Granny lowered her pistol and fired a round at the asphalt between one of the man’s legs. Bits of rock and a splintered bullet hit him and one of the others in the leg. They screamed in pain but were quickly undressed with their hands covering their crotches. Granny snickered. “Now, get out of here. I’m counting to ten, and if we still see you, we’ll blow your heads off. GO!”
The men took off running, and all were soon yelling when they stepped on rocks. They were quickly out of sight. Jackie was the only lady who’d stayed to watch them leave. “I think we need to eradicate people like that anytime we encounter them. We might feel good about not killing them, but now they’ll think they have to rob someone else to get clothes and arms.”
Before Granny B could speak, Tom said, “I know you’re probably right, but perhaps they learned their lesson and stopped their evil ways. Anyway, it made me feel better. Besides, watching them run buck naked across that gravel on the road was darned funny.”
*
Chapter 10
South of Redding, California - 99 miles and a week later
Tom returned to camp before the sun had risen above the trees on the horizon. The dew still glistened on the grass, and Tom thought he saw a puff of his breath every now and then. The nights were definitely getting colder. They’d camped in the middle of the suburbs, hidden in a stand of trees about five miles from downtown Redding. Even with homes and people all around, there was plenty of small game. Rabbits were plentiful, and four found their way into his snares. Everyone was a bit tired of rabbits, but they’d only seen a few cows and one pig they could have shot. No one wanted to kill the cows, and Bill missed the pig with his one shot from his pistol. Tom had seen some chickens but couldn’t catch the swift animals in the brush. Rabbit stew, roast rabbit, and fried rabbit were their primary source of protein.
Tom stopped to clean the rabbits before entering their camp to keep the flies and other animals away from camp. He was cleaning the last rabbit when three chickens wandered into the area. They weren’t afraid of him and walked in close to Tom. He had his knife in hand and threw it at the closest chicken, skewering it through its neck. The bird dropped to the ground but still flopped around as he chased the other birds to no avail. He returned and dressed out the chicken and headed back to the others at the camp. Tom entered the camp to jeers until he pulled the chicken from behind him and waved it at his friends,
Granny B took the chicken, ran a rod through the center, and placed it over the cook fire. “I was getting tired of rabbit. We need to make some chicken traps and maybe figure out how to trap some doves and pigeons. I still don’t want to kill a cow and waste most of the meat someone else could use.”
The chicken was roasted and placed on top of a pokeweed and dandelion salad topped off with pine nuts. It didn’t exactly fill them up, split between the nine of them, but it sure tasted good to the rabbit-weary travelers. The salad helped give them the nutrients they needed and helped make their BMs more regular. This might be TMI but essential to their health.
Tom was deep in thought when he looked up. “We need some pellet guns and some bows and arrows. That’s how we’ll get more small game besides rabbits.”
Jackie looked at Granny B and then back at Tom. “That means we need to go into town and find a sporting goods store that’s probably been looted.”
“I agree on the looted part, but maybe most of the people looting were focused on survival gear, firearms, and any food. I think we should find some pellet or BB guns and maybe some bows and arrows. Think about it, most people don’t know how to use a bow.”
Sam looked worried. “Tom, look towards the skyline. Fires are burning everywhere, and we heard gunfire all night long. It won’t be safe.”
Tom had found a Redding phone book at a gas station and looked up the sporting goods stores. “We don’t want to walk the entire length from south to north in Redding. I’d travel around the city on the east side and camp about a mile or so outside the city. The map in the phone book shows only one large subdivision and some scattered houses out that way. That puts us in place to scavenge three nearby sporting goods shops. This Gleason Tactical looks very promising.”
Granny and Jacky glanced at the map and noted where Tom had marked the nearest sporting goods stores. “Sounds like a plan,” Granny B said.
The walk to their new camp was uneventful but was noticed by several people along the way. A man ran out of his house and waved for them to stop. Granny B and Tom walked toward the man with their hands on the butts of their pistols.
The man raised his hands to show he wasn’t armed. “You can move your hands away from your guns. I’m not armed. Do any of you know what happened?”
Tom guessed the man was ex-military or a cop. “Keep your hands where we can see them. We have only guessed like everyone else.”
The man frowned. “It could have only been a dual attack of nuclear weapons and airburst EMPs.”
Granny B asked, “What makes you think that? The EMPs are probably correct.”
“There were two airbursts the night the shit hit the fan, along with three separate explosions many miles northeast, east, and southeast of here. They
