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Northwest of Herndon, Kentucky
Crossing the field to the next fence row, Sandy turned east and followed it. She couldn’t see through the fence row ahead, but was certain the tree out in the field the two climbed up wasn’t far. Lifting the thermals Sandy scanned around, but could only see through small gaps in the trees of the fence rows around them.
They were a hundred yards from the fence row when they heard the growls and moans of the stinkers. The smell wasn’t far behind, even with the light north breeze. Easing up to the fence row, Sandy climbed off and gave a startle to see the lone tree was only thirty yards away from the fence row. “There wasn’t that many stinkers close,” Sandy mumbled, cutting the strands of barbed wire.
“I counted over thirty,” Mary whispered, and Sandy nodded before climbing up on her horse. “We need to do this with bows.”
“Yeah, there’s too many around here to start shooting, even with the suppressors,” Sandy agreed. “Dan, heel.”
“Ann, heel,” Mary whispered, and both dogs moved beside them.
Sandy moved through first and stopped in the trees, flipping up her monocular. “Glad my pins glow,” Sandy mumbled as Mary moved beside her. They both lifted their bows, “I’ll start on the right, you take the left. If more show up, we use guns to get away,” Sandy said calmly.
“Okay,” Mary answered, releasing her arrow to be followed a split second later by Sandy’s. They both watched two stinkers drop as they pulled out arrows and pulled back. Releasing, Sandy glanced around as two more stinkers dropped and grabbed another arrow.
Mary shot as Sandy nocked her arrow. “The stinkers don’t even know we’re shooting at them,” Sandy noted, pulling back her bow.
Turning to the south as Sandy shot, Mary counted six more entering the field from the fence row to the south. “Of course that fence row doesn’t have an actual fence,” Mary huffed, pulling back her bow.
They stayed in the trees, keeping a steady rain of shots. On her sixth shot, Sandy cursed, watching her arrow miss the stinker she was aiming at and bury in the tree trunk. “Fucker moved,” Sandy grumbled, yanking another arrow out.
Mary released to hit the one she’d missed as Sandy pulled back her bow. “I’ve missed two,” Mary grumbled.
It was only when the six joined the group of stinkers and one dropped when Sandy shot that the stinkers glanced around. Mary released her arrow, hitting one of the four at the tree and paused to grab another arrow. Every one of the stinkers was looking right at them, but turned away and reached up at the two small forms in the tree, even as Sandy dropped another one. Filing that away, Mary nocked her arrow and pulled her bow back to release the arrow.
Pulling an arrow out, Sandy saw the two forms staring out of the tree and into the trees they were standing in. From this close, Sandy could see they were young boys. Releasing her arrow, Sandy dropped one of the group moving to the tree and saw another drop, leaving only one.
Nocking an arrow, Sandy heard Mary release and drop the last one. “Damn, you can shoot your bow fast,” she noted turning to the south, and didn’t spot any more entering the field. “Let’s tell them to haul ass and get the hell out of here,” Sandy said, kicking her horse and moving into the field.
“Sandy, they didn’t seem to notice us in the trees... Or they just wanted the kids,” Mary claimed, scanning around.
“I noticed, but they don’t have any trouble spotting us moving across a field much farther than we can, even with the NVG. Just my thought, but I think they lose us in the deep shadows, unless they are in deep shadows as well.”
“Sounds good to me,” Mary said as Sandy stopped at the tree and gave a gasp.
Both boys only had on white underwear and were thin. Not ‘skinny kid’ thin, malnourished thin. Both were panting and looked exhausted. “The stinkers are dead, but more are coming. You need to get down and hide in a better place,” Sandy told them, looking up at them.
“Can’t run anymore,” the bigger one panted out, and Mary moved her horse closer to the tree.
“Get down and we’ll carry you away from here, but if you aren’t down by the time the stinkers come through those trees, we are leaving you here,” Mary told them, glancing around.
The younger one looked at the older boy. “Go,” the older boy said.
Giving a sigh, Sandy moved her horse closer and noticed several soldiers in the group of stinkers. “Mary, we aren’t searching them,” Sandy stated, looking around.
“No shit,” Mary shot back as the younger kid climbed down and paused.
Sandy reached out. “Come on,” she whispered loudly. When the boy took her hand, Sandy guided him behind her. “Just stay behind me and hold on.”
