ll be dealt with.”

  Parker shook his head. “Oh no, I mean, we’re just working for the town, trying to keep things safe and take care of everyone.”

  Sarge nodded. “That’s good, you just keep doing that. The CO of this place is Captain Sheffield. Once these guys are all moved in, he’ll probably want to talk to you. Just give ’em some time to get settled in.”

  “You’re not in charge here?”

  “Naw, not me.” Sarge smiled. “I don’t have the people skills for that sort of thing.”

  “So I need to talk to the captain, then?” Parker said.

  “You can talk to him—he’ll probably want to—but don’t expect anything different from him than I told you. You fellas have a good day. We gotta get on the road.” Sarge squinted at Parker. “We have to make several more trips this way. I know we won’t have any more trouble at your roadblock, will we,” Sarge said, the last being a statement, not a question.

  “I’ll let my deputies know to allow you through,” Parker replied.

  Sarge nodded and waved as he headed back down the line of trucks. As he climbed up into the Hummer, Ted looked at him. “Well?”

  Sarge shook his head and clicked his tongue. “I don’t know, hard to get a read on the fella. He may just be trying to help the town out. But his grand idea that he’s going to take over this unit is fucking nuts.”

  “He shouldn’t be too much of a problem,” Ted replied as he put the Hummer in gear and started down the road. “You set him straight, Sarge.”

  Word was spreading of the convoy’s presence and on the trip back more people were out on the side of the road. From his perch in the turret, Mike watched the people as they passed, looking like something from an old film reel of World War Two, the countless scenes of refugees lining the sides of the road as military vehicles passed. It was a profound image to Mike. During his multiple tours of service in the Middle East, the throngs of people lining the side of the road never bothered him, but here, in the country of his birth, the effect was different. A deep sense of sadness filled him as he watched these poor people in their filthy clothes, some of the children displaying the classic signs of malnutrition. The bloated bellies really brought it home.

  While Mike never was a religious man, though in his youth he’d attended Sunday School and Bible studies, a line of scripture came to him from the book of Samuel: how the mighty have fallen. He thought of all those months, years spent trying to defend this same nation from those that craved this very result. What a waste, he thought. Quickly he realized he was in a daze, not paying attention to the road about him, his hands hanging limply from the weapon. It is what it is. Deal with it, he thought and focused his attention to the task at hand. The convoy made it back to camp without incident and the loading of the trucks was begun again.

  Chapter 7

  Back at the neighborhood, we spotted my girls as we drove in. Taylor, Lee Ann, and Little Bit were out hunting.

  “Any luck?” I asked as we pulled up.

  “Not yet. The squirrels are getting smarter,” Taylor said.

  Lee Ann was looking north. “Dad, is that fire going to come here?”

  “I don’t know, baby, it might. We’ve got to get ready for it just in case.”

  “Fire scares me,” Taylor said.

  “Don’t be afraid yet,” I said with a smile. “You guys want a ride home?”

  “No, we’ll walk so we can look for squirrels,” Taylor replied.

  “All right. When I get home I’ll lay the camo out. It’ll help you blend in and then maybe they’ll come out. Just take care of it,” I said.

  “Okay, we will. Love you, Dad!” Taylor shouted, her sisters quickly echoing her affection.

  Danny leaned forward. “Hey, what about me?”

  Little Bit smiled. “We love you too!”

  “And Thad!” Lee Ann said, catching me by surprise.

  Thad leaned out the window. “Love you girls too. Thanks, Miss Lee Ann.”

  “Yeah, Thad too—we love you too, Thad!” Little Bit shouted.

  Thad smiled warmly. “I love you girls. Good luck,” he said, waving at them.

  As we drove away I looked at Thad in the rearview mirror. “Well, guess you’re part of the family now.”

  Thad smiled again. “It feels good.” It touched me to see that Thad could be happy, despite what tragedy he had experienced. He truly had the warmest smile of any person I’d ever met, and I was glad my family got to count him as one of their own.

  Pulling up to Danny’s, we went to the shed to look for sledgehammers, because on our quick stop at the Forestry Center, it was clear we were going to need a lot more manpower. Danny had two, so we loaded them up along with some pry bars, bolt cutters, and a hacksaw.

