Trace of survival trilog.., p.68
Trace of Survival Trilogy, page 68
“Dad, it’s Toni!” she screamed as she dropped her rifle and ran towards the wagons. Toni saw her sister and quickly descended from the wagon and ran towards Lizzie. They were soon in each others arms and crying from happiness. It didn’t take Anthony long before he was out of the watch tower and had both his daughters in a hug.
The small wagon train pulled to a stop in front of the two houses. The folks in the wagons climbed down and the horse riders dismounted. They all started walking around to stretch their legs. Al and Paul took up defensive watches at the front and back of the wagons.
After several minutes of hugs and crying, Lizzie’s group and Toni’s group started getting acquainted. Lizzie had met Trish and Paul before but had never met Trish’s brother Todd. When they were introduced and their eyes met each other’s, something seemed to spark between them. They both were reluctant to release the other’s hand when they shook hands.
Toni looked for Lizzie’s husband and was saddened when she learned that he and Lizzie’s son had passed on. But she also saw joy in Lizzie’s eyes when the orphan’s Daisy and Roger were introduced. The ‘Musketeers’ immediately took to the orphans and included them in their activities. It appeared to perk the two youngsters up to have other kids to buddy with.
Betsy’s son had climbed into the crow’s nest so that he could maintain a watch for trouble. When Al saw the high watch tower on top of the house he joined the other man. That way they could each concentrate their attention better by watching in different, smaller directions.
Everyone spend some time getting caught up on what had happened since they were separated by the collapse eight years before. The main topic of conversation was the encounters that each group had recently had with the Islamic terrorists. When Toni and her group found that Lizzie and her group were prepared to leave and head north, they were happy.
That night, after everyone had set up someplace to camp, plans were made to include Lizzie, Anthony and the others in their group in the return trip by the folks from Hope. Talk and planning continued well into the night. They maintained the two person watch from the crow’s nest.
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A day and a half later, the wagon train pulled out and headed north, After a hard search of several dozen storage buildings and garages in the surrounding neighborhoods, two small usable ATV trailers had been found. These were attached to the backs of two of the wagons and some of the possessions of Lizzie’s family and Betsy’s family were loaded on these trailers. They didn’t overload them. They had to be careful not to wear out the horses pulling the wagons. They would rotate the horses during the day with some of the saddle horses to made sure the horses weren’t overstressed. Before they left they picked every vegetable from the garden that the two families shared.
They pulled back on the interstate and headed for Atlanta. During the trip north the two new youngsters became apt students of the ‘Musketeers’. They learned a lot more survival techniques than their father had taught them in Florida. They were happy to learn how to shot Mick’s crossbow. Todd saw how they took to the crossbow and started fashioning each of them one from materials he scavenged each evening when they stopped to camp.
Lizzie and Todd spent a lot of time getting acquainted while they rode north. Once they realized that they had fallen in love with each other, they decided to get married. They were nearly to Atlanta when they announced this to the rest of the group. When they said that they were going to look for a Christian preacher when they reached Atlanta, Al spoke up.
“I’ve not yet told you folks, but I’m a lay pastor. If you will accept my services, I would be very happy to perform your marriage ceremony.”
With society in the shape it was then, there were no fancy weddings and travel to some exotic place for a honeymoon. Todd and Lizzie accepted Al’s offer and they were married that evening. When they reached Todd’s house in Atlanta they were man and wife.
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They circled Atlanta on one of the interstate loops and pulled off into Todd’s neighborhood near Stone Mountain. As they passed the reserve center that the Army had taken over they saw a bee hive of activity. A sergeant accosted them and when he found out who they were, he smiled and told Todd to be prepared for some changes at his home.
As the wagons neared Todd’s house, the travelers found a wall around a number of the houses in Todd’s neighborhood including his house. The Army had brought in some heavy equipment and had used a crane to move several hundred movable concrete barrier sections to the reserve center and Todd’s neighborhood. The army wanted protection for it’s troops and the civilians living in Todd’s neighborhood.
DJ was providing security at the gate to the new civilian compound when the wagons rolled up. He updated them on what was happening. He was taken with TJ’s mother and was planning on marrying her when she decided that was the best thing for her and the boy. The rescued women were still living in one of the neighborhood houses. Dale and Sue were still there in the house they had taken for themselves. They had none of their family surviving in the area. Two other couples and their children from the Atlanta area had found the compound and had been allowed to move in after the Army had OK’d them.
DJ looked at Todd and congratulated him and Lizzie on their marriage. He smiled and said, “Come here, Todd. I have a really big surprise for you.” He walked the short distance behind the wall to Todd’s house. There he opened the garage door. He got in the driver’s seat of Todd’s Mercedes and turned the key. The engine started.
Todd’s jaw dropped and he asked, “It runs!” he exclaimed.
