The Blue Ridge Resistance (16 page)

Chapter 24: A Fork in the Road

As they waited for Ed and Charlie to return with the ATVs to transport Sabrina to the trailer, Jason took up an overlook position on the roof with his Remington 700 while Nate covered the rear of the home after he had done his best to treat Jimmy’s wound for the time being. While Jimmy stayed with Sabrina, Evan searched the house to look for anything that could be useful to them. The first item of interest to him was the M249 SAW that was used by the assailants at the front of the house to keep Ed, Jimmy, and Nate pinned down outside. A SAW, or Squad Automatic Weapon, is a light machine gun that fires the same 5.56mm round as a military M16 and M4, as well as a civilian AR15. The M249 is used to enhance the firepower of smaller military units, and has never been available to the public.

Evan walked over to the sofa where Jimmy was resting while keeping an eye on Sabrina and said, “I wonder where these bastards got this thing?”

“That’s the son-of-a bitch’n gun that shot me!” exclaimed Jimmy. “It was like a bee’s nest of bullets being unleashed on us.”

“There were two other ammo cans of 5.56 green tip over by the scumbag that used it on you. Looks GI to me. I wonder where these boys came across this stuff.”

“Those bastards probably stole it, or did some other dirty deal to get their hands on it,” remarked Jimmy as he rubbed his bruised chest.

“Well, it will surely come in handy on our little journey, as well as to help fortify the homesteads when we get back. I’m gonna go through the house and look for other weapons and ammo. Keep an eye on her,” Evan said, nodding towards Sabrina who was still asleep.

“This poor girl could probably sleep for days and not catch up on what she’s lost,” said Jimmy softly, trying not to wake her.

Evan then went around the house, retrieved the weapons and ammunition from the dead kidnappers, and staged it all in the living room. In all, he found a cheaply made 12-gauge Chinese pump shotgun, two Beretta M9 9mm pistols, two government-issued select-fire M4 carbines, a Romanian semi-automatic WASR-10 AKM, a 9mm Glock 19, and a Turkish made Sig Sauer clone in .40 S&W. He also found two 840 round ammo cans of 5.56 NATO green tip, several boxes of various commercially available shotgun shells, several boxes of 9mm pistol cartridges, and twenty-three government issued 5.56 NATO STANMAG magazines for use in AR pattern rifles as well as other NATO compliant 5.56mm weapons.

“That’s quite the little weapons cache you’ve got there, Ev,” Jimmy commented as Evan tossed the last box of ammo onto the pile.

“Tell me about it. If these guys weren’t so undisciplined, we’d have never been able to take them. They had a serious firepower advantage,” Evan said looking at the pile of weapons. “The SAW, the two M4s, the 5.56 ammo, and magazines are all military issue. These guys either had a serious connection or stole it. Either way, these would be hot potatoes if a man was caught with them by the feds.”

“I guess it’s a good thing we’re here in the sticks, where the feds don’t tread,” replied Jimmy with a grin.

“Yeah, for now. Anyway, there was some food and water in the kitchen. We’ll take the food that’s in sealed packages, but the rest of it doesn’t look so good. The water doesn’t look clean either. I don’t trust these scumbags’ hygiene enough to risk it. I’d rather filter river water if it comes to it. When we roll back through here with the tractor and trailer, we’ll stop by and load it all up. We’ll hide the weapons of course, just in case someone else comes along while we are on our way to get it. By the way, I’ve got an idea… and a favor to ask.”

“What’s that?” asked Jimmy.

“We’ve come to a fork in the road here,” Evan explained. “You’re injured…”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” interrupted Jimmy.

“Well, you may be fine, but you still need to get that cleaned out and closed up right—and maybe get some antibiotics. We don’t want your arm turning green and falling off on us while we’re out here. We also need to do something to get Sabrina to Del Rio with the Gibbs family. I would like to ask you and Charlie to get her there to safety on your ATVs, and then for Charlie to accompany you back home so Rachel can look at that wound and treat it properly. You’ve got a pregnant wife at home and don’t need to be out here, dying on her from infection when she needs you the most.”

“But what about you guys, though? You’ll be down to four men and no four wheelers,” Jimmy said in protest.

“Four guys and no ATVs are better off than six guys with a young girl to protect if shit hits the fan. We really need to get her to the Gibbs family,” Evan said in a serious tone. “Do this for us, Jimmy, and then get home to Beth and get yourself taken care of.” 

Jimmy knew Evan was right, and from the look on his face, he would not be taking no for an answer. In a reluctant voice, Jimmy said, “Okay, Ev. You’re right. We’ll get her there safe and sound.”

