The Last Gallon (6 page)

They discussed her situation further and the family concluded that they would indeed do what needed to be done to save her from her fate. They knew that their fate would be sealed in turn but at this point what did it even matter?

Click! Mark heard the sound and turned to Kara who had a big grin on her face. “What was that?” he asked. “The case” she said proudly. “I have been working every possible combo since you handed it to me and it just clicked open”. Mark’s eyes got wide and he said “Well?” Joey and Cindy leaned forward as she opened up the case. The interior shimmered more and more as the lid rose. When it was finally up and Mark could see inside his “Holy shit” joined the kids “Woah” and Kara’s “My god”. The case was chock full of diamonds, thousands of them.

“Does this shit even have value anymore?” Mark asked. Cindy answered him “Oh hell yes it does. It has become a symbol of power. When one of the girls at the house I worked at got a tiny little chip as a tip from a client she was the madam the next day.” Mark shook his head in astonishment. If that was true whoever possessed this haul would have enough clout among the elite to be their ruler. “Should we just haul ass with it?” Kara asked.
The peanut gallery in the back thought it was a great idea but Mark said no. They all asked why so he indulged them with his reasoning.

“If someone is paying this much for something it has to be BIG. I have been told that we would be picking that item up and delivering it somewhere.” He explained. “I’d like to gamble that the item we are picking up would be even more important than these diamonds. Who would give up all this supposed power unless the return was something that gave you real power?” he asked. Kara agreed and so did Joey. Cindy wasn’t so convinced but she wasn’t a voting member of the family anyways. “The only problem with this plan is we will have a short amount of time to get the hell out of
Dodge with Cindy but I think we can do it.”

The family left the safe-zone and were on their own in the poor-lands. It was only a 70 mile drive to Baltimore but with darkness approaching it could take all night. Mark asked if everyone wanted to call it a day. He explained they could find a house or building with a garage and take turns standing watch while the others slept. Everyone agreed that was a grand idea and they left the interstate near Perryville so they could be near the bridge in the morning and maybe catch the gangs sleeping.

Mark found an abandoned service station off of route 222 that seemed perfect. They pulled in and he got the door open and let Joey pull the car inside. He volunteered for first shift so he could sleep until it was time to drive again. He was always a little buzzed from the road anyways so staying up for 3 hours wouldn’t bother him at all. His watch dragged on endlessly like they always do but was uneventful. Kara took his place and he lay down in the corner of the building with his sleeping bag.

Kara’s watch ended and she woke Joey up. Cindy was snuggled close to him and woke up too. She said she wanted to help so she would stay up
with Joey. Kara agreed and told him to make sure he kept an eye on her. She had not fully gained their trust yet as every time they let their guard down she seemed to try something stupid. About an hour into Joey’s watch Cindy was lying with her head in his lap and they heard giggling. Joey pushed her aside and sat at attention trying to listen. He heard the noise again. Cindy whispered that he should wake his parents up but he said he could handle it. He got up to look around the building and left her out front.

As he rounded the corner his world went black and he faintly heard another giggle as he dropped to the ground. As he lay on the ground with his head ringing like a bell he thought he heard a girl scream but he decided it was just a hawk and it was nothing to worry about.

The noises woke Mark and he went to investigate. Mark found his son lying unconscious on the side of the building with his M4 still by his side. Cindy was gone and he assumed right away that she had done it. “That bitch” he spit. Joey started to come to and asked “What bitch?” Mark told him he was knocked out by Cindy and she escaped. Joey shook off the cobwebs and told him that he didn’t think so. He told him what he thought he remembered with the giggling and then the world going dark and Cindy’s scream. As he finished his story they heard another scream off in the distance. It broke through the night but neither of them were sure they really heard it. “JOE-EEEEEE” followed by a slam and the squeal of tires.

Joey and Mark were back in the car like a flash of lightning. Kara was already in the passenger seat ready to go. “Where are we going?” Kara asked. “
Gotta find Cindy” they both said together as they shot off down the road in the direction of the car they heard earlier.

