Forsaking Home (The Survivalist Series) (20 page)

“For the most part, no, though we had some behavioral issues with one of them, a woman,” Ed said.

Sarge fought back a smile again.
I knew that bitch was trouble.

“Then, as you can see, we’re not here by accident,” Sarge said.

“How big of a threat do you think this is?” Tabor asked.

“You’ve got several hundred civilians in here, and you’ve also got an armory full of weapons. We do not want those two things to mix. Let’s just say that,” Sheffield said.

Tabor let out a long breath. “All right, what do you propose we do?”

“I seriously doubt that there are too many of your people involved in this plot, as it would be hard to keep something like this a secret for long. But we can’t take any chances until we sort out who is and who isn’t a threat. I would suggest that you assemble your security people and have them turn in their weapons. Then we—you and my intel team—will interview them. As they are either cleared or identified as conspirators, they will be either detained or released to return to their duties,” Sheffield said. This was the moment that would determine if the plan would succeed or not, and he could hardly keep from tapping his foot nervously.

Tabor sat back in his chair. “Who were these people you captured? Where were they caught?”

“As far as we know they are civilians. One claimed to have escaped from here. He’s the one that had the map. They thought we would assist in their plan and gave the info up freely at first,” Sarge said.

Tabor looked at Ed. “How many people have gotten out?”

Ed thought for a minute. “Six, not including the guards.”

“How’d you bag these folks?” Tabor asked.

“Like I said, at first they approached us. Once they figured out we weren’t who they thought we were, they clammed up. But the cat was outta the bag by then, and with a little encouragement, we were able to get more info out of them,” Sarge said.

Ed smiled. “What sort of
encouragement
?”

“I believe the proper term is
enhanced interrogation techniques
,” Livingston said.

Ed smiled and looked at Tabor. “They should meet Niigata.” Tabor rolled his eyes.

“What’s that now?” Sarge asked.

Tabor waved his hand dismissively. “Back to your prisoners, where are they now?”

“In a secure location for the moment,” Sheffield said.

“Why didn’t you bring them here? They could help point out who’s involved.”

“We thought about that, and will bring them in later. But if we paraded them through here now and the people involved saw them with us we’d lose the element of surprise, making this a hell of a lot harder,” Sarge said.

“Did they have any ID on them?” Tabor asked.

Sarge laughed. “No, not like anyone carries a wallet these days.”

“I’d like to ID the one who said he escaped from here.”

“If you issue photo IDs to your detainees, when we bring him in you can go through your files and find out who he is. We might be able to connect him to some of the other conspirators that way,” Sarge said.

Ed looked at Tabor. “We do issue photo IDs. That’d be easy enough to do. We’ll know where he was housed and what details he was on. It might shed some light on the people in here who are in on it.”

Tabor sat staring at the map. It was obvious he was conflicted. To help make his decision easier, Sarge decided to make another play.

“Mr. Tabor, part of the plot called for the torture and execution of the camp administration. Now I don’t know how many people that is here, maybe it’s just you and Ed, maybe more. But we take this kind of thing seriously in the armed forces and I suggest you do the same.”

“Who’s going to take care of security when we call everyone in? These people will take advantage of the situation if given half a chance,” Ed said.

“We’ll handle that. Our people will take over their positions and run your camp during the vetting process. As your people are cleared, they can return to their posts and our people will pull out. I don’t think it will even be noticed by the majority of your detainees,” Livingston said.

Ed looked at Tabor. “What are we going to tell them we’re bringing them in for?”

Tabor was overwhelmed and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you tell them we’re here to inventory weapons? Say we’ve got armorers with us and they will go through them and make sure they’re all up to speed,” Sarge said.

“That could work. That’d explain why they’re turning in their weapons,” Ed said.

“We really do have armorers, and they’ll check out the weapons. We can also do an inventory for you to make sure everyone has the correct weapon too.”

“That’s a good idea. We’ve been meaning to do that, but it’s been quite a trial to figure out how to do that without compromising the safety of the camp,” Tabor said.

“Sounds like we’re in agreement, then. Can my people come on up?” Sarge asked.

“Sure,” Tabor said, then looked at Ed. “Go ahead and call the gate. Tell ’em to let them through.”

“I’ll go call my folks,” Sarge said as he stood up.

