Joshua (Book 2): Traveler (4 page)

Two stood guard while all the rest labored at emptying the apartment. It took the rest of the day for the work to be done. They searched it all, going over the Whitman’s home like locusts, and when they left nothing of value was to be found. The men and boys loaded up the cart, and their bags, with all they would hold. Food was the most valuable commodity, but they still had room for so much more.

They took their guns, a Mossberg 590 shotgun with an evil-looking bayonet attached. Then there was a blued six-inch Colt Python revolver Robert kept for himself, a scoped Winchester Model 70 in .30-06, and a Ruger .380. There were a few hundred rounds of ammunition for each, except for the Ruger, which had less than half a box.

There were other prizes to be found as well, first aid supplies, and toiletries like soap and toothpaste, those the men hadn’t seen in a while. A few odd gems were discovered too: a nice pair of binoculars, water purification tablets, and several pairs of quality boots. They even found five bottles of Scotch whisky and two bottles of vodka, and it was the first time Rudd had smiled in quite a while.

At last done, late in the day and laden down, they were ready with just enough time to leave before the sun went down.

Robert looked at this couple, and then up to their apartment that held the tangled mess of what was left of their lives. “If you’re smart you won’t try to follow us.” He then focused on the wife, speaking to her with his sensible voice. “You seem like the more rational of the two of you. I’m telling you now, don’t come after us. Talk your husband out of it. That’s what he’ll want to do, but I’m sure you can persuade him not to. I promised not to kill you and I didn’t, but if he comes after us, all bets are off. If you don’t want to be a widow, you’ll talk him out of it.”

He took out his long trusted KA-BAR from the sheath on his belt and cut the zip ties that held her there. “Yes, we stole your possessions but you still have your life. This is the last time I will say it, if you’re smart you won’t follow us, you’ll just get on with your lives.”

An hour after dark they arrived, weary under the heavy burden of all their plunder. They started a fire and a well-deserved feast, picking only the best from their new stores. They all sat together, eating, laughing, joking, and having a grand time. Even the sentries were in on the fun. For once in a long while they were all full, finally satisfied. Nicky even said he was feeling a little sick from eating so much, the first time he could remember that ever happening in his young life. The men passed around a bottle taking well-mannered sips, except for Rudd who swallowed great gulps. They all babbled on about their never dying friendship and this most successful mission.

At long last Rob stood up with the bottle, moved over, and sat down by James, who looked a little uncomfortable amidst these rowdy men. “Want to try some?”

“No, that’s all right.”

“It’s okay, James, we’re not going to make you. You can be yourself with us.” With one hand he gave the bottle to Peavey and put the other around the boy’s shoulder, and scooted up closer to him. “So this is what we do, James.”

James just sat there, stiff as a board, “Yes ...”

“This is what we do. We steal from people. That’s what we do. Do you think you could do that? Do you think you could do what we did today? Most importantly, do you want to be one of us?”

The boy sincerely answered, “I’m ... I’m still not sure.”

Rob got closer to the boy. “I understand your hesitation; it’s not an easy decision. I don’t want to put pressure on you, I really don’t, but the time has come to make up your mind. I really like you, James, I do, but I can’t let you hang around freeloading off of us anymore. It’s not fair to these guys, or to you. So we need a decision right now.”

James looked at his almost new friends staring back at him from the flickering light. Nicky and some others were urging him with their quiet pleas to “come on.” Finally after a very long minute considering it all, he said, “Yes ... okay,” and with that most of the group gave out a hurrah.

Robert was now wearing that large honest smile as he stood up again and addressed his newest friend. “James, stand up.”

The boy stood up too and the entire group surrounded him there by the fire.

“James, repeat after me. I ... state your name.”

“I, James Leightman ...”

“Do swear my loyalty to the group ...”

“Do swear my loyalty to the group ...”

“And promise I will defend my friends, with my very life if need be ...”

“And promise I will defend my friends, with my very life if need be ...”