222 took them right into Perryville and towards 40 and the
Hatem bridge. Perryville was luckily sleeping still and the family saw some tail-lights crossing the bridge. It looked like they just sped on over the bridge without having to stop. Could it be there is a bridge in this country that doesn’t involve extortion?

Of course not, only if you are in charge of said bridge do you cross without trouble. Halfway across the
bridge it lit up like the 4
th
of July. Tracer fire came across the front of the Armadillo and two flares were popped illuminating the scene. 8 girls in plaid skirts stood before them with various weaponry drawn. “Well this is a first” Mark exclaimed. Kara laughed. Joey licked his lips.

Mark slammed the car into reverse and retreated from a bridge for the second time in so many days. The girls took a few shots at them but they seemed satisfied that they chased the family
away. Mark drove to the end of the bridge where the toll booths used to be and turned off into the grass. He parked the Armadillo under the bridge and turned it off. “Let’s go get those damn skanks” he told his family as he loaded the weapons onto his person.

The family moved in the darkness the nearly half mile to the bridge checkpoint. The stayed close to the side but it was so dark that nothing would be seen anyways. The element of surprise was all theirs if they didn’t screw it up. Mark spotted one of the school girls with a pair of binoculars. She was acting as forward scout. Luckily she focused on the middle of the bridge and paid no attention to the sides they were approaching on.

Mark halted Kara and Joey and proceeded forward by himself. He made a note to find a silenced .22 somewhere in the near future. The girl had stopped watching and was sitting on the curb smoking a cigarette which was fortunate for him. He snuck up behind her and choked her out. He made another mental note to get a knife. He stripped the girl down and dumped her body off the bridge and then regretted his decision when he heard the loud splash.

Mark brought the clothes and the girl’s weapon to Kara. She looked nothing like the girl but in the dark the outfit should help her get close
enough. The boys would move in on the other side hopefully under cover. As Kara approached the other school girl’s position one of them asked “What the hell was that noise?” Kara responded in her best young bitch voice “Oh I kicked a tire over.” They bought it.

Mark waited until Kara was about 50 feet from their position before opening fire. He and Joey laid an arc of fire across their position while Kara hit the deck and started taking shots while their attention was drawn to the boys. The fire fight was quick and decisive and all 7 remaining school girls lay dead or dying on the concrete. Mark sent Joey back for the car while he and Kara looked for survivors.

A 30 something brunette was alive but spitting up blood. He grabbed her by the hair and sat her up. “Where did that van go?” he asked. She spit a mouthful of blood in his face and laughed. Mark heard a moan off to his right so he placed his 45 to the woman’s head. “You’re not special, there’s another one right over there still breathing.” Kara went over to the other survivor and began to question her. The older woman’s attitude shifted with the prospect of certain death and she answered the question very generically. “I know they went across the river.” he sneered, “Where across the river?” Kara called out “The marina” and with that he pushed the brunette back to the pavement.

Joey arrived shortly after and they switched positions and took off across the bridge to go save Cindy.
They kept an eye out when they crossed the bridge and spotted the marina not too far from the bridge. “First left off the bridge and the next left after that outta do it” Kara said. Mark agreed and they looked for their exit.

They took a quick cruise through town and saw that the marina had been walled off by the gang. There was a building entry point and a gate for vehicles that was manned by armed school girls. The family drove by as if they were just passing by. The girls looked suspiciously at the Armadillo but everyone had seen weird cars driving around.

Mark made a loop of the neighborhood and dropped Kara off in a parking lot. “I’ll steal a car and get inside, you guys find somewhere to hole up and watch for a flare. The flare is your signal to bust in and rescue us.” Mark embraced Kara and gave her a long, hard hug and many kisses. “You be careful” he told her. She smiled and waved her hand as she said “pssssh”. She slung the Sub-2000 she had stolen from one of the dead school girls and strutted off into the darkness with a hell of a switch. Mark said “Damn” and Joey groaned “Daaaad”.