“Thanks, Jimmy,” Evan said with a smile as he patted Jimmy on the shoulder.

“Crap!” exclaimed Jimmy, flinching with pain.

“Oh, sorry man, wrong shoulder,” Evan said with an embarrassed grin.

Up on the roof, Jason was glassing the area with his riflescope when he saw Charlie and Ed returning with the ATVs. He covered them until they drew near and then climbed back down from the roof to join the others below. “How’d it go?” Jason asked as Charlie and Ed shut down their engines and began to dismount.

“Uneventful,” replied Ed.

Evan then joined them out front, leaving Jimmy inside with Sabrina, to work out a plan. “I’ve got an idea that I’ve already got Jimmy on board with. I just need you guys to sign off on it.”

“Shoot,” Jason replied.

Evan explained what he had discussed with Jimmy about taking Sabrina to Del Rio to get her reunited with the Gibbs family and then for Jimmy to seek medical care at home with Rachel. He assured Charlie that even though they would be returning home early, he and Jimmy would both share in the spoils of whatever supplies they acquired along the way, as they were part of the team through the end. He then explained, “By the way, guys, in addition to the SAW, I found two select-fire M4s, two M9s, a bunch of mags, and some ammo, all of which, of course, were probably stolen from a guard unit or a regular service component. There was also a crappy pump shotgun and some shells, but the mil-spec stuff has me concerned. We can definitely use it in the current state of things, but if the pieces start getting put back together, or if we encounter any federal forces, they would be a huge liability.”

“The mil what?” asked Charlie.

“Oh, mil-spec means military specifications. In other words, the government-issued weapons we found. The long guns of which would be restricted class III weapons regardless of the state of affairs.”

“That SAW sure would come in handy back at the homesteads if we encountered any more major trouble like last fall,” said Jason. “But we would need to keep that stuff stashed for the reasons Evan stated, only to be pulled out in the event that shit hits the fan again.”

“We won’t have room on the four-wheelers for any of it, so you guys just hang on to it all for now and bring it when you come home. Besides, you might need to fight your way out of a mess down the road for all we know,” Charlie added.

“Well, let’s get the show on the road,” Evan replied. “I don’t want to keep that poor girl in this hellhole for one minute longer. This place has got to be a nightmare for her.”

“What about the mother?” Jason asked.

“Oh yeah, I figured we could put Sabrina on one ATV and her mother on the rack of the other, following behind, of course; Jimmy on one and Charlie on the other. Just run the quads slow, and the rest of us will hoof it and take up point, rear, and flanking positions to escort you to the trailer. Once we get there, we will make camp until the sun comes up. We can then give her mother the proper burial and respect before we go our separate ways.”

“What about the guns?” asked Charlie.

“We’ll be coming back this way to head east towards Hot Springs. We can duck back in and get them then. For now, we can hide what we want to take with us in the woods in case someone comes along behind us between now and tomorrow, after the burial.”

Jason looked at Charlie and said, “Does all that sound good to you? You and Jimmy are the ones being put out the most.”

“That sounds fine with me. We need to get that girl taken care of. If we keep dragging her along with us, there’s no telling what will happen. So let’s go with Evan’s plan.”

After a brief discussion of specifics, Evan, Jason, and Ed moved the weapons into the trees and covered them with brush the best they could while Charlie stood watch out front. Once that was accomplished, they turned their attentions to the least desirable task at hand, which was dealing with Mrs. Jackson’s body. While Ed and Jason retrieved her body from the woods and brought her to the front porch, Evan began searching for something rigid to place on the rear cargo rack of the ATV to support her body, as they wanted to be able to transport her in a dignified manner. After a few moments of scavenging around the house, he realized he was forgetting the materials that were all around him. He went out to the tool shed by the carport and found an old, rusty axe. He pulled the axe out and said, “Hell, I think I’ll take these tools with us, anyway.” Swinging the axe at the hinges on the door, Evan quickly separated the door from the shed, creating the perfect backboard to transport her to the trailer. He then took a few extra swings to the side of the shed before throwing the axe to the ground, and thought,
I needed that.

Chapter 25: Rendering Honors

Once Sabrina and her mother were aboard the ATVs, Jason took up the point position and took along one of the handheld radios; Evan took the rear position and carried the other, while Nate and Ed took the left and right flanks respectively. Sabrina rode on the back of Jimmy’s ATV, bundled up in a few of the cleaner blankets they were able to find in the house, while her mother was loaded onto the wooden door, attached across the rear cargo rack of Charlie’s.

