“Good dogs, staying close to camp,” I said, petting them each on the head.
I slept the rest of the night like one might expect after being awakened by gunfire.
* * * *
“I want to check in on David before we head out,” I told Jim and Steve.
“Sure thing,” replied Jim. “I’ll let you know when he’s on the line.”
Vlad and I took the four-wheelers. Mike rode the Indian. We checked on the scene from last night. Six men were hit at just over 100 yards out, with four dead already.
“Not bad shooting in the dark,” said Mike casually, like he may be discussing a new coffee blend he just happened to find. “What are your names?” he asked the two still alive. “Let’s see here. Looks like you’re gut-shot,” he said, pointing to one. “And you, how did she hit you in the leg and the shoulder?” he asked.
“What do you mean ‘she’? I thought you did this.”
“Nope, wasn’t me. Not this time. It was your lady friends you all pimped out. Now they’re armed and pissed off, as I’m sure you can imagine. Where’s the rest of your group?”
“They took off and left us.”
“Smart. Now, do you remember what I told you would happen if I caught you here this morning? Do you?” asked Mike.
“Yes. We want to go, but we need help. We can’t just drag ourselves away, not like this.”
“No, I don’t suppose you can.”
“Here we go,” I said quietly to Vlad.
Mike pulled out his Ruger pistol, racked the slide, and took off the safety he only set with the children around.
“Who wants to be first?” he asked.
Both men begged for their lives, but Mike didn’t hear it. A memory from his childhood crept in. He was alone on the playground and couldn’t defend his brother, Arthur. He was helpless. It was the loneliest minutes of his life, worse than death ten times over. He holstered his pistol, clicking on the safety in the same motion without another word and rode away towards camp.
“Let’s go,” I told Vlad, as they yelled to us not to leave them there. “You just escaped certain death,” I yelled back over the engine.
* * * *
We returned to camp and I was surprised how many children didn’t even ask about the gunfire in the middle of the night. I asked mine and got blank stares as they asked, “What gunshots, Daddy?”
I felt a twinge of sadness as I realized it was familiar now, just part of their new little worlds, like when we used to watch war-torn countries on TV and kids are outside playing, with bombs exploding and gunfire in the distance. “Just another day, Daddy,” I could almost hear them say.
Truth be told, I was ready to leave. My lakeside overnight campout had turned into a Freddy Krueger nightmare movie, and Mike had been the rogue cop breaking all the rules to bring the madman or -men to street justice.
“Just another episode in the upcoming Netflix series Families First,” I said aloud.
“Season three, episode two,” said Joy, playing along. “I wish that’s all it was. I would be sitting in the recliner under my blanket with my cup of hot chocolate, a cozy fireplace, and kids around us whose only concern was getting to watch cartoons and eat donuts on Saturday morning.”
* * * *
“Lance, we have David on the line,” said Steve.
“Hey, David. Can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear, buddy. How’s your trip going?”
“Slower than I thought,” I replied. “We’ll be headed up into the mountains today,” I added, not wanting to be too specific about our location.
“Must have gotten sidetracked,” said David. “I figured you would be farther along by now.”
“We did get sidetracked, but we…well, mostly Mike…were able to help some people out of harm’s way and back on track.”
“I’m not surprised,” replied David. “Probably the same as what he helped with here.”
“Pretty much. Different people, same problems,” I said. “But, hey, we’re off again today.”
“How’s your mom, Tina, and the girls? Oh, and Mark?”
“Everyone is great! Veronica and Suzie made me promise to tell you they miss you, Joy and the boys, but they are having the best time here.”
“That’s great to hear; I knew they would be in good hands with you and Tina. They have been through more than all of us, losing their mother on the very first day.”
I paused, realizing I had forgotten about his dad for a second.
“Uh, David, I’m...”
“No need, my friend. I miss him every day, but it’s not the same as our girls. They still have nightmares about that day when they thought nobody would ever find them, crying out in the darkness, scared and alone. And you did—you and your friends found them and stopped to help. That is a true miracle. If that weren’t enough, you then brought me a family I can love and protect. I’ve never seen my mom or Mark happier. I know that sounds strange, but it’s true.
“Okay…moving on… We’re done with the greenhouses. Worked all day on them the past couple of days. Nate and what’s left of his group are sticking around, at least for a while. We planted the first seeds from James VanFleet. You remember him?”
“Sure, of course,” I said. “How’s he doing?”
“Mending, I guess. I haven’t talked to him since the pseudo soldiers came through. They had some trouble brewing in town, I heard—some power battle between the Sheriff and the Judge guy…can’t remember his name. Anyway, that’s the last I’ve heard. Guess I’ll check in on him soon. So…where was I?”
“Planting seeds, I think,” I interjected.
“Oh yeah. We got one greenhouse loaded up yesterday with dirt and seeds. We threw a few worms in there that the kids found down by the lake. Probably can’t hurt. Besides that, all has been quiet. It’s a nice change, as I’m sure you can imagine.”
“Yeah, buddy. Imagine is all I can do right now. I’m just hoping we will get a few days in a row, or