The two parked the car and walked the
neighborhood near the school girl compound. All the houses appeared to be abandoned, the girls must not have been very good neighbors. They chose a house straight across from the guard house. Mark ran back to get the Armadillo and hid it in some trees in the back yard. Joey was setting up camp and had some breakfast ready when Mark returned. They settled in for the wait. “Do you think she’s ok dad?” Joey asked. Mark started to tell him Kara would be fine when he realized Joey was asking about Cindy. “Your mom will find her son, no worries.”

Kara pulled up to the guard house in a newly acquired Ford Ranger. The girls at the gate gave her a once over and asked her where she was coming from. She made up a story about coming down from Boston and they bought it without questioning her further. The gate lifted and she was told to park the truck along the road and walk down to the marina. She complied.

On the walk down she tried to get her head straight and figure out what she was going to do. She had gone several days without taking any meds and it was starting to grind on her. She could feel her agitation level going through the roof. It may be a positive for this mission, if she didn’t fly off the handle too early. “And all I got is this pop-gun” she lamented while fingering the little
Kel-Tec.

The marina consisted of three buildings, she had no clue which one Cindy was being held in. She didn’t even know if Cindy was alive really, she just hoped so. If they wanted her dead they could have killed her and Joey back at the gas station. Kara hoped they had a higher purpose for her, people with higher purposes tended to live longer in this world.

A guard at the entrance to the marina challenged Kara as she approached. “Newcomer?” she asked. Kara nodded yes and the girl reached out and led her by the shoulder towards the center and largest building. As Kara passed the girl smacked her on the ass and giggled. Kara let it go and took a deep breath. “Kill her later Kara” she said to herself and kept walking.

The
center building was basically a large barracks. Girls were strewn about everywhere sleeping in various states of undress. There were bunks, mats, sleeping bags, and even a couple real beds just randomly placed around the large open building. “Great” Kara said to herself as she realized she had no sleeping gear or supplies with her and would be without until she procured some. She found an empty spot against the wall and slumped down to rest for a bit. She was clearly not going to get anything done this early in the morning anyways.

The piercing sun woke her right before a loud noise shocked her. A bugle, can you believe a bugle? There was a girl playing revile and it was way too close to Kara. The girls in the barracks started to swear and stir in unison and finally everyone was up. They started to dress and shuffle their way out of the building. Kara followed.

The building closest to the water appeared to be the mess-hall as that is where everyone was heading. Kara went through the chow line and got some pancakes, sausage, and hash browns. She was giddy to be having a real meal as road food was generally awful. She looked around and spotted a group of girls that didn’t look too bitchy so she sat with them. “Who are you?” the youngest looking one asked. “I’m Kara, I came in from Boston last night.” She told her. “Felicia” the little red head said. “This is Tonya and that’s Yolanda” she said while pointing to a tall blonde and a stout little black girl. Kara told them she was pleased to meet them and dug in to her meal.

About 15 minutes into b
reakfast one of the head honchos came into the chow hall and interrupted everyone’s meals. “Stand if you are new” she barked. Kara and about six other girls stood up. She began to point “Bathrooms, showers, cattle milker, boat painter, chef’s helper, and you” she said as she pointed at Kara, “patrol”. A groan was heard from the other girls who pulled patrol duty for that day. Apparently they didn’t like newbies on their shifts. “Everyone else check your assignment on the board” the boss commanded. “Last night 7 of our sisters were gunned down on the bridge. The 8
th
is missing; it is possible another gang took her hostage. Don’t screw around out there ladies, you will find your ass killed.” With that someone yelled “Atten-hut” and all the girls stood in unison. The commander turned on her heel and headed out the door.