As Sarge headed for the door, he was stopped by Ed. “Hey, First Sergeant, want some coffee?”

Sarge smiled. “Damn right I do! Let me make this call and I’ll be right back.”

Ed started to pour him a cup as Sarge stepped out. Ted looked over as Sarge came out. “What’s the word?”

“It’s showtime,” Sarge said. “Call ’em in, Teddy.”

“Roger that,” Ted said as he climbed into the turret.

“I want the last Hummer to stay at the gate. Let me know when they get here. Soon as that’s done, you and Mikey get over to their comm shack and shut it down,” Sarge said quietly as he spun around and headed back inside. Ted gave him a thumbs-up and Sarge headed back in, eager for that cup of coffee.

 • • • 

It was still dark when Aric snuck out to the fence behind the detention facility. He looked around to make sure no one saw him and pulled the small bolt cutters out of his pocket. His plan was to cut the fence at one of the poles, then cut the ties holding the top to the crossbar all the way across to the next pole. He hoped that by loosening the foundations, the Hummer could break through the fence. He snipped the first wire, and it gave with a snap loud enough to wake the dead. He froze where he was and checked around again. At this rate, it was going to take forever.

The sun was already above the horizon as he finished the second fence. He’d worked up quite a sweat and as he walked back toward the motor pool, a chill crept into him. He quickly put the bolt cutters back and was on his way to his room when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, Vonasek, grab your weapons and go to the mess hall. They’re doing an inventory today. Tell everyone you see. I’ve got to go get Cortez and what’s-his-name from the detention center then wake up last night’s shift.” It was Nelson, his supervisor.

Hearing Cortez’s name, he reacted quickly. “You get the rest of the guys up. I’ll get Cortez for you.”

Nelson gave him a thumbs-up. “Thanks.”

It was now or never. With everyone lining up for the inventory, it was the perfect opportunity to enact the plan. He ran into his room and grabbed the pack that was sitting on his bunk and headed back to the motor pool. The place was deserted. He tossed his pack into the truck and went to the locker and began moving supplies. He took all the MREs that were there, as well as a SAW and several cans of ammo. Ammo for the carbine came next, then the first aid bag, sleeping bags, and a small tent.

He went around to the rest of the trucks and pulled the fuel cans off them, tossing them into the back of his truck. The Hummer was filling up fast. Deciding he had enough, he got behind the wheel of the truck, pulled the red tag off the dashboard, and started it, heading for the kitchen.

He saw Kay inside when he stuck his head through the door. Taking a quick look around to make sure no one was there, he called out, “Kay!” in a loud whisper. When she looked over, he said, “It’s time.” Kay nodded and picked up a small blue duffel bag, quickly making her way outside and into the passenger side of the truck. Neither of them said anything as Aric steered the truck toward the detention center.

“Hop out here. If this doesn’t work, I don’t want you sitting in this thing if other people show up. Just watch the door. I’ll come out and wave when we’re ready.”

Kay nodded and got out of the truck. “Good luck, hon,” she whispered.

 • • • 

Fred didn’t pay any attention when the door to the cell block opened. She didn’t even take much notice when her cell door opened. It was what
didn’t
happen that caught her attention—no jingling keys, no blinding light. Fred opened her eyes and could make out two men standing in the door. One of the men stepped in and grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet. He led her out of the cell and up to the small desk that sat in the front of the block. The other man threw something at her. She made no attempt to catch it, letting it hit her and fall to the floor. Looking down she saw it was clothes—her clothes. The ones she had on when she arrived at the camp.

“Put ’em on. No sense in ruining our stuff,” one of them said.

Fred looked around for a place to change. “Don’t worry about that, just do it here,” the man said.

Fred had accepted her fate. There was nothing she could do at this point, so the request had little effect on her. She took off the smock and slipped the pants off. She was wearing the underwear and bra issued by the camp and knelt down to pick up her clothes.

“No, no, sweetheart, all of it,” the man said.

It was then she knew what would happen next. A tear began to roll down her cheek as she pulled the bra over her head.

“Damn, they look better without anything covering them up,” one of them said.

As Fred pulled the underwear off one of the men stepped forward, and as they slipped off her foot he grabbed her arm. “No sense in letting something that looks this good go to waste.”

“Put her on the desk,” the other man said as he unbuckled his belt.

