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Obion River, Tennessee
Camped on an oxbow northeast of Kenton, Tennessee, Sandy looked over at the pile of gear they were leaving. Mainly she was looking at the tool belts the husbands had worn to carry their gear. From the stuff they’d taken last night, she and Mary agreed they didn’t need them anymore since they had actual tactical vests now.
When Sandy took over guard at noon, she had put the shoulder holster for the Ruger pistol on her vest, mounting it under her left arm. The vest was heavy but after being shot at and having her husband killed, Sandy would put up with the weight. Each vest had a drop platform that held Berettas 92FS. She knew that gun because Johnathan had two.
In the end, Sandy packed her Glock in a saddle bag and decided to carry the Beretta because she couldn’t swap out the holster. “If Johnathan and Bill could’ve made it here, we wouldn’t have any trouble getting home with this stuff,” Sandy offered and looked over at Mary’s vest.
Like Sandy, Mary had mounted the Ruger to her vest.
With the night vision monocular they’d made excellent time. Each one had carried one of the M4s with the thermal scope across their backs last night. Tonight, they would carry the rifles strapped to the back of their saddles. Neither had wanted to take the muzzle brakes off their rifles and mount them to the new weapons. The case Sandy had grabbed, and only opened once they’d made camp, carried thermal binoculars.
At first, neither had known what it was when Sandy pulled it out. In truth, they thought it was a laser range finder, until Sandy had pulled out a booklet inside the case. Now, whoever was in front could spot threats much farther away. “It’s a miracle those guys never turned around because they would’ve spotted me,” Sandy shivered as Dan rested his head in her lap.
“They were drunk off their asses,” Mary said in a groggy voice as she sat up.
Giving a startle, Sandy turned. “Sorry if I woke you.”
Waving a hand and brushing the apology aside, “Please, it’s hotter than hell,” Mary grumbled.
Sandy looked down at her watch and pressed buttons. “Yeah, it’s ninety-six,” she reported. “I’ll take first watch tomorrow, so you can go to sleep in the morning while it’s cooler.”
“Thanks,” Mary yawned as she stretched. “Any stinkers?”
“No,” Sandy answered. “I listened to the scanner and the radio we took, but I haven’t heard anything from that group.”
Getting to her feet, Mary chuckled. “I’m glad we were ten miles away when they found those two.”
“I wanted to turn around and kill more,” Sandy confessed. “But we have to get home to the kids.”
Picking up her collapsible chair, Mary moved over and opened it up before sitting down beside Sandy. “That’s right, we do,” Mary told her. “When the kids get older, we can take a trip to the Mississippi River, then to Kansas and Oklahoma.”
Staring ahead with dead eyes, Sandy nodded. “I’ll be there.”
Looking over at the stove, Mary sighed seeing the coffee pot. “Did you get a chance to inventory the batteries?”
“Yeah,” Sandy snorted. “I have no idea why Johnathan grabbed hundreds of AA batteries and those 123 batteries.”
“I think he knew eventually we would come across some night vision goggles,” Mary replied as she poured a cup of coffee.
Turning back to the tool belts in the gear they were leaving, “He said as much a few times,” Sandy admitted. “He thought we would get some off a stinker soldier.”
Sitting back down, Mary tapped Sandy’s vest that was on the ground with her foot. “Those didn’t come off a stinker.”
“Yeah, and neither did this equipment or those backpacks,” Sandy said, moving her eyes from the tool belts to the two backpacks they’d taken. “We almost have as much 5.56 as we do .22 now.”
Lowering her coffee mug, “Sandy, we took three cases of .22. That’s fifteen thousand rounds,” Mary pointed out.
“I counted what we took,” Sandy said, taking her eyes off the tool belts. “We have eleven thousand rounds of 5.56 now. That’s over three hundred pounds. I know because I got the invoices when Johnathan ordered ammo. I spread it out among all the horses with the food so if we lose one, we aren’t hurt.”
“Should’ve woken me up to help,” Mary told her, then took a sip. “You didn’t sleep but a few hours.”
“Nah,” Sandy grunted and then grinned, fighting the urge to pack the tool belts in a saddle bag. “Seeing you sweating to death while you tried to sleep made me want to find a fan for you.”