“Yep. That Army mechanic stripped all the electronics out and rewired it with scavenged parts from an old, old diesel deuce and a half that had a blown engine. It’s drivable but you have no lights or gages. Fuel is in short supply, but I’d be willing to bet you can trade the Army for a small supply. Also, he got your go-cart geared right, but you will have to find a usable fuel source. Your old gas is not good for the engine. The Army told me that they are getting some refineries going on the coast, but they are still a little short on crude oil but hope that that problem will be solved soon.”
Todd looked at his SUV and said, “I can take care of lights on it, don’t worry.”
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Trish, Toni and their families stayed in Atlanta for several weeks helping Todd, Lizzie and the others get things equipped and organized, plus just spend time with them. Todd, Lizzie, and most of the others had decided to remain in the new community in Atlanta.
The garden in the field near the house had been included in the walled enclosure. The entire field of several acres was now being turned into a very large garden since there were several new inhabitants.
Al pretty much became the spiritual leader for the new community and he preformed the marriage ceremony for DJ and TJ’s mom eventually. Todd and Lizzie adopted Daisy and Roger. In time they had another son of their own as the community prospered. They promised that whenever fuel was more abundant that they were going to drive the Mercedes to Tennessee and pay Hope a visit.
Anthony was the only one that returned to Tennessee with Isaiah’s family. He wanted to spend with Trish and her family, especially his grandson, David. He promised Lizzie and Betsy that he would return one day. Betsy was extremely sad when he left. She could have went with him, but the desire to remain near her son was too great. Lizzie and Betsy would never see Anthony again.
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It was a foggy morning when the wagons pulled out of the compound and headed for Tennessee. There were well wishes and sad goodbyes but that was life. The travelers hoped for an uneventful trip home but that was not to be, especially for the ‘Musketeers’. But that is another story.
The Future…..
Sometimes, while I’m sitting here thinking of what to put on paper, I find myself thinking back to events that happened before the Collapse and how they related the things that happened after the Collapse. Right now I’m thinking of some things that happened many years before the cousins had to go through a harrowing experience on their way home from Georgia. If it had not been for the hardships that they had endured since the Collapse, I doubt that they would survived.
Before the Collapse…..
In the 1960s near Columbia what was commonly known as a Hippie Commune had been established. It was one of those places where no one but the founder owned any of the property. Anyone that wanted to abide by his rules was allowed to move in, set up whatever kind of shelter they wanted to live in, and become part of the commune community. The founder died about twenty years after setting up the commune but the place continued to flourish long after he was gone. It was also one of those places where ‘free love or sex’ was required by the founder. If any income was earned outside the commune the money went into the commune’s coffers. Of course drugs and other immoral and illegal activities were abundant there.
The U.N. had its dirty hands in this commune also. There was a U.N. representative by the name of Butts that established his residence there. He was a driving force in getting a so-called Ecovillage established as part of the commune. When the terrorist organization known as ISIS was creating havoc, there was a group of displaced Islamics from Syria and other countries moved into this Ecovillage by the U.N. and the Islamic president of the U.S. This president became the dictator that caused so many problems and was a major factor in the Collapse.
Among these refugees placed in the Ecovillage were terrorists from ISIS, al-Qaeda and other groups. They were planted so they could infiltrate the US and use their evil ways against the American people.
This Ecovillage was self supporting. After the Collapse, it’s residents decided to remain hidden in their village and wait for a time in the future when they could venture out and attempt to assert their doctrine and activities against the surrounding areas. During the time that they remained hidden in their commune they morphed into something more horrible than what they been when they infiltrated the country.
Collapse, plus eight years…..
After the small wagon train left Atlanta, it slowly made it’s way back to Middle Tennessee. During the trip Andy and Mick became acquainted with their grandfather, Anthony. They exchanged stories of their lives since the Collapse and their love for each other grew. He became a part of the wood gathering team along with the three youngsters whenever the travelers made camp for the evening. It was while gathering wood a day’s travel from Hope that disaster befell them.
As the others were setting up camp, Anthony yelled for his wood team, “Hey, gang. Let’s get busy. We need to get a fire going soon so your Mom’s can get supper fixed.”
Since some of the travelers that had went with them from Hope to Atlanta had remained in the Atlanta area, Toni, Trish and Nettie were the women that remained in the group. While they set up a traveling kitchen area and started preparing an evening meal, Pete and Paul unhitched the horses from the three wagons, unsaddled the two saddle horses, and then rubbed all the horses down. Isaiah grabbed his old SKS and found a good spot to provide a security watch over the camp.
The wood gatherers quickly gathered nearby dead wood that was lying on the ground and got a fire started. Then they started gathering wood further and further from the camp. They had brought in several loads for the evening and night. they were going to get one more before Anthony felt that they had enough to last through the night.
