The Journal: Crimson Skies: (The Journal Book 3) (9 page)

We switched vehicles, putting our purchases
in the back of the pickup truck with the bags of dog and cat food.
Jason, Joshua and Amanda went to do some casual shopping with the
extra money that I gave each of them, while Mark and I took Jacob
home. The ever-present gloom made it look later than it was. That
night, Jason told me about their excursion to Lamb Z Divy’s.

“The straw was twenty dollars and hay was
thirty dollars a bale
and
they look like short bales. We got
as many of hay as we could, which Joshua says should last six
months for Bossy and Matilda, if not longer. I got only twenty of
the straw, since that’s only bedding. I thought about extra straw,
but the trailer wouldn’t hold any more and the hay was more
important. Anyway, we bought ten bags each of the chicken feed and
corn, plus the dog and cat food. It all came to over four thousand
dollars, Mom,” Jason apologized.

“It’s worth it, Jason. The animals are now
fed until spring,” I reassured him. “Besides, next week all of that
might cost twice as much, if it’s even available.”

August 14

Ken and Karen drove over at ten o’clock. We
had already discussed they should take the Moose Creek Law
Enforcement car. It might give them an edge in a tight spot.

With Eric and Emilee in our car we all
stopped at the gate for passes. I was surprised to find Col.
Andrews waiting for us.

“I should have called before you came all the
way in. My apologies,” he said. “I’m afraid I must ask you to not
shop today. You created quite a stir yesterday and the news spread
like wildfire about all the money you spent. I can’t guarantee your
safety. The rumor is you’re going to buy up what little food is
available.”

I was stunned.

“Doesn’t us spending money help the economy
of the people still here?” I asked. “What if we don’t buy any food?
Only clothes and other stuff?”

Andrews hesitated.

“Are there any garage sales or resale shops?
Spending at those would help those people directly. Please,
Colonel, just a few hours. The two children are growing so
fast.”

“Colonel Andrews?” Emilee piped up from the
back seat. “Can I get an ice cream cone before we have to go back
home?”

