Nuclear War Club: Seven high school students are in detention when Nuclear War explodes.Game on, they are on their own. (36 page)

“Why do you think the medical clinic was attacked, and why were the kids killed?” asked Mike.

“It could be those were addicts running out of supply,” said David. “Realize addicts without a fix will die a horrible death. It’s like withdrawal is a self-fulfilling court sentence.”

“Or?” asked Karen.

“It could have been terrorists needing medicine for gunshot wounds and radiation after the nuke attack,” said David.

“So everyone here survived the nuke, then had this shootout?” asked Karen.

“We don’t know, it’s just a guess,” said David.

“But there are plenty of mine shafts in this mountain that would be ideal fallout shelters,” David continued. “And the town doesn’t appear to have any blast damage, only fallout.”

“Mike, can you and Chloe go to the hiking outfitter and see if they have any backpacks? Then get what medicines we need from the second floor. Maybe see if there are any medical books you need,” David asked. Chloe nodded.

“Guns locked and loaded,” David added.

David saluted Mike. They had decided he would be the salute commander, since he was old, over 30, and that’s what terrorists would expect. Mike and Chloe returned the salute.

“Karen, can you and Liu and the kids fuel up the trucks and motorcycles at the Sheriff’s office? Be sure one of you is on guard the whole time,” said David.

Liu nodded, “Sure.”

“And Liu, if you can, load all the bullet proof vests you
can find,” said David.

“I will look for water,” said David.

“Deploy Bravo and Charlie platoons outside the perimeter facing north,” said David loudly, to be overheard.

“Yes, sir,” Liu replied, saluting crisply.

David felt they were being watched.

No, he
knew
, somehow, they were being watched. It wasn’t just a fear. It was the same as when someone behind you stares at you—you know it.

It now began to rain steadily, drenching everything. David was more than ready to leave. Maybe it was the dead children, but this town spooked him.

Karen and Liu had all the medicine loaded, and they had even found some bullet proof vests at the Sheriff’s office.

“Mike, any ideas on a campsite?” David asked.

“Yes, we should pass a flat mountain ridge twelve miles ahead that should be ideal, if the roads are okay,” Mike said. “It’s called Waffle Iron Butte”.

“Fall back, Special Op soldiers,
scrub the ambush!
” a harsh, angry voice blasted in Karen’s ear over a police transceiver.

Karen ran over to Mike and David told them, then hit the dirt, scanning with her sniper scope. The broadcast was close, line of sight within the mountains enveloping the town. But she could not find a target. David and Mike set up a perimeter, while Chloe and Karen grabbed the kids, and fled out of town on the two trucks.

David remembered Sarge had always said when your gut says leave, leave.

Find a reason later.

99.

David and Mike scouted ahead on the motorcycle and the four wheeler. Everyone else was in the two trucks. The rain poured steadily, but the wind had died down. Dark clouds passed just above the mountains.

Mike followed about a quarter of a mile behind David. They passed several washouts of mud crossing the road, but the grade was so steep downward that the water had dissipated quickly. Mike moved rocks out of the road, then climbed back on his four wheeler.

Mike looked through his binoculars and saw that at the bottom of Rattlesnake Ridge the road crossed a creek, then begin the ascent to Waffle Iron Butte. David stopped, motioning for Mike to halt.

“The creek is at flood stage, the bridge is two feet under water,” David said. “It will probably be okay tomorrow.”

Mike heard the sickening thud of bullets hitting Chloe’s truck, then the cab windshield shattered into small glass pellets. Chloe threw Samuel into the floorboard, and Brad and Cheryl jumped on top. Mike ducked as he heard bullets thump into the sandbags tied on the hood and behind the cab.

“Gunfire from the creek!” Mike screamed.

“I will cover, you get them out,” David shouted to Mike, as he unloaded a clip blindly at the ambush site.

Gas, Mike smelled gas. Chloe’s truck tank was leaking. They were probably half a mile away from the bridge, and the road was elevated above the creek. Karen and Liu stopped, crouched behind their truck, and searched for the shooters.

“There was an ambush waiting at the bridge!” David radioed Karen.

“They have people on both sides of the bridge. Scan the mountain above us until the kids get out!” David yelled.

Karen nodded, fired a couple of shots randomly across
the bridge. Liu scanned with the binoculars at the mountain above them, looking for a target for Karen.