As the older boy climbed on with Mary, Dan and Ann let out low growls. “We are out of here,” Mary said, kicking her horse into a trot for the fence row across the field.
Sandy wanted to smile, not seeing a fence in the thin row of trees, but then turned and saw two stinkers move through the south fence row and stop. One saw them as they moved into the strip of trees on the fence row and gave a growl.
As her horse weaved through the trees and out the other side, Sandy saw a stinker to the north and three to the south. “I swear they are converging, trying to head us off,” Sandy mumbled, feeling the boy hold on tight.
Crossing the field, Sandy saw the next fence row was wider and the trees were bigger. Spotting a barbed wire fence, Sandy actually grinned as she slowed her horse. “At least they have to find where we went through,” Sandy mumbled, moving to get off. The small boy was holding on so tight, she actually lifted him out of the saddle with her.
“Let go, so I can cut the fence and we can get through,” Sandy said over her shoulder.
The boy let go and Sandy jumped off and had to pull the bolt cutters from behind the boy. Cutting the fence, she climbed back on the horse and shoved the bolt cutters under her right leg. Guiding the horse through the gap, Sandy turned south to follow the fence row. Not spotting any stinkers in the field, Sandy turned the horse east and let the horse trot across the pasture.
“What’s your name?” Sandy asked over her shoulder.
“Tyler,” he answered in a trembling voice.
Turning as much as she could, Sandy saw Tyler had to lean way back and to the side, avoiding her backpack to hold on. “Tyler, when I stop to cut this fence, I want you to scoot up and ride in front of me, but if I have to shoot, you need to lay your chest on the horse’s neck.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Tyler replied in a breaking voice.
Reaching the fence row Sandy slowed, grabbing the bolt cutters under her leg. Tyler let her go when he felt her move to get off. When Sandy cut the fence, she glanced back and saw Mary already had the other boy sitting in front of her.
Climbing back on her horse, Sandy liked the boy sitting in front of her much better, and shoved the bolt cutters back in the loop on her saddle. Guiding the horse through the gap, Sandy reached around to guide Tyler’s hands to the saddle horn. “Hold here, but relax your upper body so it can sway with the horse, and use your legs to hold on,” Sandy told him.
Letting her AR hang down, Sandy wrapped her right arm around Tyler. Only wearing a light long-sleeved shirt, Sandy could feel Tyler’s skin was very cool and his hair was wet. “Tyler, are you cold?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, with his bottom jaw quivering and almost making his teeth chatter.
Seeing the next fence row didn’t have a barbed wire fence, Sandy let Tyler go and reached back to pull the light jacket she had tied on the back of her saddle. Moving with the row of trees, Sandy pulled the jacket up. “Put this on slowly, so you don’t fall off,” Sandy told him, and Tyler grabbed the jacket.
She felt his body shivering and helped Tyler pull the jacket on. “How old are you?” Sandy asked as Tyler pulled the jacket closed.
“Nine.”
“Tyler, where did you two come from?”
“The Army camp,” Tyler answered. “We were at Chris’s school when the Army came and took us there.”
“Who’s Chris?”
“My brother with the other lady,” Tyler answered, and Sandy felt his shivers decrease.
“Do you know what ‘sit cross-legged’ means?” Sandy asked, and Tyler nodded. “See if you can do that by putting your legs around the saddle horn, so your legs will be under the jacket.”
“Yes ma’am,” Tyler said, and his legs shot up under the jacket. Sandy was impressed at how well Tyler rode like that.
“Tyler, my name is Sandy. Your brother is riding with Mary.”
“Thank you, Ms. Sandy, for saving us,” Tyler said, burrowing into the jacket.
“Tyler, were your parents at the Army camp?”
Feeling a shudder run through Tyler’s thin body, Sandy had her answer before Tyler responded a few seconds later. “Yes ma’am.”
“Where were you and Chris heading?”
She felt Tyler shrug. “Away from the stinkers. They broke in a few nights ago and Momma told us to run. We got under the fence and an Army man came over, dragging Momma away and telling her to get back inside,” Tyler said in a small voice. “We watched the stinkers get her before they got to the building.”
“I’m sorry,” Sandy said, wrapping her right arm around him and hugging him. Feeling Tyler moving, Sandy glanced down and noticed she was pulling Tyler into her magazines strapped across her vest. Tyler wasn’t trying to move away; he was trying to find a place he could lean back, so she could hold him tight. Sandy rotated her hips in the saddle until Tyler could lean into her right side.