Rolling her eyes, “I can’t wait for air conditioning,” Mary moaned. “Air conditioning, a hot shower, and a sharp razor to cut this damn fur off my body.”
“And panties,” Sandy chuckled.
“I’m glad they had boys underwear that we could wear at the scout camp,” Mary nodded. “But I don’t like the way they fit.”
Reaching over, Sandy handed a small pot off the stove to Mary. “That’s your half.”
Taking the pot, Mary froze upon hearing a gunshot to the north. “I’m surprised anyone is stupid enough to shoot a gun without a suppressor.”
“Johnathan said not many people knew how to make one,” Sandy sighed and turned back to the tool belts.
Pausing between bites, Mary nodded. “I was one who didn’t know until they showed me.”
“Me too,” Sandy grinned. “You do know, Lance and Ian showed them how to make suppressors with PVC.”
Wiping her mouth off, “Yeah,” Mary grunted. “Bill told me in Nevada. I finally got him to narrow down the time, and it just so happens that’s when the swans in the park died of .22 caliber gunshots to the head.”
Raising her eyebrows, “Didn’t think about that,” Sandy grunted, pushing Johnathan from her mind. “Well, if the boys did it, I’m not mad. Those swans attacked Allie and Carrie more than once. Hell, they attacked them in my front yard.”
“If they did it?” Mary huffed and then grinned. “I do love the fact that all the dead swans were laid on Oliver’s front yard in neat rows. Seemed fitting since he’s the one who paid for them.”
“It’s taken me some time but after talking to Johnathan, I’m not that worried about the boys,” Sandy admitted.
Scraping the pot clean with her spoon, “I just don’t want their egos to overload their asses,” Mary commented, then ate the last spoonful.
“That’s why we have to get home and make sure that doesn’t happen,” Sandy said, holding her chin high.
“Sandy, we can’t come home and make them stay inside,” Mary chuckled.
“Please,” Sandy scoffed. “I know that, but they will have to let us know beforehand, and we can decide if the action is worth it.”
“Yeah, like they consulted us before,” Mary droned dryly.
Getting up, “I just never wanted them to get in trouble with the law,” Sandy confessed and then added, “Or hurt anyone who didn’t have it coming.”
Filling the pot with water, Mary started washing it out. “Remember when they put Icy-Hot in Jason’s jockstrap?”
Giving a hiccup, Sandy fought not to burst out laughing. “Jason did put both inside a sleeping bag and held them down with his butt at the opening, farting in the sleeping bag for half an hour.”
“The only reason he stopped was Bill heard the boys gagging and made Jason let them out,” Mary snickered, then she stopped. “Holy shit, I can still remember the scream Jason let out.”
“Scream is right. I thought it was Allie or Carrie,” Sandy replied. “Johnathan and I heard it at our house and took off to find out what’d happened to one of the girls.”
“Thank you for letting Ian spend the week down there,” Mary sighed. “I thought Jason was going to kill them.”
Waving her hand, “He always stayed there or Lance with him. To be honest, I can’t remember the last time Lance stayed at home without Ian,” Sandy said, furrowing her brows still trying to remember.
“I do,” Mary nodded, drying the pot out. “The day after Christmas. Last year, when we went to my mother’s. You wanted Lance to go to Johnathan’s office party and I wanted Ian to see his grandmother.”
Giving a groan, Sandy rolled her eyes. “How could I forget that?”
“I didn’t because that’s why we left my mother’s early. I was tired of listening to Ian. We were going to spend three days there, but I was ready to come home the next day. Ian can whine ten times worse than Allie, but she was whining right along with Ian.”
“Lance just moped like someone shot his dog,” Sandy said. “Mary, I’m really wondering if Allie is going to outgrow her crush on Lance.”
“If she doesn’t I’ll walk her down the aisle, if she ever got Lance to see her as something other than a little sister,” Mary stated confidently.
Shaking her head, “I don’t see that happening,” Sandy answered. “Lance loves Allie and Carrie so much. That’s the reason Johnathan and I thought about adopting, but changed our minds. Lance has brothers and sisters.”
