Dark Titan Journey: Wilderness Travel (4 page)

“Why can’t we have a fire at night?” John asked.

“It’s too easy to spot and smell. Remember, we don’t want to be seen,” Nathan said.

“How are we going to avoid being seen going through town tomorrow?” Amanda asked.

“Oh, we’ll be seen but we’ll just blend in,” he said. “Or we can take a twenty-one-mile detour,” Nathan added.

“No, let’s go through the stupid town,” she said. “Are we stopping for anything?”

“Not if we can help it,” Nathan said.

“What did the President mean about paying your taxes? The banks are closed and nobody is working,” John asked.

“That’s how I think they’re going to gain assets. People won’t be able to pay and the government can take their homes. Think of all the areas in Atlanta that have burned down. The government takes over that land and sells it and makes money. Or they don’t sell it and make people stay closer together so they can watch us for our ‘wellbeing.’ They can get access to your money in the bank, but you can’t get it to eat,” Nathan answered him.

“That’s not fair that they can take your money but you can’t get it,” John said.

“Welcome to life,” Nathan said, lying down. “You never get ahead, because they come and take it and give it to someone else,” he added.

“What do you think the Hollywood stars are doing?” Amanda asked.

“Fighting to live just like everyone else I’m sure,” he said.

“Why? They’re rich,” she said if that explained it all.

“Where is their money Amanda?” Nathan asked.

“Oh. I guess I didn’t think of that,” she said.

Nathan looked at her, “Amanda, only the super-rich and the politicians are the ones not experiencing this like we are,” he said.

“You mean there are people richer than Justin?” she asked.

“Amanda, there are people that would consider what he’s worth to be pocket change. They are very powerful families that have money in the trillions. Remember the top five percent of the rich pay something like sixty percent of what the nation pulls in for taxes,” Nathan said. “Us regular people pay the other forty percent,” he added.

“It sucks to be rich only to have that much money taken away,” she said, resting her head on her pack.

“Yeah, but it would definitely have its perks,” Nathan said, drifting off to sleep and leaving John awake for guard.

Chapter 3

Day 8

They were all sweating as they packed up camp after breakfast. For an hour and a half they exercised and Nathan started teaching them the fundamentals of martial arts. As Amanda put Ares’ pack on him, she really wanted to lie back down and take a nap, but she wasn’t going to tell anyone. She could be tough too. Putting on her pack, she watched Nathan dig out the rabbit he’d buried in coals last night. She walked over as he unwrapped it.

When Amanda smelled it her mouth started watering. She watched him pull off a piece and hold it out to her. “Open up,” he said and she opened her mouth. He put the piece in her mouth and she chewed it up. It tasted wonderful. She watched Nathan pull off a piece for John. “Tastes good, huh?” Nathan asked, looking down at her.

“Yes it does,” she said, smiling.

“This is lunch,” he said, wrapping the meat back up and placing it in a bag. Putting on his pack, Nathan started off, leading them out of the woods and to the road. When they reached the road they took their positions on either side of him. “Today we will be leaving this forest and crossing the valley. We are coming up to habitable areas again so keep your eyes open,” he told them.

“The map said we are going by a military base. Don’t we want to avoid them?” John asked.

Very pleased that John was thinking, Nathan nodded. “Yes we do, but most of the base is closed down. But there is still a large military presence there and a military depot on the other side of town. Remember the story we worked on and stay with it, but don’t talk unless I nod at you,” Nathan told them.

“This new way is really a hassle,” Amanda said. “We have to act like who we aren’t but also who we were,” she said, making sense to her.

Nathan just nodded and agreed, not wanting to have a debate with her. He was learning fast that the mind of a teenage girl made its own conclusions and once it was set, it was set in stone. He would just try to chisel a few bits in to make sure she got some right. Not that he didn’t like Amanda; he actually adored her. Nathan smiled. If he’d had a daughter he would’ve wanted her to be like Amanda. Just minus some of the attitude.

They walked along for twenty minutes when John sped up till he was beside Nathan. “Aren’t you going to teach?” he asked.

Startled, Nathan jerked slightly when he heard John. He looked at him, “Oh sorry, just lost in thought,” he said. “Let’s begin.” First he tested them on what they had covered so far, then he started on new stuff till they saw ahead where the road turned from gravel to pavement. “Okay, this is it. Keep your eyes open,” Nathan said.

As they walked the forest fell away on their left, gradually turning into an open field. Up ahead they saw the state road and could see people pushing carts in either direction. Coming up to the stop sign they looked in both directions to see about thirty people on the one-mile stretch of road right and left. Four people sped by them on bicycles, with one pulling a trailer. They all noticed everyone was armed with at least a rifle across their back.

They crossed the highway, staying on the small blacktop road. “Can we get bikes?” Amanda asked in a low voice.

“I’ve thought about that myself but I’ve never carried this much gear on a bike. The most I’ve ever biked with was fifty pounds. Then you need to realize it’s really hard to shoot when you have to steer. If anything, I would want some horses,” Nathan said.