  “You guys mind if I stay here? I want to work on the trailer,” Danny said.

  “Fine by me. We’ll get Jeff or Tyler to go with us,” I said.

  “That’s a good idea—having them tanks on the trailer might come in right handy,” Thad said.

  “Let’s go see if there’s anything for lunch and talk to the womenfolk real quick,” I said.

  Coming through the door, a wonderful aroma greeted us. “Damn!” Thad shouted. “What is that smell?”

  The house was full—nearly everyone was there. Walking out on the back porch I saw Edie and Jace out at the pond wading in the shallow water.

  “We’re making a stew, thanks to all of our veggies,” Brandy replied with a smile.

  The kerosene stove was set up on the picnic table on the back porch, a large kettle sitting on it. I lifted the lid on the pot. The smell was incredible. “Damn, this smells good,” I said, inhaling the wonderful aroma again.

  “Where is the fire? Is it going to make it here? There’s ash everywhere now,” Bobbie said.

  “It’s north of Salt Springs, but it’s moving fast,” Danny said.

  “Moving this way?” Mel asked.

  I nodded. “It’s moving south for sure. There’s just no way to tell where it’s going right now.”

  “What are we going to do? Do we need to leave now?” Brandy asked.

  “I don’t think we need to leave, hon, we need to wait and see,” Tyler reassured her.

  “Well, I, for one, don’t want to get trapped by some giant-ass fire. I say if we’re going to have to leave I’d rather do it sooner than later,” Jeff added.

  “Is there anything we can do about it?” Fred asked.

  “We don’t know yet. They’re about to head back out to the Forestry Service place up at Pittman to see if we can get some firefighting equipment,” Danny said.

  Then, my mind changed gears. I looked around the room, scanning who was here, and asked, “Hey, who’s on duty at the barricade?”

  Everyone looked around, but no one replied. I started for the front door and just as I reached for the knob, it burst open. Taylor stumbled in breathing heavily. “There’s . . . there’s people down at our house.”

  My head snapped around. “What?” I asked, looking toward our house.

  Pointing, she said, “No, our old house. There’s a bunch of people down there.”

  The house was suddenly filled with activity as everyone went for a weapon. “How many?” Danny asked as he pulled the sling of his carbine over his head.

  “I don’t know, there looked like a lot.”

  “Where are your sisters?” Mel asked, her voice tight.

  “They’re coming. I just ran as fast as I could.”

  The other two made it to the house and came stumbling in as well
. Little Bit was crying, obviously scared by the sight of the strangers. She went straight to Mel, who immediately bent down and gave her a hug. “Shh, shh, it’s going to be all right.”

  “You okay?” I asked Lee Ann as she tried to catch her breath.

  She nodded and asked, “What do they want?”

  “We don’t know, but we’re about to find out.

  “Let’s load up in the Suburban,” I said as I went out the door.

  All the guys followed me out and everyone loaded up. Jeff and Tyler dropped the rear gate and sat on it. Pulling out of the gate, we could see an old truck sitting in the road down near my old place. As we got closer, I could see it was an old grove truck, a common enough sight on the roads when oranges were in season. However, all that remained of this truck was the frame, a sheet steel bed, and the engine. The steering wheel seemed to sprout from the old relic, and a bucket was the only seat for the driver.

  The people obviously saw us coming and soon there was a group of eight gathering around the truck, all armed. Thad and Danny both had their doors open before the truck stopped, and Jeff and Tyler were already on the ground when I got out.

  The group stood around their truck with a collective look of defiance on their faces. They certainly had us outnumbered, but we had them outgunned. They carried a collection of arms, all of the hunting variety. I took in the scene, noticing that on the bed of the truck were a number of kids, all with dirty faces and dead eyes. This group was giving me a creepy vibe, like old-dude-in-a-van-level creepy. Thad was first to speak. “What are you doing here?”

  An older man who appeared to be in his sixties stepped toward us. He had a shaggy gray beard and was wearing a cowboy hat that’d seen better days. “We’re looking for a place to stay. The fire pushed us out of ours.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Thad replied, looking in the direction of the encroaching smoke, “but there’s nowhere here for you to stay.”

  The old man pointed at my house. “Why not, this ’un’s empty.”