They packed up the stove and filled the thermos, then moved over to lift the pack saddles on. “How much does each one weigh you think?” Mary asked. “I swear, this one was heavier yesterday.”
“They all weigh about two hundred pounds,” Sandy said as they moved to the next one. “That’s the most I can lift, and you can lift a little more than me. I wanted us to be able to load the horses alone, in case the other is holding off stinkers.”
When they were done, Mary looked at the six horses loaded down. “You mean we have over a thousand pounds of supplies?”
“Easy,” Sandy answered, grunting as she picked up her saddle. When her saddle was on her horse, Sandy straightened the blanket out under the saddle. “Each of us has over a hundred pounds of gear on our horse, not including us.”
Mary looked down at her belly. With the compression shirt she had on it really touted her now very slim waist, and she could actually see her abs. “These horses better be glad I dropped those twenty pounds.”
“The new world diet and workout plan,” Sandy grunted, buckling her saddle on. “Get fit or die.”
Throwing the horse blanket on, “If I could shave I swear, I would be another ten pounds lighter,” Mary groaned. “How can men deal with hairy legs? I hate the way pants feel rubbing against my hairy legs.”
Shrugging as she put the bridle on her horse, “Johnathan shaved his legs for a bodybuilding show once and I thought he would continue, but he said he hated it,” Sandy said.
“Jason did,” Mary said, then picked her saddle up and put it on her horse. “Holy shit!” Mary panted. “I’m thinking you’re stronger than me.”
“So says the woman who carries back two five-gallon jugs of water,” Sandy scoffed, pulling the vest over her head. Strapping down the sides, Sandy looked at the ten magazines across her abdomen. They had taken all the plastic magazine holsters and mounted them, along with the four on each vest.
“I never said they weren’t heavy,” Mary grinned, since Sandy could only carry one jug at a time. “Let’s eat one of those nasty MREs while we ride and only take a coffee break.”
“Can I have the stew?” Sandy asked hesitantly.
Giving a shiver, Mary nodded. “By all means.”
“Ready to go over the memorized route?”
Pulling on her gloves, Mary gave a curt nod. “How about we do it together?”
Sandy nodded and took a breath, then both spoke simultaneously, reciting the route Bill and Johnathan had them memorize. Neither faltered reciting the two hundred mile route. When they finished, they checked each other’s vest and equipment.
“Your drop bag is loose,” Mary said, tightening the feed bag lashed to Sandy’s vest on the left lower edge.
“It would suck to lose that,” Sandy gasped, looking under her left arm and watching Mary tighten up the braided paracord holding the bag to the vest. After going over each other, they walked around the camp with the dogs to make sure they didn’t leave anything.
Sandy stopped, shaking her head. “Mary,” she called out, pointing. Mary turned around and saw Sandy pointing, and followed the finger.
“How in the hell did we forget those?!” Mary cried out, walking over and snatching up her folding chair. After Sandy grabbed her own, they lashed them to the pack horses. “I thought Johnathan was crazy, but I never knew what a difference it would make just sitting in a chair would have on me.”
Nodding, Sandy brushed a tear from her eye. “Yeah, he told me the small comforts can make a huge difference, like the coffee and hot food. It was a risk because someone could smell it, but we needed it to keep our spirits up.”
“Bill said the same,” Mary mumbled, reaching down to pet Ann.
Again they walked around the camp, much slower since they’d overlooked the chairs. Satisfied they weren’t leaving anything they needed, Mary walked over to the pile of gear they were leaving. “Sandy, where’s the tool belts?” Mary gasped, looking around in a panic.
“Um, I packed them,” Sandy answered in a small voice. “Sorry, but they were so proud of them.”
Walking over to Sandy, “I was going to pack them,” Mary whispered with a smile. “I would leave my chair to take those. I loved the way they would pat the tool belts down while checking gear.”
“Me too,” Sandy agreed.
They each took off their caps and put the head harness on, flipping the monocular up before putting their caps on backwards. Both turned to the setting sun but because of the trees, they couldn’t see it. Each took their sunglasses off and put them in the saddle bags.