Jason led the way and began walking down the hill to get a comfortable distance in front of the lead ATV. He could communicate with the rear of the convoy via the radio to Evan, while he could simply use hand signals with Jimmy up front. Once Jason got into position, he signaled Jimmy and off they went. Nate and Ed walked alongside, pacing with the idling ATVs, while Evan waited until they were far enough ahead and started marching along behind.

Being ever on guard, the men led the slow convoy west on Highway 70, towards the location where they left their tractor and trailer, watching for threats along the way. As Jimmy watched Jason up ahead, barely visible in the darkness of the night and almost out of reach of the illumination of his ATV’s headlights, he saw Jason stop abruptly and raise his rifle. Jimmy slammed on the brakes, bringing the convoy to a halt. Nate and Ed both took up defensive positions to cover the ATVs. Just as Evan started to key the mic to ask Jason what was going on up ahead, he heard the loud crack of his .300 Win Mag’s muzzle report, and saw the flash of light in the distance.

He immediately dropped to a knee and spun around to cover them from the rear when he heard Jason say over the radio, “Hot damn! Dinner is served, gentlemen.”

“What? What the hell are you talking about?” Evan asked in an excited voice over the radio in reply.

“A mature doe just walked right out in front of me. I guess it was the headlights from the four-wheelers. I popped her. I couldn’t resist.”

“You jerk; you scared me to death,” replied Evan.

“Sorry, man, but if I would have keyed up the mic to talk, she would have bolted. I had to take the shot.”

“Okay, just toss her on Jimmy’s front rack and we’ll gut and dress her out at the trailer,” Evan replied.

“Roger Roger!” Jason replied with a rejuvenated spring in his step.

Evan just chuckled to himself and thought,
It’s the small things in this new world that keep people going.

As they neared the small, dirt side road, where they left the tractor and trailer, Jason signaled for the group to halt. He then motioned for Ed and Nate to rally on him out front while the ATVs and Evan remained in position. As Ed and Nate arrived at Jason’s position, Jason said, “Ed, come with me to make sure everything is still secure before we get Sabrina in the area. Nate, go back and tell Evan and the others what we’re doing. He’s got the other radio. Tell him we’ll call when we’ve secured the area.”

“Roger that,” Nate replied as he turned to join back up with the others. 

Jason then looked at Ed and asked, “Point or rear?”

“I’ll take point.”

“Alright then, let’s get on it,” said Jason as he and Ed proceeded towards the dirt road.

As they crept up the road, Ed in the front and on the left shoulder, with Jason bringing up the rear and off to the right, they could see the sun about to come up over the eastern horizon.
Damn, it’s morning already,
Jason thought to himself. After being hit with that realization, the fatigue began to set in and rear its ugly head. Jason forced himself to stay alert, however, as the last thing they needed was to be caught off guard and have their plans derailed.

As they arrived at the tractor, he and Ed both cleared the area and set up an overwatch before calling in the others. Once everyone had arrived, the first order of business was to get Sabrina taken care of and get her some rest. Evan dug around in the supplies they brought along and gave her a fresh pair of clean clothes, “They’ll be a bit big, but you can roll up the sleeves and legs for now. Here are a couple pairs of socks as well. We don’t have any extra shoes, but these will at least keep you warm. I’m sure the church can get you some shoes in Del Rio. Oh, and here are some alcohol wipes from our first aid kit. You can use them to clean up a little if you like.”

“Thank you,” she said with a quick smile as he led her into the trailer to change. Evan closed all of the windows on the trailer for her privacy. Just before he closed the door, he asked her, “Is there anything else we can get you for now?”