Kara wandered over to her squad to introduce herself. There were four other women going out with her today. Cassie was a 6’4” strawberry blonde that probably played volleyball or basketball before the world collapsed. She wore the cutest double ponytails Kara had ever seen. The cuteness stopped there. Cassie was a bitch with a capital BITCH. Next to Cassie was Greta, if Cassie was a setter or outside hitter on her volleyball team Greta would be the
libero, or token short girl for those of you who don’t follow the sport. Greta was 5’2” and built like a tank. She sported short brown hair and emerald green eyes. She was a real cutie. Miko was an Asian chick who looked like Lucy Liu. Nothing else really needed to be said there. Last was Sicily or Sissy as most of the girls called her. She was tall compared to most girls at around 5’9” and had long flowing red hair complete with freckles. She was like a baby doll. Kara couldn’t help but think that this was the cutest damn bunch of stone cold killers the world had possibly known.

Cassie sat everybody down at a picnic table and explained the mission for the day. The girls had two primary objectives and several secondary. The main objective, as always, was to secure food. The second objective was to secure alcohol. A previous patrol had spotted a still out in the woods but had to give up pursuing it when they met with stiff resistance. The girls were to get some data on
the operation and strike if it was vulnerable. They also had the option of barter but since they had already been fired upon once nobody really saw that as viable.

The secondary objectives involved capturing servants, acquiring drugs, medicine, bandages, and pretty much any other useful supply. They were not to go out of their way for these items but if they stumbled upon them at any point in their journey they could pillage at will.

The still was located at the quarry which was between the road the family came in on and the interstate they had abandoned. The girls were going to walk to their destination to increase the chance of finding any of their other objectives on the way.

The girls walked down Erie Street in a diamond formation with their LMG in the middle. Sissy had the machine gun which was an RPK. Two of the other girls had AK-47s and the remaining two had AK-74s. Kara had one of the 5.45mm models but she was happy to have a round with a little more punch than the 9mm she had carried in with her.

When they reached Juniata Street the girls headed north towards the quarry. This road would take them by an old school and a decent sized middle-class neighborhood. They would probably do a little searching around on their way back unless something jumped out at them on the walk up.

Once they were outside of the protective bubble of their fortress’s outer perimeter the girls fanned out and stayed on the edge of the woods. Walking down the middle of the street was suicide even in a town where you are the queens.
There was always someone who was bigger, badder, ready and more than willing to kill you, rob you or rape you. Sometimes all three, sometimes in that order.

The girls missed the turn that would take them through the
neighborhoods and ended up trudging through the forest instead. It was probably for the better as it was nice and quiet and they had less chance of being attacked out here simply because nobody ever really walked through the woods on purpose anymore.

Kara took the peaceful time to gather some
intel about the other girls and the organization as a whole. She had already learned that they were very military like which was quite surprising as most gangs were just groups of random assholes with no discipline whatsoever. That is why you were just as likely to find them raping as you would ambushing passersby. This group had tasks to perform every day and they did them with precision. If you ran into the school girls during your travels it wasn’t a coincidence. They were always out looking for people to violate in various ways for their gain.

Kara still couldn’t figure out what they hell they had done with Cindy though. She figured they had pressed her into service as a slave of some sort as this was the most common
action. Being all women she would probably be treated a little better than had she been abducted by a male gang. Kara knew there were still plenty of dangers for the poor girl though and would do anything to get her back to Mark and Joey. Especially Joey, he had become quite smitten with her.

“We’re almost there” Cassie barked which brought Kara out of her daydream. Cassie gathered the girls around and gave them their own assignments. They were going to fan out, observe the site for an hour and then meet back at the location they were currently in. Kara was to try to reach high ground and would have to climb several levels of stone so she was sent out first.

Kara made her way down the long, winding dirt road that led to the section of quarry she was assigned to. She could see the opening up ahead so she got closer to the edge of the woods and hugged the trail in case anyone was out there. When the opening became clear she noticed a truck in the distance idling. She took cover in the woods and moved closer so she could get a look at what was going on.