“And I will only harm others to protect the group from harm ...”

The boy paused for only a moment and went on. “And I will only harm others to protect the group from harm ...”

“And promise I will put the needs of the group before my own needs, always, this I swear.”

“And promise I will put the needs of the group before my own needs, always, this I swear.”

As he finished, Rob pulled out his knife and handed it to the boy. “Now, cut the palm of your hand and drip the blood into the fire.”

James took it, hesitated briefly, and without another thought committed himself fully. He split open his hand and made a fist, squeezing his blood into the fire. As his blood sizzled on the rocks below, the entire group gave out a resounding cheer that must have been heard for miles.

The young man looked around at all these dissimilar faces, his new family all, and for the first time in his seventeen years felt like he belonged.

Chapter Two

They were all up again as the sun rose; despite last night’s celebration, there was still work to be done. Rudd made breakfast and for twice in a row they had their fill.

As others were tending their own duties, James was helping him clean the breakfast dishes, when suddenly an expensive pair of boots dropped right in his lap.

He looked up to see Robert towering above him, “James, put those on, you’re coming with me.”

Rudd had other plans, “Boss, I thought he would work with me today, see how we set up camp. There’s some stuff I need to show him.”

But there was no doubt Rob was in charge, “No. James, get up. Grab your boots and come with me.”

Rob took off in a brisk pace towards the cart.

James grabbed up the boots and followed behind. “Can I use these boots today?”

“You can have them.”

“Have them? Really?” From the boy’s face you might have thought it was Christmas.

Rob stopped and let him catch up. “Yes, you can have them. I know this is all new to you, but remember you’re part of the group now. You’re one of us. So when one of us is in need of something, like, for instance, some new boots, he’s first in line when we get some. As long as you’re with us you’ll always be taken care of.”

The boy lifted a foot and lined up the sole of his brand new boots against the ratty old tennis shoes, bracing himself with his arm against his new best friend.

“Will they fit? Those were the smallest ones we got yesterday. I think they’re for a woman, but they still look a little too large for you.”

“They’ll fit good enough, and they’re so much better than these I’ve been wearing.”

“I’m glad you like them. You certainly needed them. We’ll be doing a lot of walking today, and in the coming weeks. I couldn’t have you lagging behind because of sore feet.”

“We’re going to be doing a lot of walking?”

“Yes, we are. I am going to be training you personally, James. I want to make sure you’re taught right. So for the next few weeks, everywhere I go you’ll be going too. I’m not going to lie to you, it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but when we’re done you’ll be able to do anything the guys can do. Well ... at least you’ll be able to take a more active part in our missions.”

Rob started rummaging through the cart, “We’ve only got two extra uniforms ... and it looks like they’re way too big for you. I’m sorry, but for now you just have to keep wearing what you’ve got. At least until we find something that halfway fits you, or you grow into what we already have.” He stopped again with that robust laugh the boy was growing to love.

“That’s okay, these are fine.”

“No, they’re not fine, but they will have to do. Actually ...” he spun the boy around with his hand, “they’re not too bad. Mostly subdued colors ... except this stripe of red that goes across the back of your jacket. Turn around again.” He examined the jacket closer and took out his knife. “I thought so. The red part is another piece of cloth sewn over the top, shouldn’t be too hard to take it off.” Rob took his knife and sliced the stitches that held it there. Once it was started with the knife, he got his fingers underneath.

James heard a loud rip and tugging at his back.

He turned around and Robert handed him the red stripe from his coat.

Rob went to the cart again, and with a few seconds searching, retrieved a web belt with two pouches attached. “Here, this is all you’re going to need for now. Go over and fill the canteen up, then go see Rudd.”

“Thanks!” The boy wouldn’t look up, instead playing with his newest gift, trying to get it to hang off his hip just right.

“I need you to listen to me, this is important, James. Are you listening?”

He finally looked up, “Yes, sir ...”