“Horses? I know they’re awesome, but come on. They can’t get us to Idaho,” she said.

“Amanda, horses have been transporting men for thousands of years. You can carry a lot of gear, and as long as you have good grass the horse can live off the land with you,” Nathan said.

Liking the sound of that, she asked, “How far could we go a day if we got horses?”

“About thirty-five to forty miles a day if we had pack animals,” he answered.

“That’s it? We could go more than that on a bike.”

“Yeah, I’ve biked and averaged around forty-five miles a day, but I was dead tired every day. Riding a horse takes a lot out of you but not like riding a bike loaded with fifty pounds of gear. I also had this dog that wanted to chase every deer in the state of Idaho,” Nathan said, looking at Ares. Ares was in the lead but didn’t turn around, although his ears flickered.

“Ares is too well-trained for that,” Amanda snapped, coming to his defense.

Laughing, Nathan said, “He was only a puppy then so I cut him some slack. He did learn a lesson why bucks have antlers. That deer scooped him up and threw him twenty feet.” Nathan’s body shook with laughter.

“Did you shoot that deer for doing that to him?” she demanded.

He stopped laughing, “No, Ares shouldn’t have pissed him off. His dad, Apollo, went and had a talk with the deer though,” Nathan said.

Amanda smiled at the thought of another dog. “Will I like Apollo?” she asked.

Nathan shook his head. “Apollo is what a guard dog is supposed to be. He very rarely plays. It took me a year and a lot of training to get Apollo to listen to Tim and Sherry. Ares is not like any dog I’ve had before. He listens, does a good job, but he makes up his own mind.”

“Well yeah,” she said.

“Amanda, a guard dog is only supposed to follow one person or two at most. When you introduce someone to a dog like that, it’s to let the dog know not to rip their arm off if they walk toward me. When I introduce people to Ares, he decides if he’s going to listen to them,” Nathan said.

“You mean he’s not supposed to do the stuff I say?” she asked, sounding a little disappointed. The way Ares acted with her, Amanda thought she was a dog whisperer.

“Not really, but somehow he knows I like you and are no threat to me. Then you have to admit Ares really likes you,” Nathan said.

“Well duh,” she said, and Nathan gritted his teeth. “So Apollo won’t listen to me?” she asked.

“Hell, I don’t know anything anymore. I’ve had Shepherds since I was fifteen and thought I knew them pretty good till Ares came along. One of the hardest things to teach a dog is to guard someone that is not their master, Apollo never learned it. Well, I should say he didn’t till I taught Ares. Ares had the concept down in three days and I swear Ares taught Apollo what I wanted,” Nathan said.

“What’s Ares’s momma’s name?” she asked.

“I can’t remember. I studded Apollo out and got the pick of the litter: Ares,” Nathan said.

Somewhat offended, she asked, “Don’t you own girl German Shepherds?”

“I’ve only had one and she was a pain in the butt. I bet she chewed up ten pairs of shoes. She was with me on patrol one day and we got a call that a man had robbed a store and ran up into some woods. I get the call and show up with Pandora. She finds the guy’s trail and fifteen minutes later I’m yelling for him to give up. I’m not going to tell you what he said, but he didn’t give up. I released Pandora and she tore into that man thinking there must have been a prize inside. I gave her the attack command, but she was taking bites on all his arms and legs trying to pull them off. I ran over and gave her the command to stop, but she didn’t. I had to grab her to pull her off then she bit me four times,” Nathan said, shaking his head. “I’m not going to lie; I almost shot her ass right then and there. The sheriff told me she couldn’t be on the force anymore. I bought another puppy and trained them. Pandora stayed on the farm, but she died when Apollo was just a puppy.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have named her Pandora,” John said, making Nathan laugh.

“Why not?” Amanda asked and John said the story of Pandora. “That’s stupid,” she said. “I want a girl dog, but like Ares.”

“Amanda, it takes long hours teaching a dog what Ares knows, longer if they’re stupid,” Nathan informed her.

“I don’t care,” she said, undeterred.

“Okay, we’ll see.” He smiled down at her.

She hugged his arm that she was holding onto as they followed the road up into the hills overlooking a wildlife refuge. When they were on the ridge, Amanda looked down to the valley. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

Nathan nodded. “Sure is. Makes me miss home,” he said, walking on. It was almost noon when they came around a curve and saw a group of men about fifty yards away stripping a car that was on the side of the road. “Get behind me, and if shooting starts, run for the woods,” Nathan said in a quiet voice, letting Amanda’s hand go. He kept a steady pace as he walked toward the men.

The men had stopped as soon as the three came around the corner. Dropping their tools, the three grabbed an assortment of firearms and moved to the back of the stripped car. Nathan counted three and scanned the woods. He glanced down at Ares and he was just looking in the direction of the three men, but not coming to attention. Then Nathan felt the wind on the back of his neck. He sighed as he said a silent apology to Ares.