“Daddy went out with the Army to get stuff and didn’t come back,” Tyler sniffled. “Momma said he might have got away, but I know she was lying. I heard one of the Army guys say they got ate by stinkers.”
Fighting the urge to turn around and ride back to shoot the captain and all his men, Sandy steered her horse across another field. “Tyler, I have to cut the fence,” Sandy said slowing, and Tyler leaned forward.
After cutting the fence, Sandy climbed back on and shoved the bolt cutters in the saddle. Tyler didn’t lean back against her until Sandy wrapped her arm around him. Hearing Mary moving up, Sandy glanced over. “They’re coming with us,” Mary said.
Sandy gave a nod. “Yes, they are.”
Happy that Sandy agreed, Mary pulled back and Sandy felt Tyler relax. “Thank you,” he sighed with relief. “Where are we going?”
“Three hundred miles from here,” Sandy answered. “When was the last time you ate?”
“We found a candy bar two days ago,” Tyler replied. “We got a bowl of soup every Tuesday and Saturday at the Army camp. What day is it?”
Swallowing a lump in her throat, Sandy pulled out the MRE she hadn’t finished, unable to answer. “Eat slowly and tell me after each bite, so you can drink some water.”
“Wow, thanks,” Tyler gasped like he’d won a new toy. When Sandy passed him a bottle of water, Tyler turned the bottle up and drained it, never taking a breath.
“Tyler, I want you to sip this next one,” Sandy told him, digging another out of the saddle bag and putting the empty one back.
Making sure Tyler ate the MRE slowly proved to be a challenge, but Sandy did it. “Sandy,” Mary said, coming up beside her. “You think the camping spot will be okay?”
“We’ll check it and then decide. We are six miles from where we picked them up, and there aren’t that many stinkers in these fields.
Climbing down, Sandy cut the fence and turned around to see Tyler smiling at her. Unable to help it, Sandy smiled back, shoving the bolt cutters in the saddle and climbing back on. This time, Tyler didn’t wait for Sandy to wrap her arm around him before he snuggled back into her.
Reaching the oxbow, at first glance, Sandy didn’t like it because the Little River was, well, little. But near the oxbow, it widened out and was deep enough to deter stinkers. The tip of the narrow oxbow was covered with big oaks, as was the opposite side.
“I think we can hold up here,” Sandy said, pulling to a stop.
“Yeah, but I was getting worried riding along the Little River. It looked more like a medium creek,” Mary said, climbing off and then helped Chris off who was wearing her light jacket.
Lifting Tyler up, Sandy saw he was struggling to keep his eyes open and was losing. “Tyler, stand here and I’ll get you a bed made,” Sandy told him.
Sandy and Mary grabbed their bedrolls and spread them out. They motioned the boys over and noticed they both walked tenderly. “You won’t leave, will you?” Tyler asked, latching onto Sandy.
Flipping up her monocular, “Not without you and your brother,” Sandy smiled. “Now get some rest, so you can help us get the horses ready this afternoon. We only move at night.”
After Sandy told Tyler she wouldn’t leave, he struggled to keep his eyes open. Tyler hugged her neck and then laid down on the bedroll. Sandy was convinced he was asleep before his head was flat. She turned and saw Chris was already down and looked asleep.
Feeling Mary pulling her back, Sandy got up to let Mary guide her away from the boys. “Sandy, they are starving,” Mary said in a low voice. “They got two bowls of soup a week, and they’ve had that for the last two months. Water was one twenty-ounce glass a day. Seems the feds were having problems filtering enough water for the camp.”
“I know, Tyler told me,” Sandy nodded.
“He tell you they have been outside the camp for over a week?” Mary asked, and Sandy gave a startle. “Yeah. The part of the camp they were in was overrun a week ago. They crawled under a fence, but one of the soldiers pulled their mother back and forced her toward their building. That’s when the stinkers got inside.”
“I didn’t know about the week,” Sandy admitted, panting.
“Oh, I haven’t got to the good part,” Mary growled. “Those soldiers saw the boys outside the fence, trying to find a way to get back inside the next day. Instead of helping, they would throw stuff at them. That would get the stinkers attention and the boys would have to run off. Sandy, the soldiers were using them to pull stinkers from the fence.”