“Every day someone cooks the meals; they’re also in charge of the food and ammunition. Every day it’s a different person. Today it’s Rudd. But whoever is in charge that day they have the final say. You don’t ever take anything without their permission. Understand?”

“Yes, sir ...”

“So go get your water and then go see Rudd. Have him fill that other pouch with some canned goods, enough for lunch today, anyway.”

James did as he was told, filled his canteen to the top and went to see Rudd. Rudd did seem stingy at first but eventually gave him one can of Vienna sausages, one can of baked beans, and a metal spoon of his very own. Rudd said that was, “more than enough.”

Rob waited for him at the edge of the trees. After a while he grew impatient and produced a loud whistle. “Let’s go!”

The boy came running back and noticed behind him both Cornwell and Peavey were fast approaching and they were bringing their rifles.

“Are they going too?”

“Yeah, we’re all going.” Rob cautiously approached the edge of the tree line and stopped. “Okay, James, this is your first lesson. I need you to pay close attention. Peavey, Cornwell ... I need you guys to just be quiet today and let him learn on his own. James, you see this?” He pointed out a nearly invisible strand of fishing line, just off the ground and spanning several feet between two large trees.

“Yes, I see it.”

“What is it?”

“You said it was a ‘trip wire.’”

“That’s right. What do you think will happen if you trip it?”

“Nothing good, I’m thinking.”

All three men stopped for a laugh.

Rob started the lesson again with a smile on his face, “That’s right, nothing good,” then got serious once more. “We have trip wires set up all around this camp. They’re here to warn us that we’re being attacked.”

“Attacked?”

“That’s right, we aren’t the only ones looking for food. We have several different kinds. Some, like this one for instance, just make a noise. There’s a device hidden in that brush over there that will fire a blank round when it’s tripped. Most of our trips are to warn us, they make light or noise. Some are very simple, just some tin cans that make a racket when you trigger them. There are others like this one that are more complicated, like shoot off a blank or flare. Then there are some that are really dangerous. See that one way down there where the trail begins?”

He pointed off to something that the boy wasn’t sure he could see, “That one is connected to a sawed off double barrel shotgun partially buried under that old log. If someone trips it, they’re going to get cut off at the knees.”

He stepped over the wire and waved James along, “We don’t have time today, but later on I’m going to show you how to look for them, how to make and deploy them too. But for now I’m just going to point them out so you can see where they are.”

It took them twenty minutes to clear the trees, Robert pointing out each and every trap. When they finally made it to the road, they crossed to the other side.

“We’re not going to follow the road? Where are we going, anyway?”

Robert answered the boy’s questions but never once let up his quickened pace. “To answer your first question, we are not using the road. We don’t ever use the road. You surprise me; I thought you would have learned that lesson on your own. Remember this, James, and don’t ever forget it. The road is for losers. The only people that use the roads are those that want to be victims.”

The boy was shocked, “They want to be victims?”

“You heard me. Those people that stay on the roads ... some are stupid, a few are crazy ... but most of them are just plain lazy. They don’t care enough about their own safety, or even their own lives, to do anything hard. Even now they just want to do as little as they can get by with. They always take the easy way out ... and that’s the road. So don’t you ever feel sorry for them. They know they’re easy targets but don’t care enough to do anything about it. If they’re on the road, they want to be victims.”

James continued in step right behind him taking every word in.

“As to your second question, we’re going to a junction in the road; it’s about two miles from here. You probably noticed McCain’s patrol leaving early the other morning?”

“Yes, I noticed.”

“Unless we’re already watching a target, we send a three man patrol out every morning. We call it ‘Highway Patrol’ and do it each and every day.”

“What will we be doing?”

“We’re going to watch a road. Today will be watching the intersection of two roads.”

“You just said stay off the roads.”

“I did, but I meant for traveling. For what we’ll be doing, the road is where you need to be.”

“What are we going to be doing?”

“Fishing, James, fishing.”

“I know you don’t mean fishing fishing. So what do you mean?”