“Only if you let me buy it for you,” he
relented, smiling at her.

~~~

At home, we sorted through the bags of
clothes we bought at a couple of yard sales. One place in
particular had a table full of girl’s clothes that fit Emi. The
woman told me her daughter had died in the last bout of flu. She
seemed drained of emotions, yet so sad. I made a deal with her and
I thought she was going to cry when I bought all the clothes for
three hundred dollars. Another stop had some jeans that would fit
Emi next year. Another deal, another happy person. Though that was
it for shopping.

JOURNAL ENTRY: August 19

The power has been back on for one week, so I took
the chance and filled and started up the hot tub. Eric carefully
sliced the plastic sheeting in two places, folding the covering on
top and out of the way. It could be repaired later, but for now I
wanted to gaze out over my woods like everything was normal.

*

I tipped the lid over, removed my robe, and
slid into the hot, steaming water. I know I sighed out loud. I sat
with my eyes closed for several minutes, relishing the heat and the
pulsing liquid surrounding me. The sun was beginning to set, though
still above the horizon. I looked out over the creek valley and a
movement caught my attention. Bright hunter orange flickered in the
light breeze; a marker Eric had left for a hunting blind two years
ago, now tattered by time.

I watched the slight movement of the plastic
tape wrapped around a mid-sized tree, and my vision also caught a
movement to my left, then another to my right: a slow, creeping,
stealthy movement, like leaves and twigs shifting in the wind. The
longer I concentrated, the more I could make out the expertly
camouflaged shapes of humans when they moved.

I stood, letting the water slide off my naked
body. I moved deliberately, stepping out of the tub and picking up
a towel I had laid across a chair. There was no further movement,
not until I reached for my robe and I caught the slight
advance.

I opened the door and stepped inside. I
casually dropped the blinds over the picture window and that’s when
I broke into a run.

I grabbed the FRS radio and hit speak.

“Hey, boys, the west is looking a bit active,
there might be some storm clouds branching out. It looks like rain
could be here really soon. You might want to get those two sheets
off the line,” I said calmly, knowing they would understand the
code: that I’d seen two hostiles.

“Thanks, Mom, we’ll get the laundry in,” Eric
responded with another code, an acknowledgement of my message.

“What is that all about, Allex?” Mark asked
as I hurriedly pulled on some clothes.

“We’ve got at least two people approaching
from the woods, heavily camouflaged.”

“Maybe they’re lost,” he ventured.

“Mark, no one comes in like that, clad in
ghillie suits, unless they mean to take us by surprise, and
surprise is
not
friendly.” I picked up my M-14 and checked
the magazine. “I know you don’t like guns, so if you’re not going
to use one, please stay out of the way.” I looked at his startled
expression. “Mark, I don’t want you hurt in any way. We need
you
. I
need you.” I gave him a quick kiss.

He laid his hand on my shoulder. “I
understand, Allex. Is there anything I
can
do to help?”

“Yes, you can watch out the back window and
look for any movement. Let me know if you see anything, anything at
all.”

Eric quickly made his way across the road in
his limping gait, his AR15 held in both hands. Without stopping to
talk, he climbed the construction ladder that was still in the
front of the house from when he was working on the roof.
Fortunately it was out of sight from the invaders coming from the
back. Maybe we should leave it there.

Eric, Jason, and I had discussed different
possibilities and the codes we would use in the event our radio
signal was being intercepted. Any attack from the west was coming
from the woods, and whoever it was would have to descend into the
creek valley before making the final assault. That’s when they
would be the most vulnerable and when Eric’s sniper talents would
be the most logical to utilize.

Meanwhile, Jason would guard Amanda and the
kids by getting them into the basement, then perching himself in an
upstairs window that had been recently reinforced with the metal
targets to protect the shooter. He had an excellent view of the
street and three sides of the house.

I had the position of taking out anyone that
made it past Eric. I knelt down beside the picture window in the
living room and slid open the recently redesigned window panel.
Eric had replaced the six twelve inch square panels of glass that
decorated the sides of the larger pane. The new reflective one-way
mirrors provided a good view without being seen, and the two lower
ones slid open to provide a spot to insert a rifle barrel. I would
never again question their foraging! Mark stood behind one side of
the large window, watching. It was comforting to have a second pair
of eyes.

We didn’t wait for long. A shot rang out from
overhead, and I saw a body tumble down the hill into the creek.
Seconds later another shot, but I couldn’t see where it landed. I
heard a dull
thump
as a round hit the side of the house. A
muffled shot came next and I saw a camo-clad body fly backward from
this
side! Somehow one of them had made it across the creek
and came up from the south, concealed by the hill and the southern
end of the house, though not concealed from Jason. This was
followed by a barely audible “Fall back!” and we saw three more
stand to retreat, which was then followed by three more shots.

Then we waited again.

Mark looked over at me. “Are we just going to
sit here?”

“Yes. It could be a ruse. We wait until Eric
comes down. This is his forte, so his decision. I know it isn’t
easy, but we’re up against professionals and we can’t afford to
make mistakes. Fortunately, we have our own professional sitting on
the roof, and he’s highly motivated.”

Ten minutes later we could hear quiet
movement overhead, and then heard the rattle of Eric descending the
metal ladder.

“Good shot, bro,” Eric said into the FRS to
his brother.

“No problem,” Jason responded.

I turned to Mark to explain, but Eric beat me
to it.

“That is my signal to Jason to keep watching,
and his that he understands,” he said.

“What if those men are still alive?” Mark
asked, still looking a bit pale.

I had to stifle my smile when Eric raised an
eyebrow and said, “Doubtful. I will check when we recon and collect
weapons.”

Ten minutes later, after no movement at all,
Mark, Eric, and I went to check on those that were shot, while
Jason stood guard on the side of the hill. There were five on the
west side of the creek, one of whom had tumbled and was lying half
in the water. We pulled him out first.

“He’s dead,” Mark announced after looking for
a pulse.

Eric handed me the M-4 that was lying
alongside the body and yanked the dog tags from around his neck,
which I pocketed.

The next three were also dead. I knelt beside
the body of the fourth one and pushed to turn him over. As I did,
his arm came free and he jabbed at me with a very wicked looking
knife. The blade sliced into the soft tissue of my upper arm as I
tumbled backward. At first there was no pain, no sensations at all,
and then it built like a blazing fire. Eric was closest and he
shoved the barrel of his AR15 into the gunshot wound that was
bleeding profusely on the soldier’s other shoulder. The pain must
have been intense; the soldier’s eyes rolled back in his head and
he slumped.

“Allex!” Mark screamed. He was only a few
steps away, though it felt like a mile to me. I’ve been hurt
before, but nothing like this. My vision swam and I closed my eyes
to block the sudden vertigo.