Thoughts of what happened to Jess flooded through Fred’s mind.
This is it, this is how it’s going to end, this can’t be happening, this can’t be real.
As one of the men pushed her toward the desk, her mind began to race.
How can I get out of here?

I
took the first watch after dinner and brought my RWS air rifle out with me, hoping to see a rabbit. I remember when I was young my dad, uncle, and I would hunt them at night with a light. This wasn’t sport hunting—we needed it. There were times those rabbits made a difference. So tonight, I’d use the same tactic to try and bag a bunny.

I kept the fire low and sat on the top of the picnic table, periodically shining my light around the open area between the cabins and the river. At about ten, I saw the first set of eyes. Raising the rifle while holding the light on it, I looked through the scope. I could clearly see it and centered the crosshairs on one of the eyes and pulled the trigger. The rabbit flipped and hit the ground.

There are two kinds of rabbits in Florida, cottontail, which I had gotten here, and what we call swamp rabbits. Taking this cottontail back over to the table, I quickly skinned it out and gutted it, saving the entrails for the dogs and tossing the hide into the woods.

With one in the bag, I was now motivated to find another and started actively looking. Slipping around the perimeter of the camp, I kept close watch on the area where the clearing met the brush. By midnight, I’d bagged two more and decided I’d had enough. I went over and woke up Danny to take his turn and told him about the rabbits.

“Nice, man,” Danny said looking at the three skinned bunnies lying on the table.

“Yeah, they’ll be good for breakfast,” I said.

“Sure will. Go on, dude, I’ve got this.”

I slapped him on the back and headed for my cabin. I managed to find my way in without a light and was quickly in my bag. Sleep came almost instantly, a heavy dreamless sleep. In the Before I often joked about this kind of sleep, calling it the darted-rhino sleep. I got it from one of those wildlife shows where they were darting white rhinos in Africa. Seeing how they acted as the drug took hold, I remembered thinking,
I’ve felt like that before.
It became a running joke in my family.

What seemed like moments later, I was awakened by little feet dancing around my sleeping bag. “Wake up, rhino!” Little Bit said, giggling. “Breakfast is ready!”

I headed out for breakfast and joined the others. As we ate the rabbits, I was deep in thought, remembering what Chase had said about the lemon tree. It would be great to have citrus, but I didn’t know of any lemon trees around here. Everyone thinks Florida is covered in citrus trees, but that’s not the case. The area we lived in was in the northern limit of their range. Suddenly, something hit me.

“There’s a tangerine tree upriver,” I said, out of nowhere.

Everyone stopped eating and stared at me.

Looking at Danny, I said, “Remember that tangerine tree we found on the opposite side of the river up there?”

Danny chewed his grits for a moment. “Oh yeah! Had those sour tangerines.”

“Yeah, that’s the one. I want to go find it today. I totally forgot about it.”

“Sounds good to me,” Danny said, then, looking around the table, added, “Anyone else want to go?”

“What are we going to do with sour tangerines?” Jeff asked.

“Don’t knock it, we could use the vitamins,” I said.

“We could make jelly,” Bobbie said.

“I know how to make marmalade,” Thad said.

Everyone now looked at Thad.

“You are just full of surprises,” Mel said.

Thad smiled. “I know a thing or two.”

“I want some marblade,” Little Bit said, doing her best to say the word. “Can I go with you, Daddy?”

“Sure, I don’t mind, we’re going to take a canoe.”

“I’m not going in any canoe. I’ll take a kayak,” Mel said.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want you in one either, it’s still too cold to go swimming,” I said with a laugh. Mel was famous for her ability to turn over a canoe. I couldn’t even count the number of times she’s turned one over at the launch, before we’d even begun a trip.

“I’ll kayak too,” Bobbie said.

“Aw, I wanted to take a kayak,” Taylor said.

“Sorry, kid, you’re riding with us,” I told her, then looked at Lee Ann. “You want to go?”

She was picking at her grits with a spoon and barely looked up. To my surprise, this time she actually answered me. “No, I’ll stay here.” Mel shot me a look, but I shrugged. We couldn’t force her to go.

Noticing there was a bit of tension in the air, Jeff jumped in. “I’ll stay here, got a couple of things I want to work on today. Plus, you know how I am with canoes,” he said, getting a chuckle from us.