Gas gushed from the truck leaving a wide slick rushing to the bridge.

“Mike, light the gas, as soon as they are out. The gas is funneling right down to the ambush,” Karen radioed.

As Mike was thinking about it, the truck burst into a huge fireball. He smelled his hair singe. The flames raced down to the bridge, following the gas.

They heard screaming, then Karen sprayed an entire clip. Three men had been hiding in a ditch at the bridge, until the gas fire raced downstream. Karen shot all of them when they jumped up to escape the flames. Rapid, sporadic gunfire erupted, and David hit the pavement looking for a target. The sound came from Chloe’s truck, the spare ammo was cooking off randomly in the fireball.

Mike, Chloe and the kids escaped the truck and were running away from the creek, and towards Karen’s truck, when the edge of the fireball outran them. Mike had jumped on top of Samuel and Cheryl.

David heard screaming from beyond the creek. It sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

David saw Karen, Liu and K-Bar run from their truck
towards
the swollen creek ambush site.

“That’s Ashley!” Karen screamed.

100.

David and Mike struggled to keep up with Karen, while Liu and Chloe set up a perimeter around the kids.

Ashley was almost unrecognizable. She had been savagely beaten. Her face was swollen, cut and bruised. Both hands and feet were tied up, her hair was matted down with dried mud. Blood seeped from the cloth gagging her mouth. She was jumping away from the woods, into the road, as bullets ripped the water around her.

“Get down Ashley!” Karen screamed.

Ashley looked towards Karen and jumped onto a boulder sticking out of the water.

Mike, David, and Karen opened up on full auto at the gun flashes, and the shooting stopped. Karen reached Ashley first, and cut off the ropes.

“Where are they?” Karen screamed.

Ashley just sobbed uncontrollably, but pointed, as Karen motioned for Mike to stay with her.

David caught up, and Mike, winded, tossed him two clips. Karen put in a new clip and motioned for David to stay on her far left as they climbed the ridge. Karen pulled two grenades out of her combat pack, as K-Bar cut around to the left on her signal.

David saw Karen shoot the first one with a single burst. Karen lost the last two, who ran away in the firefight. She couldn’t find any tracks in the rain.

But K-Bar tracked them to a slit trench. The dog crouched silently, waiting for Karen to catch up.

Karen looked, then tossed in a grenade, and it was over.

101.

When Karen came back to their tent, she was seething with anger.

“I will
kill
Doron and Zeke,” she told David, taking off her boots. He had never seen Karen this angry, let alone homicidal.

“Doron, Ashley, and Zeke were stoned in their camp. They didn’t have any night watch set up, typical big bowl of stupid. A gang came up, and surrounded them. Zeke shot and killed a couple of them. They asked for a cease fire, said they only wanted Ashley. No need for anyone else to die.”

“If Doron and Zeke betrayed and abandoned Ashley, they could leave,” Karen paused, disgusted.

“So Doron and Zeke deserted Ashley
and ran away
!” Karen raged.

“Ashley was repeatedly raped and beaten until we came.” Karen said shaking violently.

“Tomorrow morning, I will track them down, and kill them
both
, Zeke and Doron,” she said calmly, as she climbed into the sleeping bag. David was chilled by the calm detachment and certainty in her voice. It would happen, he thought.

“I saw their tracks, and K-Bar had their scent,” Karen explained confidently. “It shouldn’t take long.”

David didn’t say anything, he just stared at the ceiling all night. Karen slept peacefully. Maybe she would calm down in the morning, David hoped.

102.

At sunrise the next morning, David searched the perimeter, and saw movement towards the ransacked BP gas station. The wind had picked up, clouds were rolling in, another storm was brewing.

“Karen and Mike, I need backup. Movement near the gas station, at least 2 men. Karen on the overpass, Mike to the left, I am going to the gas station,” David said on the radio.

Two keyed mikes, understood.

David saw two men darting between buildings. They seemed to use the sunrise to blind him in the glare.

“Don’t shoot, it’s Doron and Zeke!” they shouted.

“Karen do NOT shoot, we have to let them tell their side!” David quickly screamed as loud as he could on the radio.

Ominously, Karen didn’t say anything or click her transceiver. It was quiet as David tensed, expecting to hear the shattering sound of Karen’s gunfire.