Closing her eyes as her vision clouded up, “When the family is grown, we are taking that Thelma and Louise trip,” Sandy snarled. “I think I might just ask Lance to come, so he can show his Momma how to do the stuff he can.”
“Let’s unsaddle half the packhorses and go over what I grabbed. Then when the sun comes up, we need to check them over.”
Shaking her head, “They weren’t bit. Well, Tyler wasn’t because I felt over him,” Sandy reported.
“Sandy, did you inspect his feet? Chris’s feet are cut, scratched, and swollen up. The fact I could tell that through the caked dirt lets me know they are worse under the dirt. I don’t know how he was walking, much less running.”
“Tyler’s feet were swollen, but that’s all I noticed.”
They moved over and took the pack saddles off of Mary’s horses and then Mary started spreading the stuff she’d taken off the stinker soldiers. “Mary, can you keep watch?” Sandy asked, and Mary jerked her head up. “I want to sneak across the river and see if the field over there is surrounded by a fence like this one is.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s a good idea,” Mary nodded.
Sandy stripped down to underwear and found Mary giving her a confused look. “I’m not getting my clothes and boots soaked again. I know I have spares, but I’ve reached my limit of keeping wet clothes on,” Sandy explained, and Mary just grinned. Both wore boy’s underwear after having taken several packages at the Boy Scout camp.
Moving to the water, Sandy smiled to see Dan trot over as she lowered the monocular and held her AR up. With only one magazine, Sandy would run before fighting.
Slipping in the water and stepping carefully, Sandy’s bare feet found the bottom was covered by smooth rocks. Reaching the middle, Sandy had to bounce off the bottom to keep her head from going under. Walking out on the other side, Sandy was also surprised about the current the Little River had. It was more than she’d expected.
Stepping carefully through the trees, Sandy wished she had thought to put on her mesh swimming shoes she’d gotten at the Boy Scout camp. “That’s what you get for not planning,” Sandy mumbled, wincing after stepping on a stick. Reaching the tree line, Sandy looked out and gave a sigh of relief seeing the field was surrounded by a barbed wire fence.
When she rejoined Mary, they took the other saddles off. “Sandy, watch,” Mary said, lifting one of the M4s she’d taken and a green laser shot out. Then, Sandy realized she only saw the laser with the monocular.
“An IR laser,” Sandy grinned, pulling on her mesh shoes. Then Mary turned on a flashlight, but like the laser, it only showed up in the monocular. “How do we put one on our guns?”
Shrugging, “Have to wait until light,” Mary answered. “They just clamp on that bumpy part, but I’ll have to use Johnathan’s tools.”
“What else?” Sandy asked, looking at the gear spread out on a blanket.
“Grenades like you saw, four of them,” Mary said, pointing. “I don’t know what kind of bullet that bottom barrel of that other M4 shoots, but it’s huge and we don’t have any. I haven’t gone through the satchel yet, but we have two more PVS-14 and two that look like small binoculars but aren’t. They clip on the same thing the monocular does.”
“Let’s put those laser things on our rifles and take one of the other M4s and just leave the rest.”
Mary nodded. “We need to take some spare parts from the ones we leave. Got six more magazines, but they were all empty, in real dump bags.” Sandy glanced over at the smaller dump bags, thinking she would keep the feed bag for her dump bag, but would put one of the smaller ones on her saddle.
They both grabbed their chairs and sat down. “Sorry, I couldn’t just put them off,” Mary mumbled.
Keeping an eye out, Sandy slowly nodded. “Neither could I,” she admitted. “You think they will slow us down?”
“I’m being honest when I say, I don’t think so,” Mary answered. “They are tough and have survived on the run for over a week with no weapons. That is an accomplishment in anyone’s book.”
“Mary, if they would’ve been a little bigger I wouldn’t have helped them, and left them to their fate,” Sandy informed Mary.
Turning to Sandy, Mary scoffed. “Shit. If I would’ve seen a bigger person close by, I would’ve left. But we didn’t, and I think we made the right decision.”
“Why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll take first watch and start on the horses at first light,” Sandy offered, and Mary reached over patting Sandy’s leg and then went over to the sleeping rolls. Tyler had crawled over and was curled up with Chris, so Mary laid on the vacated bedroll.
With Dan at her side, Sandy grabbed one of the brushes and started brushing down the horses, waiting on the sun to rise.
