Dark Days Rough Roads (43 page)

“Rob,
they have prisoners in there. If no one is going in there they are either dead
or they aren’t feeding them.”

Rob asked
him what they wanted them to do about them.

“Nothing
right now. They’ll have to wait it out until you guys get in there.”

“What do
you mean ‘get in there?’”

“Rob, you
guys will have to go in there.”

Rob said,
“We don’t have the people for that, they are just too many.”

Roger
looked at him squarely, “You can take half. That’s all you’ll have to do. The
other half are going to come gunning for me. So, let’s lay down the plan. It’ll
have to be activated at a moment’s notice. You will have to be ready at all
times.”

Rob and
Brad both looked at him. Brad said, “You’re kidding right?”

Roger
said, “No, not at all. Listen, you guys have the advantage.”

Rob asked
him, “How the hell do we have the advantage? You’re defending your house; we
have to attack an airport.”

Roger
spoke calmly and almost condescending. “Exactly my point guys. We are pinned
down and you guys have the whole town to run away to. Not to mention, you have
that same town to use to your advantage.”

“I just
don’t know about this,” said Rob.

Roger
leaned back in his chair. “Hell guys, what do you want me to say here? You want
me to tell you that this is all going to be hugs and bunnies? We invite them
out for smores and hot cocoa? It isn’t going to work that way. Rob, you have to
know after watching them gun down Jim that they are going to do whatever they
want.”

“That
propaganda they are spitting out is a ruse to buy them some time. They are
buying themselves time so that they can counterattack. That means me and my
group, and you guys too. Don’t think for a minute that they are going to let
you all walk away like it was a bad family reunion and they’ll see you next year
hoping things changed. They can’t have you guys out there rebelling against
them. You want 10 of them knocking on your door?”

“Roger is
right Rob, we need to get this handled now before winter sets in or we ain’t
gonna make it.” Finally, Roger thought, someone is getting it. “We have about 5
to 6 weeks before it’s too cold to really move around, and plus we have to
think about food and water.”

Roger
told him, “That’s my point exactly, and they know that too. They’ll let you
wait and they’ll let you waste away while you’re waiting.”

Roger
stood up and stretched. They had been there for almost four hours. But they
covered a lot of information and it was time to go. He had to get back and make
sure things were getting done at the house. They all shook hands and wished
each other luck. Roger and his group went back to the house and Rob and Brad
started making their rounds and getting their plans in order.

When they
got back to the house, they saw that everyone was working. He noticed that
someone was in the crow’s nest. Looked like it was Kayla. Next to him, she was
the best shot out of the group. Ahhhh, best to get that done quickly too, he
thought. He would be setting up a small range and conducting some rapid courses
on marksmanship, fields of fire and such.

Kevin
walked over. “Uncle Roger, the wicked witch of the south came out by the road. She
leaned up against her fence and sat there and watched us while she drank
coffee. She had to have been out here for a good three hours total. What we
would do, though, is block areas with the ranger and smaller utility trailer.”
No sooner had he finished telling him that when Roger thought he noticed her
standing in the window.

“She
knows we’re on to her.”

The grass
was long and hid the foot spikes quite well. They had placed them strategically
around each of the firing positions. They used them in areas around the wood
line as well, anywhere there was a path. The group knew if they ran to the
woods not to use the paths. They also knew once they got out of the firing positions,
there was a specific route to take. These were meant for close proximity
deterrents though.

The
concertina wire was unrolled. They placed it around the entryways and windows
of all the buildings. The firing positions had been cleared out and prepped as
well. Ammo loads were placed in each one. Each position had a person assigned
to it and a chart for firing and, more importantly, a final protective fire. If
everyone fired at their designated final protective line, in theory the area
could not be breached.

It was
possible that they could actually get everyone inside and fight from inside if
it came down to that. It was not optimal to do that at first and was only
considered a last resort. That was why the concertina was placed around the
window areas and entryways. Keep people in the line of sight and within firing
reach.

Kayla
came down from the crow’s nest. “How did it go Dad?”

“As well
as it could have gone. I just hope they come through on their end if it comes
down to that.”

“You mean
‘when’ Dad, when.”

“Ya, ‘when.’
Kayla, we need to get four ‘five’ gallon buckets of water in the crow’s nest.
We can dump them on the roof in case of fire. I also want small buckets of
water spread out in the house as well as the fire extinguishers.”

Everyone
turned toward the road. Kayla raised her rifle up. Kevin came running with his
as well. Randy already had his shotgun ready. Haliday dropped to one knee,
raised his rifle up and watched through the scope. The dust pile was growing
closer. “Take cover, everyone take cover.” Haliday watched as everyone
scrambled. He peered through the scope and then stood up. “Open the gates, open
the front gate.”

Diana and
Dawn ran over and opened up the gate. This beat up old green Datsun pickup
truck turned into the drive. “Go get grandma and grandpa quick.” Kayla ran
inside to get them. Roger walked over to the truck. Bev and Rich came out and
headed toward the old truck. David came over as well. Bev hugged Alan and the
family. They had made it here.

“Damn
brother, I never thought I’d see you guys again,” said Alan.

Roger
answered, “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too. How
is everything?” Alan asked.

“Well,
ugly ass truck or not, we need the extra trigger men. We have a world of hurt
coming down on us any time. That’s what we’re getting ready for. Come on, get
inside and rest, let’s catch up, I’ll explain it all,” Roger told him. “Randy,
have everyone empty this truck out and get the gear inside. Put the truck in
the pole barn.”

Roger
asked Alan, “Where did you find that green turd?”

