Surviving Day By Day (Book 1): So it Begins (51 page)

Charlie looked at Ceara, “I am so sorry I didn’t protect you.”

Alden spoke up, “It ain’t your fault. You were ambushed.”

“Ceara I need to know what he said to you.” Ceara told him what happened and how the man had said his leader wanted
his truck and everything in it.

Alden gave Charlie’s shoulder a squeeze and turned to leave Ceara spoke up, “The leader’s name is Morris. At l
east that’s what the guy said.”

Alden looked at her and smiled, “Take care of your man. We’ll take out the garbage.” He
turned and walked out the door.

Ceara watched as Alden walked out, then turned to Charlie trying to smile. “Charlie if you tell me you are sorry one more time you will have another knot on your head.”

Charlie didn’t smile but looked to the floor, “It is my job, I asked you to be my girlfriend and I let you get attacked.”

Ceara plopped down on the couch beside him, “I was attacked but so were you, don’t you go being a male chauvinist on me! I wasn’t there for you either! Hell, I didn’t even hear you hit the floor, what’s that say about your choice in girlfriends?”

Charlie finally grinned, “Well my choices were a bit slim.” Ceara punched him in the arm, “You are so lucky I don’t know your middle name! I would so be using that right now.”

Tonto still had the man’s neck clenched between his teeth and Tabitha wanted to get some information out of him. So Tabitha took up right where Alden left off but instead of a knife Tabitha pulled her gun out of the back of her pants and pointed it directly at the man’s temple. “Listen here you no good piece of fucking goddamn shit!! Answer MY questions the same, blink once for yes, twice for no. GOT IT?!” The man quickly blinked once.

“Is your fucking camp close to ours?” The man blinked once then. Remembering what Alden had him do with the idiots fingers Tabitha quickly changed the position of the gun and shoved it right between his legs. “Show of fingers and my finger won’t get an itchy trigger finger… how many miles we talking?!”

The man smacked the ground with all five of his fingers down. Tabitha looked at his hand then looked back at him, “Five miles?” The man blinked once and held his eyes shut then opened them wide. Wiggling the gun between his legs Tabitha said, “Well it doesn’t feel like you got much to lose down
there fella.”

Just then the man got all pissed and started to move and Tonto bore down on his throat and was growling loudly. Tabitha then shoved the gun right into the man’s groin and nodded her head in a west direction, “Is it towards that way?” The man blinked twice and Tabitha began to get pissed, “Alright fucktard!
Th
e direction that you were headed with my friend tells me that was the right fuc
king direction now am I right?”

The guy looked up at her like he was trying to spit in her face and Tabitha said to Tonto, “HARDER!”

Tonto bore down and this time he drew blood and the man blinked once sharply with his eye lids. Tabitha then stood up and walked back behind the heaping pile of pig shit. Just then Tabitha heard Alden coming and she looked over her shoulder, “Alden, the camp is five miles in that direction”, she said whil
e pointing of towards the west.

Colt watched as Tabitha got the info from the guy wondering just how far she would go, part of him wanted to kick the shit out of the guy for even entering their camp. He really wanted to kill the guy because this was the second time, first time the guy would have shot him if it weren’t for Maximus.

As Alden walked up and Tabitha told him everything she had found out about, Colt looked into the woods, “I think he’s lying, he has the balls to come here twice, or he is a gopher that better do what he is told. Either way, he knows if he tells where the camp
really is he is going to die.”

Colt pointed to the first direction Tabitha had asked the man about, “He answered really quick with no on that direction, I’m betting it’s there.” He smiled just a little, “But do think she got the right distance out of him. You have to give him credit if he did lie with a gun barrel stuck in his crotch,
not many of us could do that.”

Alden walked to the truck and came back with a couple of zip ties in his hand. Grabbing the man’s hair again he pulled him to a sitting position as Tonto released his grip. Alden grabbed the man’s hands and zip tied them behind him. The man was gasping and sobbing, “I.. I’m sorry… I mean I ain’t like
this. I didn’t want to do it.”