“I’ll stay too. I’m going to get some more swamp cabbage for the pigs. I want to make sure all them little ones will make it,” Thad said.

“Well, when are we going?” Bobbie asked.

“As soon as I finish this rabbit,” I said.

“Yeah, it’s good, nice job,” Thad said, holding up a leg.

“I haven’t had rabbit in a long time. I don’t remember it being this good,” Bobbie said.

“Hunger has a way of changing your perspective on food, doesn’t it? We need to keep our eyes open for them from now on,” I said.

“Absolutely,” Danny said as he sucked on a bone.

After we finished up, those who were going on the tangerine hunt headed for the boats. Mel and Bobbie got in the kayaks while Danny, Taylor, Little Bit, and I got in the canoe. I took the bow seat and Danny got in the stern.

The morning was cool and the water like glass. I watched the eel grass sway in the current as we passed over it. Red-eared slider turtles sunned themselves on downed trees, looking comical with their feet held up in the air.

Mel and Bobbie were on the opposite side of the river, gliding past the low-hanging oaks on that side. It brought a smile to my face. It seemed just like a normal paddle down the river. Little Bit was hanging over the side, grabbing at the passing lilies. She latched on to something and I felt the boat tug.

“Hey, let go—don’t do that, or you’ll get pulled out of the boat,” I warned.

There was a little pop and she pulled a slender green stem into the boat. “Look, Dad.”

She was holding a seed head of the yellow pond lily. It was a small bell-shaped pod containing a number of seeds. I was surprised to see it this early in the season.

“Can we take them back and pop them?” Little Bit asked.

I smiled. That was something we did for fun in the Before. We’d strip the flesh off and separate the seeds and put them in a hot skillet. They’d pop, and though they weren’t as good as popcorn, they had an interesting likeness to them.

“Keep your eyes open for more,” I told her. She smiled and looked back to the river for the next one.

We maneuvered the canoe over to the edge of the river to get into a patch of lilies. Feeling the canoe tip, I looked back to see Danny pulling something out of the water. He held up a large apple snail. “Check it out.”

“Oh, let me have it!” Little Bit said, holding her hand out.

I looked over into the water. “See any more?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Hey, me too. Let’s collect them,” I said.

We spent the next fifteen or so minutes collecting snails. Little Bit piled them all in the bottom of the boat. Even Taylor helped, plucking several from the weeds in the slow-moving water.

“What are you going to do with these?” Taylor asked.

“Eat ’em,” I said.

“Eew, I’m not going to,” Little Bit said.

“Are they good?” Taylor asked.

“I don’t know, never had them, but I know they’re edible. We’ll have to try them out,” I said.

“We’re getting all kinds of stuff!” Little Bit exclaimed, holding a handful of snails and seed pods.

“Let’s see what else we can find,” I said as I pushed the bow of the boat out into the current.

Mel and Bobbie were ahead of us, in the middle of the river, where it opened up and the current slowed. They were sitting there talking, waiting on us. As we glided up, Mel pointed toward the trees.

“Is that your tangerine tree?” she asked.

We moved the boat toward them. From there, we could see the top of the tree, its orange fruits shining in the sun.

“Yep, that’s it. It’s late in the season for them, but let’s go see what they look like,” I said as we paddled.

It was a bit of an event getting everyone out of their boats. We had to pull the kayaks up onto the bank so the girls could get out of them without tipping. Once everyone was on dry land, we checked out the tree. The only fruit still on it was high up in the top. Naturally, Little Bit volunteered to climb up.

“No, you stay here. Dad will figure something out,” Mel said.

I looked at her. “Let her climb it—it’s a tree! She’s a kid. That’s what kids do.”

While not thrilled with the idea, she relented and Danny helped Ashley into the tree. Of course, as soon as she was in it, she got scared.

“Go on up and pick some, kiddo,” I said.

“I can’t, Daddy! Can I come down?” she asked, panicked.

“Yeah, come on,” I said as I reached for her and set her on the ground.

“Now what? How are you going to get them down?” Bobbie asked.

“Let’s see what we can find,” Danny said, scanning the woods.

I moved off the shoreline to look as well. There was a decent trail and I started walking down it, looking for something long to reach up into the top of the tree.

“Hey, Morg,” Danny called.