Alan told
him the story. “Nancy traded her wedding ring for it. We went over to the
auction yard. The owner was there with his son selling all kinds of parts from
old cars. This was sitting there along with a few other older cars. I asked him
how much he wanted for it. I offered him my Breitling watch, but he said no, He
said he’d take Nancy’s ring in trade. She took it off and said ‘If it starts,
it’s yours.’ Little starting fluid and it started right up.”

“We went
back to the house and grabbed what we could. I opened the safe and grabbed what
was in there and then dug out my shotgun and .308. They didn’t find that.”

“Who
didn’t find it?” Roger asked.

Alan
continued, “The house was broken into and trashed. They even took the Harleys.
They didn’t find the safe or guns though, only thing we had hidden the right
way. I traded for some gas cans and gas and we drove straight here.”

“How bad
is it down there Alan?”

“The
place is out of control. People have realized the power isn’t coming on any
time soon and the government isn’t coming to help any time soon either. There’s
gangs trying to form, but people aren’t putting up with that and shooting them
cold as they go around trying to loot and stuff. On the other hand I heard some
areas are gang controlled, like the existing city of Detroit gangs.”

Roger had
to take the shot at the city; “Oh the city council is in session?” Alan
laughed.

“You’re
here. You’re safe,. That’s what counts. We have a gang of our own we are
dealing with. They call themselves a militia, but that’s not the case. They
intend to run the area.” Haliday asked Sarah to get some coffee and snacks
ready. She and Karen took care of this. Roger filled them in on what has been
happening. “We have eyes on their compound, we have about an hour after we’re
told they are moving out before they get here.”

“What can
I do to help?”

“Tonight
I’m holding a weapons handling crash course. Tomorrow it’s range time and we
finish prepping the house and property. The kids will stay in the house ready
to dump water on fires or run for ammo. If it gets too bad, they’ll be able to
hit the basement with Mom, Dad, Karen and Elizabeth. Everyone else will have to
fight. You’ll be in the crow’s nest with your rifle. You hunt a lot, so you’ll
be hunting from up there.”

Throughout
the evening they ate dinner and made some more preparations throughout the
property. Roger went over the firearms with everyone. He made sure they all
knew how they functioned and how to use the stripper clips and everything else.
He walked outside to take a breather. He looked over at the neighbors. There
she was. He waved. She flipped him off.

He
responded, “I guess I’m not on your Christmas list this year huh?”

She
yelled over at him. “You’re a bastard, you know that.”

“Well,
you got to meet my father earlier. How can you say that?”

“You’re a
son of a bitch.”

“You met
my mom, too?”

“Oh,
you’re a real funny man aren’t you? You think I don’t know what you’re doing
over there?”

“I don’t
care lady. I really don’t. You’re a sellout. You are a sellout to your family,
to this community and to this country. You’re pathetic.”

She
yelled again. “Well, just you wait smart-ass. In a couple of days, you’ll get
yours.” Haliday walked away and went back inside.

Roger
said, “I expect we’ll get hit tomorrow night or the night after. They’ll be
stupid if they launch an offensive during the day. The bitch across the street
said I’ll get mine in a couple days. So I figure tomorrow night or the night
after. Everything is pretty much ready to go. Three people on security watch.
One outside on patrol, one in the crow’s nest and one in the house listening to
the ham.”

He walked
over and called Rob. “Anything new going on over there?”

“Yes sir,
they are loading up a deuce and getting some vehicles lined up. They keep
checking everything and loading up some equipment and what looks like ammo
cans. They have a guard on the convoy now, but doesn’t look like they are
moving any time soon, not enough activity, maybe tomorrow.”

Roger
said, “Ok, you guys ready?”

“We lost four
guys who backed out, but everyone else is ready.”

“Ok,
thanks again, Rob.”

Haliday
looked around at everyone. Even though they had been through a hell of a lot
the past week and a half, they were still very nervous. Even the kids knew
something was coming. He could try and give them a pep talk, but decided to
just let them be for now. No sense in reminding them of what is coming and what
could happen.

He
flipped the frequency over and called Mike.

“Hey,
it’s Bill here.”

“Hi Bill,
let me talk to Mike. I have a few things to tell him.”

“Ok, let
me get him.”

“Roger,
it’s Mike. What’s going on?”

Roger
answered, “Listen, tomorrow night we expect a fight here at my place. If it
comes down to it and these guys need to run, I’m sending them your way. I don’t
really have a choice.”

“We have
a couple of caches around and enough food to get everyone by for quite a while.
I’ll have a contingency plan in place and then buy them time to get out if it
gets to be that bad. I’ll have Kayla and the older folks grab the kids and get.
Take care of them for me if it comes to that, ok?”

“Roger,
listen you sound like you’ve given up.”
Roger said, “No, just making sure I have things covered. I’m going to get some
rest. Talk to you in the morning.”

Haliday
stood up and called everyone over. “Ok people, we’re going over the plans
again.” He covered the plans and explained where everyone would be and what was
expected of them. He covered the bug out if it came down to that. “I screwed up
the endgame here. We might not be in this position if it went down differently.
I think I could have done a few things differently. I’m sorry guys.”

Rich
spoke up. “Listen Roger, you have nothing to be sorry about. This all came
together because of you. We wouldn’t have made it this far without what you’ve
done. There’s nothing to be sorry about. Whatever happened to the country
happened, and whoever caused that, well it’s their fault, not yours. Those
thugs would have made it here anyway in due time and you just reduced the amount
of people who could have shown up. We’re all proud of you.” Roger ended the
meeting.