David knew she would have them sighted from the overpass. He watched with alarm as Karen used the snipers red laser sight to paint Doron and Zeke’s genital areas. Both looked in horror at the red dot on their pants zipper, and raised their hands.

But Karen did not shoot.

103.

Doron was now terrified. Karen ran up, keeping her AR15 aimed at his head. Mike, Chloe, and Liu circled them outside the gas station.

“On your knees and hands up!” Karen commanded. Both instantly complied.

Doron recognized she was
looking
for any excuse to shoot. K-Bar growled viciously.

“Get Ashley out here,” Karen commanded.

Ashley came out, and savagely kicked both Doron and Zeke.

It became deadly quiet when Karen pulled out her 9mm, flicked off the safety, and started to hand it to Ashley with her left hand.

“No!” said David, running up, and knocking the 9mm out of Karen’s hand into the mud.

Ashley began sobbing, “Why did you leave me?”

Zeke started crying. Doron tried to think of a way out of this crisis. He had seriously misjudged this situation. He could be shot.

“We were stoned. We didn’t know what we were doing,” pled Doron.

“You warned Ashley not to leave,” Chloe spoke to Karen. “I was there. I heard you, Karen.”

“No one forced Ashley to go with them and get stoned,” Chloe continued.

“There are consequences to bad choices,” Chloe said, calmly.

“And Karen, you can’t make Ashley’s bad choices all better,” Chloe said softly.

“You deliberately left Ashley! You knew what would happen!” Karen screamed.

Doron saw Karen step away from David, so he could not grab her AR 15. Karen raised the barrel and aimed directly
at Doron’s head and began to move her finger to the trigger.

Doron panicked. He knew from sniper spotting for Karen that she
never
aimed at anything she did not intend to shoot
and kill
. It was her prime rule.

Doron knew Karen was going to kill him.

“Karen, you can’t shoot Doron and Zeke for being cowards. Ashley knew what she was getting into,” David said, as he moved in front of Doron.

“The military would shoot them both for desertion!” Karen spat.

“Zeke and Doron are not in the military,” David said softly.

“The military has honor,” David said , staring at Doron.

“And Karen, remember Doron and Zeke did not rape Ashley, it was the gang,” David continued.

Doron noticed David’s voice calmed Karen down from murderously homicidal, to just furious. David was now in front of her barrel aimed at Doron.

Karen immediately dropped her aim, and pointed her AR 15 to the ground, sobbing.

David angrily snatched her AR 15 away, before she changed her mind.

“We are willing to come back and not use drugs,” Doron said . He was sure that would diffuse the situation.

Karen whacked Doron with her elbow. She put her arm around Ashley, sobbing, as they turned back to the gas station.

104.

Chloe stared at the tent ceiling.

“Mike,” Chloe said, “are you awake?”

“Yes, I am now,” said Mike, wearily.

“Have you considered what happened?” Chloe asked, without pausing. Well, I
was
there, Mike thought, but did not say.

“David and Karen warn them not to run away and do drugs. They run away anyway and get stoned,” Chloe said.

“Ashley is deserted, raped, and beaten,” Chloe said.

“Then Karen, who warned Ashley not to go, attacks Doron and Zeke for abandoning Ashley,” Chloe said.

“David bravely risks his life by stepping in front of Karen’s gun, to stop his wife from killing Doron and Zeke,” Chloe said.

“You see, David and Karen both protected the very people who had endangered their life when they got stoned while on guard duty,” Chloe said.

“Yes,” said Mike.

“Then Ashley, Zeke and Doron instinctively seek to
return
to David and Karen,” Chloe marveled.

“Ashley, Doron and Zeke were in the light, they sought the dark, and now they appreciate and seek the light,” Mike summarized.

“Exactly,” said Chloe excitedly.

“Imagine being a teenager with unlimited drugs and alcohol, and no parents to stop you from doing anything,” Chloe said.

“Doron, Ashley, and Zeke had that, yet returned to David and Karen when it all fell apart,” Chloe said.

Chloe had her say, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Mike, now, could not sleep.

He realized for the first time how different everything
would have been if Karen and David had not led the Nuclear War Club.

105.

David told Mike, Chloe, and Liu they would have to decide what action to take against Zeke and Doron. He would not vote because Karen wanted them out, and he would not vote against his wife.