Alden hit him so hard blood and teeth flew out as the man fell over. He pulled him back up and shoved an old rag in his mouth, “I really don’t fucking care what you were like. You tried to kidnap one of my friends and that really annoys me. Not to mention you beat up my son.”

Alden cut a piece of the man’s shirt off and walked away to the tree line with Tonto. Holding it down so Tonto could get the scent he watched as Tonto’s sniffed then turned and put his nose to the ground sniffing. Tonto went into the woods and came back shortly and barked. Alden looked at Tabitha and Colt, “Tonto says he came from the north. I trust him.” He looked at Tabitha
,
“
y
ou said he pointed west right?”

Tabitha was glaring at the man then looked to Alden, “Yeah motherfucker pointed west.” Alden walked over and knelt in front of the man, “Well now we have a dilemma. You see my dog says you’re a liar.” Alden looked at Tonto then back at the man, “My
d
og doesn’t lie. Your friends are expecting you back by now, so they know you ran into trouble and what was it you said to the girl you tried to take…. Oh yeah, the old man has killed enough of you alrea
dy.”

He leaned in and whispered, “I’ve only just begun.” His hand was a flash as his knife came out and slit the man’s throat. Alden stood and looked to Colt and Tabitha, “Get my black bag out of my truck. I’m going to dispose of this shit. He reached down and picked the man up throwing him over his shoulder. Alden went around the cabin and came back riding one of the horses with the man’s body slumped over another. He looked at Beth, “Go check on Charlie see if he’s okay and if he can get on his feet. I’ll be back in a few, Tonto stay.” He turned a
nd rode east towards the woods.

Tabitha turned and loo
ked at Colt, “Let’s get on it.”

Colt followed Tabitha, “W
hat the fuck is going on here?”

Tabitha hurried over to the truck and found Alden’s black bag. After she grabbed it she spun around and looked directl
y into Colt’s eyes. “Look Colt, i
n my neck of the world this is the kind of trash that always pissed me off and now
it’s
basically every man for themselves out here
.
I am going with Alden and help him take out the trash.
”

Colt ran his fingers through his hair and he started thinking of Jessica. How she didn’t like fighting and how it always caused her heart to break whenever they would get into even the littlest spat. But just then Colt looked back at the cabin and realized the world had changed and the people that he cared about needed him just as bad as he needed them. “You know Tabitha
,
I am with ya
,
let me help ok?” He took hold of the bag and then felt something in it that was rather long this caused him to say, “Woooooo hold up just one s
econd…. what the fuck is this?”

Tabitha opened the bag and Colt reached inside to find the rod. When he pulled it out into the light they both noticed that it was a green tube that was about two feet long. With the look of confusion on Colt’s face the only words that he could say was, “WHAT THE FUCK?!?!”

He tilted it one way then the other, stamped in big white letters were L.A.W. His eyes went to Tabitha, “Ummm
…
I think we will just lay this right back down, I think it is a bazooka thing like Arnold had in Commando. You ever see that movie?”

Tabitha laughed, “Yeah wouldn’t surprise me if Alden has one of those.”

Colt gently laid it down, “I’ll just stick with a gun.” He swung the bag over his shoulder after Tabitha grabbed a couple of more weapons. They both turned and looked the direction Alden had left, “What do we do now?”

Tabitha sighed, “Well obviously we guard the perimeter till he gets back!”

Colt sucked air through his teeth, he really hated when he asked stupid questions. “Ok, so I’ll take the back, I’ll go see if Ceara is
ok with me taking Max with me.”

Tabitha called to him, “You better not get her dog shot again!”

Colt waved her off and went in the cabin, he shuffled his feet but knew he had to get outside, “Look Ceara, Alden killed the guy and went to go get rid of the body. We are pretty sure he wants to go look for the guy’s
camp when he gets back, but….”