Kara took 20 minutes to reach the edge of the clearing. She probably could’ve tromped through the woods with no issues with the racket the rickety truck was making but she preferred caution over wild abandon usually. The truck was about 200 feet away and she could see three men standing around smoking and joking. The truck was a late 50s model with the wooden side rails and it looked to be loaded to capacity with glass gallon jugs full of clear liquid. Moonshine!

Kara mulled over her options. She could alert the other girls but there was always the chance that they would draw unwanted attention. From what she understood this outfit was pretty well equipped (other than their shipping department) and knew how to fight. She could handle three men, 30 or 300 would be another story altogether.

Kara sat her AK in the brush. She pulled her 22TCM from the holster tucked into her plaid skirt and thumbed the safety off. She then carefully put it back in place. She didn’t want anything slowing her draw even if she risked blowing her own ass off. She made sure everything was “in place” and sauntered out of the brush with as much of a switch in her walk as she could manage without looking more ridiculous than sexy.

Nate noticed the girl first and elbowed Johnny “...the fuck is that?” he asked. Johnny chuckled and replied “Lunch!” Ken, the third guy put his arm out to hold his two comrades back and reminded them that those school girl bitches were crazy in many not good ways. They didn’t seem deterred. Kara’s next move would make all three forget their purpose on earth.

When Kara got within 50 feet of the men she seductively said “Hey boys,” then lifted her tank-top exposing her breasts. “
Whattya think of these?” she asked as she crossed her arms behind her back, grasping the gun and pushing her chest forward.

Eyes like silver dollars all three men had their guard firmly down when Kara produced the pistol. The speed and effortless recoil of the 22TCM allowed her to double tap each one of them before the other could even think of reacting. Just like that 6 rounds went down-range and before the last case hit the ground or her boobs stopped jiggling they were sliding down the side of the truck.

Kara moved quick and jumped in the cab, setting the TCM in the seat next to her. She ground the truck into gear and floored it, nearly stalling as the truck lurched to life. While on the move she called the girls and told them to make haste to the path they broke up on and be prepared to jump on-board.

Ken‘s chest was searing with pain but he was still alive for the time being. “Dad always told me that tits would be the death of me” he lamented. He tried to laugh but it hurt too badly. Through blurry eyes he could see the truck lurching away. He reached for his MAC-10 and sprayed the truck.

Kara could barely hear the bullets over the grumpy engine but she saw the fragments of glass and smell of corn whiskey as the rounds tore through some of the jugs. She was barely at 10mph already and knew the damn truck wasn’t going to just speed on out of there. Hell the guy could probably reload 2-3 times before she made it around the bend at this rate, if he didn’t run up and just jump on board. She made the decision to go ahead and try to put him down for good.

Kara stepped on the brakes and grabbed the TCM. She slammed the truck into neutral
and popped the door open. As she did 2 9mm rounds rocketed through the door. She pressed back against her seat as if it would provide any protection at all. When the fire ceased she popped out from around the door pillar and levelled her gun at the lone gun man. He was bleeding profusely and clearly in bad shape as he fumbled trying to get a mag out of his pouch and into the MAC. She took her time and aimed a shot center-mass.

Ken’s double vision made loading a gun disproportionally hard. He kept picking the wrong one and ramming the magazine through the empty air. As he struggled his heart-rate went up which in turn caused him to pump more blood out of the holes in his body. He knew his time was up and was just about to throw the damn gun down when the kill shot came in. “Thank you” he whispered as he fell backwards into the darkness.

With the threat down Kara got moving again. She could hear alarm klaxons sounding from inside the quarry and knew her shots had drawn the unwanted attention she so did not desire. Without the fear of being shot she was able to get the truck down the path a little more efficiently and was soon lumbering up to the girls. Cassie was so pissed she was surprised there wasn’t fire coming out of her eyes with the glare she had.

Kara slowed enough for the 3 to jump into the back; Cassie of course, had to get up front so she could chew Kara’s ass off for acting alone. Amazingly she didn’t. She got in the truck, punched Kara on the arm and said “You crazy ass bitch!” and let out a laugh.