Castroville: Countdown to Armageddon: Book 7 (16 page)

     He shouted to Tom and asked, “Tom, are you able to walk?”

     Tom’s voice was rough and broken, parched from having very little water.

     “I’m pretty sure my lower leg is broken. I may need crutches.”

     Annie spoke up.

     “I used to be a nurse practitioner. Before the world went black. I can set the bone and put it in a cast.”

     Randy turned his attention back to the men.

     “One of you has a key to his shackles. Go unlock him.”

     The men looked between themselves. One of the braver of the bunch said, “We didn’t have keys. Payton didn’t trust anyone with keys other than himself. They should be on the keyring he has on his belt loop.”

     Sara was climbing down a ladder, installed against the wall next to the hayloft.

     “I’ll get them, Randy.”

     “No. You go watch the door. Those five riders will have heard the shots and be on their way back.”

     “Yes sir.”

     On her way to the door, Sara locked eyes with a tall blonde woman at the back of the group. It was the first time Sara had been able to see her clearly, and both their faces lit up in recognition.

     But hugs and reconciliations would have to wait until they were safe.

     Randy turned to the man who’d spoken and said, “Go get the keys and unshackle him.”

     “Yes sir.”

     Annie offered, “Linkes, Springer, Shiloh and Thompson. They’re all good men. Not like Payton or Wimberly at all.”

     “Very well. You four go stand with the women.”

     He addressed Annie.

     “The other barn. The one with all the horses. Are there any weapons stored there?”

     “No sir.”

     He asked the men Annie didn’t identify, “Do you men have your own mounts in the barn?”

     “Yes sir.”

     “This is your one chance to leave peaceably. The Texas Rangers are taking over the ranch and will protect it for awhile. I’m their scout. I got here first. The rest will be in from Abilene soon.

     “If you ride back onto this property you will be taken into custody. If you display a weapon you will be shot dead. Do you understand?”

     All of them nodded their heads.

     “Go now. If you see the five riders Payton sent out, give them that same message. They are to ignore Payton’s instructions and to keep riding.”

     “Yes sir.”

     The bad men shuffled out the door. Sara trained her rifle on them as they walked over to the other barn. Not a word was exchanged between them. Their heads were down, in the same manner as little boys who’d been chastised by their mothers.

     None of them had the guts to ask for permission to return to the bunkhouse for their belongings.

     Sara guessed that they were afraid of Randy’s wrath, after having lived under a dictator’s thumb for so long. The truth was, though, that they had precious few possessions of their own to retrieve, save their ponies and saddles. Maybe a couple of changes of clothes. But clothes were plentiful. They could be obtained from many of the abandoned tractor trailer rigs which dotted the highways in every direction.

     Truth be known, they were just glad to get off of the Lazy R Ranch. Some of them would have already left, but they were afraid that Payton might send someone looking for them.

     That was no longer a worry. And one by one, Sara watched as they came riding out of the other barn and into the morning sun.

     As for the five riders, Randy was right when he assumed they’d heard the shots Sara fired. Half a mile away when the shots reached them, they’d pulled up and discussed their options.

     The leader of the group, Suarez, asked the others whether they wanted to go back.

     McCoy responded, “I don’t know how you fellas feel about it, but I think he’s finally gone off the deep end. And I don’t particularly like being told to round up my friends so they can come back here and be murdered by a crazy madman with a bloodlust.”

     “My feelings exactly. You know, Last time I was up Waco way I stumbled across a ranch where the livestock roamed free. It was an out of the way place, a couple of miles from the nearest paved road. I stopped to ask for water, and found the old couple who lived there dead by their own hand. They left a note saying anyone who wanted the ranch could have it. They were giving up and couldn’t take it anymore. I think if I can find that place again that might be a better place to settle. You boys want in?”

     “Hell, anyplace is better than this.”

     “Count me in.”

     “Me too. Let’s go. To hell with Payton and his ways.”

     And with that they turned their horses and rode into the countryside.

     Randy went to two of the men Annie agreed to keep and asked them to help Tom to the ranch house and place him on the living room couch.

     Then he went to the door of the barn to relieve Sara on guard duty.

     “I’ll watch for the riders. You’ve got something else to do.”

     “What?”

     “Don’t
what
. I saw the eye contact you made with your mother. Go be with her.”

     “I’m not sure what to say to her. I didn’t realize it would be this awkward.”

     “And it’s going to be any less awkward if you stand here dragging it out?”

     “I don’t know. Maybe.”

     Annie walked by at that moment.

     Randy reached out to her.

     “Annie, you haven’t met my partner Sara.”

     Annie smiled and the two shook hands.

     Randy went on. “Sara’s mother is in your group. They haven’t seen each other in several years. Do you have a private place where they can talk?”

     Annie had her own question. But not for Randy. She turned to Sara and said, “Oh, my God! You’re Sara?”

     Sara was taken aback.

     “Yes, ma’am.”

     She took Sara by the arm and said, “Not a day goes by when that poor woman doesn’t weep for you, child.