Nathan stopped twenty yards away from the group. “Morning, gentlemen,” he said, tilting his head toward them. The one on his right was carrying a pump shotgun and wore a white t-shirt and more gold chains than Mr. T. The one in the middle had a few chains dangling against his bare chest, and he was holding an automatic pistol. On the left was a man dressed in a blue tank top, with a gold rope chain that looked an inch thick. In his hand was what looked like a single shot shotgun that had been sawed off.

“What chew want,” one mouthed off.

“Just moving down the road,” Nathan replied. He had his rifle gripped in both hands but not pointed at the three. The three each had their rifles aimed at the ground as they studied Nathan.

“Put yo gun on the ground and we let you walk away, boy,” Bare Chest popped off.

“I’m sorry I can’t do that,” Nathan said, slowly reaching up and uncovering his badge. The three saw the badge and got a little nervous. “I’m just moving down the road. Let us pass in peace and you can continue to work on your car,” Nathan told them.

The trio shared glances with one another and then Bare Chest looked back at Nathan. “Guess you didn’t hear. Put yo gun down. The first we gonna shoot is the kids,” he said, showing off his gold grill.

“The dog will kill one of you and I’ll kill the other two,” Nathan told them, taking some of the confidence out of them. To prove the point, Ares bared his teeth, letting out a low growl.

“Yo, you keep Cujo in check or I’ll crank the gat on ‘im,” Tank Top said, shuffling his feet.

“Then I suggest you let us pass and continue to work on your car,” Nathan said casually, bracing his feet. He could see Bare Chest tensing his muscles. Seeing Bare Chest starting to raise his arm, Nathan dropped down as he swung his M-4 up, squeezing the trigger before the cross hairs settled on his chest. The three bullets slammed into Bare Chest’s shoulder as he squeezed the trigger on the automatic, filling the quiet with a loud boom compared to the long cough of the suppressed M-4. Continuing his swing, Nathan observed T-Shirt raising the pump shotgun up. Nathan rested the cross hairs on T-Shirt, squeezing the trigger as Nathan dropped down, rolling to his left then coming up on his knees.

The three bullets hit T-Shirt in the low center chest mere inches apart. T-Shirt dropped the shotgun and grabbed his stomach, trying to scream. Nathan never noticed as he swung back across the two and aimed at Tank Top, who was staring at his two buddies writhing on the ground and bleeding everywhere. He turned to look at Nathan and saw the gun aimed at his head. Tank Top could see Nathan’s eye staring back at him through the scope.

“Drop it and you might get to live today,” Nathan said. Tank Top let the sawed-off shotgun drop from his numb fingers until it hit the ground with a thud. “Two steps forward and kneel down and spread ‘em. I’m sure you know the routine. I still have lots of bullets so don’t get cute,” Nathan said in a cold, casual tone. The man did what he was told and Nathan stood up, keeping his rifle aimed at the three.

He risked a quick glance over his shoulder to see Amanda and John both with pistols out and aimed at the ground. “We will talk about this,” Nathan said, turning back around and walking over to the three men, kicking their weapons away. Pulling out some zip ties, he tied up Tank Top and stood up, then pulled the MK-23 and shot the other two in the head, silencing the moans.

“Yo, you the po-po! You can’t just drop a cap on someone! You acting like a gangster with that gat!” Tank Top yelled.

“Shut it or I’ll just smoke your ass now,” Nathan said, aiming, and Tank Top shut up. Kneeling down, Nathan went through their pockets and pulled out wads of cash and bags of different drugs, throwing it all in a pile. When he leaned over Tank Top to empty out his pockets, out of curiosity he looked at the chain around his neck. “Holy shit, this is real!” Nathan shouted, pulling the chain off. “This thing has to be over a pound and a half and worth over thirty grand,” he said, holding it up.

“It cost thirty seven G’s,” Tank Top informed him.

“And you wore it?” Nathan shouted at him, flabbergasted.

“What the hell else was I gonna do with it?” he popped off.

“Well you just gave it to me, so thank you,” Nathan said, putting it in a small pouch on the front of his tote bag.

“You jackin’ my bling!” Tank Top shouted.

Nathan looked down at him. “Hey, you and your buddies tried to kill me. I think a little compensation is in order,” he said, motioning the kids over. “Pick up their weapons, John, and Amanda, you get the money and put it in your bag,” he said, moving over to the other two where he found their chains were real as well. “Damn, being a banger here must pay off,” Nathan said, taking the chains off and throwing them in his tote bag.

Walking over to Tank Top, he pulled him up and walked him to the side of the road and zip tied him to a metal fence post. “You can use that post to cut the strap and leave. It should only take about twenty minutes. If I see you again I’ll kill you, so I suggest you wait till we are out of sight,” Nathan said and walked away.

He went over to John and grabbed the pistol. Seeing it was a piece of junk 9mm, Nathan took out the clip and the round in the chamber and handed them to John. Then he took the pistol apart and threw the pieces into the woods. He grabbed the sawed-off shotgun and broke it open to find it was a 20-gauge. Throwing the shell, he popped the hinge pin and threw the barrel into the woods on his left and the trigger to the right.