“Lead or rear guard?” Mary asked.
“I’ll take lead first,” Sandy answered, checking her AR and then her Ruger pistol. Putting the .22 back in the shoulder holster, Sandy pulled out the Beretta. “I hate this heavy thing,” she snarled, checking it before dropping it back in the holster.
“Hey, if the holster would hold my Glock, I would carry that. I love my XD at home more, but the Glock is lighter,” Mary admitted, finishing her own equipment check. Grabbing her quiver of arrows, Mary hung them on her left side beside her drop bag. “You lighten your backpack?”
Climbing up on her horse with a grunt, “Yeah,” Sandy answered. “Still don’t think I can hang off the side of my saddle though.”
“I’ll do it if we can retrieve an arrow,” Mary offered, climbing up in her saddle. Lashing the lead rein from her first packhorse to her saddle, Mary turned around and looked at her three packhorses. “Not much further, guys,” Mary told the horses, and patted the horse under her. “When we get home, Sandy and I will fence off a pasture for you.”
“Damn right,” Sandy huffed, tying the lead rope to her saddle and then gave her horse a small kick. As her horse moved through the trees, Sandy hung her AR across her front and held her bow in her left hand, then checked the two quivers of arrows hanging off her saddle horn. Satisfied, Sandy started scanning around and then saw Dan looking to the right.
Sandy pulled her horse to a stop and followed Dan’s line of sight. “Dan, don’t you even think of chasing that bunny rabbit,” Sandy hissed. “Dan, heel up,” Sandy commanded, and Dan hung his head low and turned around moving beside Sandy’s horse. “Good boy,” Sandy smiled, and Dan started panting with his tongue hanging out.
“I’m really sorry I never let Bill have a dog,” Mary admitted, moving up beside her.
“Well, the boys will be happy,” Sandy insisted. “I wonder how Dino will act?”
Riding on Sandy’s left just a horse length back, Mary chuckled. “As long as Dino gets food, I don’t think he cares about much.”
“As long as the kids are safe,” Sandy corrected, and the chuckle died on Mary’s face.
“Yeah, as long as the kids are safe,” Mary repeated. “I can still see Dino attacking the Kingston’s pit bull when it was chasing Lance and Ian down the street.”
“Hey, we told them to keep the spawn of hell locked up,” Sandy replied with no remorse. “Remember the Fourth of July party? Doug brought Dino over and had to lock Dino up when Allie and Carrie got in trouble.”
Giving a shiver, “I would’ve let them off when Dino growled at me,” Mary admitted, weaving around trees. Before they cleared the trees, both lowered their monocular. “I fucking love these things,” Mary declared.
“I think we would be home if we had found some in California,” Sandy proposed. “We move much faster.”
“I think we would be closer, but the horses would be much more worn down,” Mary countered. “That’s what we will have to watch for now.”
Reaching the tree line, they looked out over a grassy field. In the trees it was dark, but in the field it was still twilight. “Let’s let the horses graze until it gets dark,” Sandy offered.
When Mary nodded, Sandy kicked her horse and stopped in the field. It didn’t take long for the horses to start munching down. “Wish we had another railroad track to follow,” Sandy said, flipping the monocular up and turning on the thermal binocular.
“I wish we had used them before last night,” Mary scoffed as Sandy scanned around them. “I remember one in Kansas and looking at the map again, it would’ve taken us all the way across. All we would’ve had to do was detour around cities. If we had done that out west, then I really believe we would already be home.”
Lowering the thermals and turning them on, Sandy nodded. “Four stinkers in twenty miles after getting on those tracks. The next time we come close to one we could use will be Kentucky, but we already have a route that we had to memorize. I don’t want to risk it.”
“And I don’t either. We’ll stay on the route,” Mary declared, looking around. “Bill, Johnathan, and Doug went over those routes for a reason, and we don’t want to find out what those reasons are.”
“We already have found out why,” Sandy reminded Mary, watching Mary flip her monocular down.
Neither spoke as darkness continued enveloping the land and the horses munched away. When Sandy kicked her horse and moved off, Mary sighed, “Yeah, we found out humans are more dangerous than stinkers.”