~~~

I woke on my back, staring at the ceiling
tiles in the kitchen, thinking I needed to repaint soon. I closed
my eyes again and thought that was stupid, I had just painted a few
months ago after John left. Then it all came rushing back and my
eyes flew open. I tried to sit up.

“Easy, Allex, you don’t want to rip the
stitches,” Mark said quietly. It soothed my mind to know he was
here.

I took a couple of deep breaths and opened my
eyes yet again, focusing on Mark’s smiling yet serious handsome
face. I smiled back.

“That’s better. Let me help you sit up,” Mark
slipped his strong arm under my shoulders and lifted me. My left
arm was bandaged almost to my elbow and it ached fiercely.

“Oh, we ruined my shirt!” I lamented. “I
really liked this one.” Again, I thought that was a stupid thing to
think.

“Well, it’s good to see Mom is back,” Jason
joked, and then got serious again. “How are you feeling?”

I looked around the room. Mark, Jason, Eric,
Ken, and Karen were all there, looking afraid.

“I guess I should have kicked him over
instead of pushed, huh?” I tried to smile. “Where is he? I hope you
didn’t bring him in the house!”

“No, Mom, Ken has him tied to a tree,” Eric
replied. “Mark insisted on treating his gunshot wound, though
agreed to do it without any painkillers.”

I looked at my husband, and he shrugged.
“We’ve already called Colonel Andrews and he’s on his way,” Mark
said, flicking his little penlight in my eyes.

“His dog-tags say his name is Ken Krause, and
that he’s from a Virginia battalion,” Eric informed me. “I did
manage to get a few things out of him before he clammed up. His CO
is General Marlow.”

“That’s interesting…”

Two vehicles pulled into the driveway.
Colonel Andrews got out of the Hummer, and two uniformed soldiers
got out of the canvas-covered transport.

Colonel Andrews let himself into the kitchen
like a regular visitor.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” he asked, then turned
to Mark. “How is she, Doctor?” He turned again, to Eric this time,
“What happened?”

I looked at the worried man in front of me.
“I’m okay, though my arm hurts like hell.”

“The stab wound was long but not deep, and
not life-threatening. I put in ten internal stitches, and twenty
external,” Mark reported. “If she hadn’t moved, she would have been
hit in the chest and died. This soldier was looking for a
kill.”

Eric reported the events up to and including
the preliminary interrogation. He handed Colonel Andrews a fist
full of dog tags, saying, “We’re keeping the weapons, Sir,
especially the knife. My mother has earned the right to keep
it.”

“No argument there, son.” He looked at me,
somber and apologetic. “Allexa, I’m really sorry this has happened.
I’m very close to catching the head of this mess. It
will
be
over soon, I promise.”

After his men put the bodies in the back of
the transport truck, and shackled the prisoner in the Hummer, with
one standing guard, the Colonel came back into the house.

“May I speak to the two of you privately?” he
asked. The others stepped outside, leaving Mark and I with the
colonel.

“I believe this General Marlow is deeply
involved. He was the only one I told that Kathy had been released
from the hospital and was coming here to recuperate,” he informed
us, “and for some reason he wants her dead. I think he was behind
the first attack too, and was only half successful when she lived.
I’m not sure how
you
tie in, Ma’am.” He paced the floor a
bit, while we waited for him to continue.