Ceara just looked at him waiting, Beth came in behind him. Beth could tell what Colt was asking and she also knew that time was wasting so not waiting no longer Beth interrupted, “Ceara, allow me if you will, to tell you what Colt is trying to say. He wants to take Maximus with them for the extra protection because they don’t know what they are going to
get into.”

Ceara glared at Colt, “Maximus isn’t
going anywhere with him alone!”

Beth stepped in front of Colt and looked at Ceara then calmly continued, “Ceara, listen to me ok??
You’re
injured and Charlie over there is injured as well. Now I am telling you
,
right here and right now
,
that Maximus is doing much better. I mean he was there and did a damn good job of protecting us. Alden will be with them and so will Tabitha, Hell so will we! I will stay with Colt and I promise you if Colt hurts your dog then I will give him
a concussion of his very own.”

Colt looked at Beth, “Excuse me?” Beth turned around and winked at him then said, “You heard me Colt!” Colt walked around the couch, “Look, I really only want him to go with me out back till Alden gets back. Tabitha is out front with Tonto and I thought Max could go with me for now.”

Charlie sat up, “We are all going?” Ceara looked from Ch
arlie to Beth, “Will he be ok?”

Colt cleared his throat, “Can you guys discuss that later, I need to know about taking Max with
me and get out there now.”

Charlie nodded, “Take him dude, be safe!” Ceara looked at Charlie, I’m yours but Maximu
s is still recovering Charlie…”

Charlie shook his head, “Ceara, we all need to let t
hings go and Max is just fine.”

Ceara looked to Maximus, “Go with Colt, Maximus.” Maximus jumped up and followed Colt out the door. Beth
smiled, “He will be ok Ceara.”

Charlie started to
stand but Beth stopped him. “Hold up
there Charlie, pull your clutch in. You are not going anywhere.” Beth gently took a hold of his arm and sat down with him on the couch. She put her hand oh his temple and looked into his eye. It was still dilated and she was convinced that Charlie did have a small concussion. “Charlie, if you don’t sit and relax then I will have
to strap you down to the bed.”

Charlie looked at her with this most confused look. “What the hell are you talking about?” Beth continued, “Charlie, I can’t sedate you
,
that would put you to sleep and if you go to sleep you may never wake up. I need you to sit still so that the swelling in your brain goes down
. I
f that means tying you to a bed or tying you to a chair to get you sit still
, then I will
.”

Charlie looked at Beth and then up to Ceara. “Charlie it’s going to be alright. You just sit here and relax please…. I don’t want to lose you too ok?”
Not f
or the first time, Beth felt connected to all of the members. It was all clear to her, she didn’t want to lose anyone anymore and in the past
months
three times was just enough to cause her to not want to add a fourt
h.

Ceara knew Beth was right, “Charlie, please sit still like she said. If we are all going to find these guys then you can move soon enough.” She gently stroked the side of his hair, it was starting to grow out, she pushed the hair behind his ear, “Do this for me please, you are worse than me, I have a little bitty scratch.”

Something outside caught their attention, Tabitha was moving around outside looking everywhere at once. Ceara looked concerned to Beth, “How long has Alden been gone?” Just as she asked they saw Alden ride up on one of the horses pulling the reins of the second one.

Beth smiled, “About that long.” Ceara smiled back, “Well, he can come in here and we can all talk, I don’t want Charlie moving until he has too.”

Charlie was getting irritated, “I am grown, ladies. This isn’t a time to worry about a bump on the head.” Both women glared at him, “Glare all you want, and Ceara you can be mad but I am going out there and I am going now.” All three went outside so they could all talk to Alden to see what he wanted to do. Tabitha was already
there
, Colt joined th
em with Maximus right with him.

Alden got off the horse as the group came up to him. He looked at Charlie, “How you doing son?”