“No, sir. Thank you so much,” she said quietly. Although she was happy and relieved to be free of her captors, she knew it would be a long time before she would feel normal again. She had a lot of suffering, yet, to do inside before she could begin the healing process.

~~~~

The birds were chirping and the beautiful sounds of nature were all around. The light of the day was shining brightly through the gaps around the windows of the trailer. She yawned and looked around, flinching at first, from her unfamiliar surroundings, though she quickly remembered that she was in the safekeeping of her rescuers.

She could smell something delicious cooking. She hadn’t had a true meal in at least a week, making the scents of freshly grilled meat overpowering. She gained her composure, she went to the door of the trailer, cracking it slightly, and peeked outside. She could see Evan, Jason, Jimmy, and Nate sitting around a campfire, grilling some kind of meat directly over the fire on a skewer. 

Jimmy looked over at the trailer, saw her peeking out, stood up, and waved her over with a smile. She slowly opened the door and nervously walked over to the men. She knew she could trust them, yet just couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all too good to be true. She felt as if her newfound freedom was just a dream and she would awaken in her previous hell at any moment. As she approached the campfire, all of the men stood up and took their hats off as Evan said, “Good morning, ma’am, or rather good evening. You slept pretty well.”

Charlie brought her a small folding camp chair and said, “Here you go, young lady. Have a seat and we’ll get you a plate of food.”

She complied with a nervous smile as Jason handed her a plate of freshly grilled venison, green beans, and some cornbread they had brought along from the homesteads. It was a feast for her, as her captors had barely even taken efforts to keep her alive, but even before that, she and her parents often had to scavenge for food.

“Are you doing okay today?” asked Evan. “If there is anything at all you need, or if you have any concerns, please just let us know. We can’t even begin to imagine what you must have gone through and what you might need because of it…” Evan said with a loss for words. He assumed she may have some health concerns or feminine needs but didn’t know how to approach the situation, after what she had been through.

Sabrina just nodded that she understood him, looked around, and then asked, “Where are the other two men… and my mother?”

“Ed and Charlie are standing watch right now. That’s why we are able to sit here and cook and eat without the stress of looking over our shoulders. There is no better security than friends you trust,” he said. “We’ve got a place prepared for your mother. We just wanted to let you get some sleep today, as well as a bite to eat, so that you would feel up to seeing her off properly. We also wanted to get your blessing on the location we found for her resting place. She’s your mother, so you have the final say.”

Sabrina didn’t know how to feel about what was going on around her. For as long as she could remember since the attacks triggered the collapse, she knew the world to be an ugly and unforgiving place. With the exceptions of a few rare instances, people only seemed to be out to take from you, to hurt you, to use you, or simply disregard your needs. Yet, there she was with a group of men who risked their lives to save her from her unspeakable hell. They were feeding her, caring for her, helping her with her mother, and promised to reunite her with the Gibbs family—the closest thing left on earth that she could consider family. They did all of this for what gain? She simply wanted to mourn her mother and lay her to rest so that she could move on, but she didn’t know what to accept as real. The actions of these men, who were total strangers, just didn’t make sense to her.

She finished her plate of food and in a quiet, sheepish voice said, “Thank you all so much.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I don’t know what to say or what to believe anymore, but thank you for everything.” She paused for a moment to regain her composure. “Thank you for not hurting me like the other men,” she said as she broke down into an inconsolable cry. 

Evan wanted to hold her and comfort her as if she was one of his own daughters, but after what she had gone through, he was afraid to make any physical contact with her. Trying to console the girl, he said in a gentle voice, “It’s okay to cry. You’ve got a lot of pain that you need to deal with. Everyone here knows that.”

Then, unexpectedly, she got up out of her chair and ran straight into his arms, breaking down into a gut-wrenching cry. She was having a total release, finally giving in to all of the pent-up emotions from her terrible struggles and from the loss of both of her parents. Evan hugged her and began to cry with her. In that moment, he saw her as if she was his very own little girl and would have done anything to be able to take the pain away. 

Jason, Jimmy, and Nate quietly got up and walked away to give them the privacy in the moment. Jason whispered to Evan as they passed, “We will be at the site… for when you two are ready, of course,” referring to the grave they had prepared for her mother while she slept.

Evan just nodded in reply and off they went. After about another ten minutes, Sabrina began to regain her composure. “I’m sorry,” she said as she wiped her eyes in an attempt to dry them of her tears.

“Don’t be. No one could have gone through what you did without feeling a mountain of pain.” 

“So what are you going to do with my mother?” she asked.

“With your blessing, we’ve prepared a grave for her with a beautiful view of the river. It’s in a place that will be easy to find after the country gets itself sorted out, if you want to come back and visit. It’s on a hill facing west, with what should be a beautiful view of the sunset each day.”

“Okay, I’m ready. I would like to see it,” she said.

Evan led Sabrina to her mother’s grave, where all of the men were gathered; even those currently on watch were there so that proper respects could be paid. Evan led them all in a prayer while Sabrina clung to his arm and cried. She then said goodbye to her mother and they lowered her into the grave. Once the grave was covered, Sabrina laid a bouquet of wild spring flowers that she had gathered from the area and said her final goodbyes. In that moment, she knew deep down inside, her days as a young girl were officially over. She must find the resolve to carry on the family torch so that her mother and father’s legacy did not die, but would live on forever, and their memory be passed on to their future generations.