     “Hey, everybody! This is Sara. Stacey’s Sara!”

     Sara’s mother rushed forward from the group, who started applauding. Tears flowed.

     It turned out it wasn’t as awkward as Sara expected.

-34-

     Randy left three of the good men Annie had chosen to guard the ranch house while Annie and Sara tended to Tom.

     He took Shiloh with him to talk to the sentries still working the fence. And to Bennett, the young man who’d tried to curry favor with Payton. Randy gave each of them the same message.

     “You have two choices. You can get on your pony and ride out of here. Or you can ride back onto the Lazy R and be shot. Take your pick.”

     Every one of them chose to ride out. Most weren’t very happy about it, but when Shiloh told them the Rangers were on their way in great numbers, they accepted it. Many were wanted men. And all knew the Rangers weren’t men who should be messed with.

     The pair then made their way into the woods to free the men Randy had captured in the night.

     One had inexplicably worked his way loose and had disappeared.

     “Dang it,” Randy said. “I guess I’m getting sloppy in my old age.”

     It didn’t matter much. The man was unarmed and on foot. There wasn’t an awful lot of damage he could do. He’d likely make his way back onto the ranch and would find out quickly enough it was under new management. The others were given the same option as the sentries. Shiloh vouched for one of them and said he was a good, God-fearing man who’d been looking for others to help him overthrow Payton.

     “Annie would have chosen him if he’d been in the barn with us.”

     Randy agreed to take him back to the ranch and let Annie decide whether to send him packing.

     As each man departed, Randy sent them with the same message: Pass the word that the Lazy R has been liberated. The thugs who ran the place are dead. It’s now occupied by decent people and the Texas Rangers are providing protection for them. Anyone coming here looking for trouble will get more than they bargained for.

     Once the word was out, Randy was certain there would be no more unscrupulous types coming to the ranch to do business with Jack Payton.

     Payton was the worst of the bunch in Castroville. Word would get out to the rest of the thugs in town that the Rangers were on their way. To make sure that happened, Randy would spend the next two days, wearing his Ranger badge, poking around the saloons and gambling houses.

     He’d tell tales of other towns which, like Castroville, had been ruled by violent thugs and bullies after the blackout.

     He’d tell of the day the Rangers came to clean the towns up.

     They were always some hard-heads who’d challenge the Rangers, he’d tell them.

     He’d also tell them how the hard-heads always lost. And wound up either dead or in prison.

     Randy knew from past experience that most of the thugs would see the light. They’d leave Castroville and try their luck elsewhere.

     Unfortunately, some would succeed. They’d settle in other towns with weak leadership and try once again to take it over. In some places they’d become the new bosses of the town, and would rule with an iron fist until the Rangers came calling.

     But something happened when the blackout occurred. Most people died. But those who survived became a heartier breed. They toughened up. They learned to live off the land and they learned to defend themselves.

     And they became tired of being pushed around.

     Many of the thugs who left Castroville looking for another place to bully people would
not
succeed.

     They would come up against townspeople who’d seen their kind before, and would have none of it.

     And their attempts to bully the good people of the new town would be met with equal or better force. Many of the thugs would pay the ultimate price.

     Among themselves, the Rangers called it “the whittling down factor.” Each time the thugs were forced to vacate one small town in search of another, their numbers dwindled a bit.

     In that way, the good citizens of Texas… the strong ones who’d survived to become stronger… were helping the Rangers clean up the state and return it to its rightful owners.

-35-

     Ranger Randy, as Sara called him, would continue to bunk at the Lazy R for the few days it took him to scare the rest of the thugs out of Castroville. He sat at the dining room table with Annie, Sara, Stacey and Tom to discuss the small town’s chances for survival.

     Annie said, “I’ve been afraid to leave the ranch since the Huckabees were murdered. They were the rightful owners. The ones Payton and his men murdered when they rode in to take over the place. I was here staying with them at the time, because my husband and two sons died from the plague. There were four others staying with them as well. The Huckabees, they were good friends and good people. They asked nothing of us for giving us shelter. Nothing at all. Then Payton and his outlaws rode in. They murdered the Huckabees and gave the rest of us a choice. We could become their slaves and live, or we could give up and die like dogs. That’s how Payton put it. Then he laughed like a hyena. I could see he was crazy even then. There was just something evil in his eyes. He won’t be missed.”

     Randy answered, “Within a couple of days it should be safe enough to walk the streets again. You can go into town to see which of your neighbors and friends are still alive. Share your experiences with others. Tell them to be wary of men who come by their places looking for water or shelter. Sometimes they’re looking to stay, and to take over. Those that are too weak to defend themselves against people like Payton should band together with others. There is strength in numbers, just like the old saying goes.”

     Stacey and Sara had been up all night, talking of better times and making plans for a brighter future. They were exhausted, but unwilling to sleep for fear of waking up and discovering it was all a dream. That Stacey hadn’t been rescued after all. That mother and daughter hadn’t really been reunited.