I walked back down the trail toward him, and saw him waving a long limb. As I got closer, he held out a handful of tangerine peels.

“How was it?” I asked.

“Don’t know because I didn’t eat any. I found these peels on the ground.”

“Hmm, that may not be a good sign.”

“Yeah, well, look at this,” he said as he turned and started to walk. He stopped at a wide portion of the trail that was littered with an assortment of trash.

“Looks like someone’s been camping here,” I said.

“Yeah, and I found this.” He handed me a spent shotgun shell.

“Someone must be moving up and down this side of the river. Could be our friends who visited the other day,” I said.

“Looks that way. Let’s go get some fruit and get out of here.”

“All right, don’t say anything to the girls right now. They’ll probably get scared and want to leave. You go after the fruit and I’ll keep an eye out,” I said.

Little Bit and Taylor occupied their time collecting more snails in the slack currents by the bank. Mel and Bobbie were sitting in the sun, relaxing and chatting. It almost felt like normal times, for a moment. Meanwhile, Danny went to work with the limb he found. It was a comedy of errors of sorts, watching him try to piñata tangerines out of the tree, but after a bit he got the hang of it and actually managed to get quite a few to fall. I picked up one. It was on the dry side, but they weren’t as sour as I remembered. Overall, I’d call it a success.

 • • • 

Thad pulled the axe out of the splitting stump, putting it over his shoulder. Jeff followed behind him as they headed into the woods in search of another swamp cabbage. Jeff was plodding along behind Thad when Thad stopped short, causing Jeff to walk into him. He was just about to go off on him when he looked out past Thad to see a doe standing not twenty yards away. Jeff knelt down and took aim with his AK.

Wonder if I can hit her?
he thought as he squeezed the trigger, causing Thad to jump. The doe jumped as well and ran off.

“Shit, guess I missed her.”

“I was hoping you’d take a shot, but a little warning next time might be nice. You scared the hell out of me. Let’s go take a look. Maybe you hit her.”

They both searched the area, looking for blood or any other indication that she had been hit. Moving in the direction the doe ran, Jeff called out, “Over here.”

Thad came over to see a thick, dark blood clot. “That’s good. Let’s see if we can follow the trail.”

The trail wasn’t hard to follow, and they soon found her lying under a palm tree. The round had entered her right shoulder and exited on the left side, taking a substantial piece of rib with it. Thad rolled the deer over, examining the wounds. “Good shot. For a full metal jacket round, it did a good job.”

“I was wondering what it would do. I thought the wound would be a lot smaller.”

Thad pointed at the missing section of rib. “Hitting that bone there really did a number. Let’s take her back to the cabin and get her cleaned up.”

They each grabbed a front leg and dragged her back to the cabin. Dropping her near the tree line, Thad went to get his knives. On his way back, he asked, “You ever dress a deer before?”

Jeff shook his head. “No, never was much of a hunter. I’ve been missing out. It’s fun.”

“Well, the real fun’s about to start,” Thad said as he lifted one of the front legs. “Hold that.”

With Jeff holding the leg, Thad slit the belly and set about gutting the deer. He removed the organs, setting the heart and liver aside. Next, he made a cut behind the tendons on the rear legs and stuck a sharpened stick in both sides. He then tied a length of rope to it, and together, he and Jeff hoisted it up into a tree.

“It’s a lot easier to work on it this way,” Thad said as he hung it.

“I’ve seen pictures, you know, but it’s really neat to see in person.”

Thad smiled. “First time for everything.” He went on to explain to Jeff how to skin the deer. He wanted to save the hide and talked about the process of removing it properly. Thad then discussed the quartering process, showing Jeff how to remove the backstrap and tenderloins.

“This here is some of the best meat on a deer,” Thad said, holding up a tenderloin.

“I didn’t even know that was there.”

“You sure don’t want to leave it behind. It’s really good.”

Once the deer was quartered, they moved over to the table and started to cut the meat from the bone, removing every usable piece of meat and dropping it into a clean bucket. When they were done, all that was left was a pile of bones and the spine. The dogs had sat patiently watching the process and were finally rewarded when Thad took an axe and cut the spine into three pieces, tossing one to each of the dogs.

“What about these bones?” Jeff asked.

“We’ll save them. I’ll boil some of them to make broth and I’ll smoke some, for the dogs later.”