They were about two hundred yards from the camp site when an arm reached out from behind Anthony, grabbed his forehead, pulled his head back, and pulled a very sharp, large knife across his throat. In an instant the knife had sliced through a large part of his neck, severing his throat, vocal chords, and the jugular artery. As the blood gushed out he grabbed his neck, dropped to his knees and fell on his side. With his vocal chords cut he could not scream and warn anyone. As he bled to death, he looked towards his grandchildren and David. A group of dirty, dark looking men had them penned with one arm around them and a hand over their mouth’s. As his sight faded, he was horrified to see them being carried into the surrounding wooded area.
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It wasn’t very long after that that the three women in the camp starting getting concerned about Anthony and the children. Toni called Pete to her side.
“We’re worried,” she told him. “Daddy and the kids should be back by now.”
“Paul and I will go find them,” Pete told his wife. “Dad will stay in the camp and be on watch. Don’t worry, we’ll find them and get them back here, I promise.” How wrong he was to be on that promise.
The two men searched for over an hour before they found Anthony’s body. In death he was still holding his throat. He was lying in the large pool of blood where he had bled out and his skin color was very white from the lack of blood. His glazed over eyes still looked in the direction the children were taken.
Paul took note of the direction Anthony’s eyes were pointing as he and Pete started searching the surrounding area for their kids. There was no immediate sign of them. Paul was looking in the direction the men had taken the children when he finally found a footprint about forty yards from the ambush site. He called Pete to his side and they looked further inn that direction. Another twenty yards or so and they found a small knife lying on the ground.
Paul immediately exclaimed, “That’s David’s knife. I made it for him as a gift last Christmas. Whether he lost it accidentally or dropped it on purpose, I don’t know, but we have a general direction to search in.”
“Yeah,” said Pete. “But it’s almost dark. We need help. Let’s go back to camp and let the others know. We also need a horse to bring Anthony’s body back to the camp.”
When they returned to the camp site, Pete had the unpleasant task of telling his wife that her father was dead. He and Paul also had to tell everyone that the kids were missing. The women screamed. Everyone started praying that they were still alive. The decision was made for someone to ride through the night to Hope and bring help to search for the kids and their kidnappers. Paul was the best horseman in the group and had good night vision. They were camped beside an old back road between Lawrenceburg and Hope. With what light there was from the moon and the stars, he believed he could make it to Hope by the following morning if he stayed on the road or on the road’s shoulder where the softer ground would be somewhat easier on the horse’s hooves.
While he got ready to set out for Hope, Pete and Isaiah returned to Anthony’s body. There they found a couple of wild dogs starting to feed on the corpse. Isaiah shot the dogs and they loaded the body on a horse they had brought. He didn’t care if someone heard the shots. The dogs had to be put down. Back at the campsite, Toni was grieving. When Anthony’s body was brought in, she knelt beside him and cried while the blood was cleaned off him as best as possible by Isaiah and Pete. Then they wrapped him in several layers of tarp. They were close enough to home that they didn’t want to leave him in a lonely grave beside a back road. They would put him in the grave yard that was growing in the village.
It was dark and everything was done by firelight and lantern light. Very little sleep was gotten that night. All but Toni ate and tried to rest. Her sobs continued through the night while Pete held her in his arms. Very little sleep was gotten that night. Everyone was worried about the children and they were afraid that the killers would attack the camp, but that didn’t happen. All that Anthony’s murderers wanted was the children.
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Shortly after daylight Paul was nearing Hope when one of the security outposts challenged him. After he was cleared through, he rode immediately to Reggie’s house. Reggie was having some breakfast when Paul rode up and started knocking on the door.
“OK, OK, I’m coming,” Reggie shouted to Paul’s frantic knocking. When he opened the door, Paul collapsed into a porch chair and started telling what had happened the evening before. Reggie asked several questions to clarify some points before he told Paul to close his eyes and try to rest while he started getting a search team ready to move out. Even with the stress of knowing his son was missing, Paul fell asleep sitting in a chair on Reggie’s porch.
Reggie headed to the security office. Along the way he encountered Samuel and Lily headed for the fields to work in one of the gardens. He told Samuel, “There’s a situation with your young cousins coming in from Georgia. Go get your dad and Muchuri and have them report to the security office. Lily, get your dad also and have him meet us at the office.”
At the security office Reggie told the radio watch to started rounding up his rapid response team. Ty, the Marshall, would be there soon . They had some preparations to make.
An hour later everyone in the village knew that the three kids were missing and most of them wanted to go on the search. Reggie limited those that were going to his team, Ty, Josh, Samuel, and several other members of the village‘s security force. There was no way that he could stop Josh and his son from going. He also knew that if Rand and Tommy had been back from Mississippi that they would have insisted on going. Muchuri also wanted to go, but Reggie wanted him to remain and take charge of the village security. Muchuri was still hurting from his abdominal wound taken in the attack a few months before but he felt that he was ready to get back into a fight if he was needed.
