Tom knew she was in shock. “We’re here to help you. My sister will take you over to the clothing department to get you some suitable clothes. What are your names? I’m Tom, and my sister’s name is Jackie.”
“I’m Lee, and my girlfriend’s name is Eva,” then Lee asked, “Do you have any food? We haven’t eaten in several days.”
Jackie and Tom searched their backpacks and found their stash of candy and power bars. They gave each of them two bars and one of their canteens and waited for them to eat. Tom tried to question them again. “Where are the men from?”
The girl spoke. “They were released by the county jail. The dumbass warden should have let them starve in their cells.”
“Where were they taking you?”
“The leader and several of his men were from Portland and were heading back there.”
Jackie took the girl over to the clothing section leaving Tom with the boy. Tom knew the next question was delicate. He looked at the boy. “Why did they take you?”
“Some of them like boys.”
“Oh, shit.”
Tom pondered the issue before him. Invite these teens to join his group or let them wander off. He’d been trained to keep their ranch hidden as much as possible in the modern world. “Would you like to travel north with us or stay here?”
Lee replied, “We’re going home to Red Bluff. We have folks there. Thanks for the help, and sorry we can’t pay you back.”
Tom and Jackie shared their food from their backpacks, and the two left. Jackie watched them walk away in the dark. “I hope they make it home. I have my doubts because they didn’t even ask for any of the dead men’s guns.”
One man had an AR15, a Ruger 9mm, and a hunting knife. The other had a 12 gauge pump, Glock 17 - 9mm, and a machete. Tom took the AR, the Ruger, and the man’s tactical vest, along with several full magazines for the AR and Ruger. They checked the weapons and found them to be new and barely used.
They stacked the arms with their other booty and finished their search. Tom had a big grin as he walked away, holding the AR15. Jackie found two .177 break-barrel pellet guns, a case of pellets, and a Berkley wheeled fishing cart. Tom found a couple more tactical vests and several hunting knives, but nothing else of value. They loaded their new cart with the weapons and other items and traveled back to their camp.
“Sis, don’t you think the chaos and debauchery started much earlier than Grampa predicted?”
“I don’t think Grandpa thought about wardens just releasing the most dangerous men on the face of the earth into the general population in a few days. He always said the drug gangs and street gangs would be one of the major issues.”
Tom chose his words carefully. “Our vow to not kill anyone was a bit naïve, wasn’t it?”
“We can’t let rapists, slavers, and dictators take over our world. We need to remember what Grandpa preached about hiding from the rest of the world.”
Tom was silent for a minute. “Then, we need to make sure we don’t add any more people to our group.”
*
Chapter 13
Black Butte, California.
The others were packed and ready to leave when Jackie and Tom returned a little after one o’clock. They were amazed when they saw how much of their supplies and camping gear were tied to the roof and sides of the old truck. Jackie laughed and said, “That reminds me of that old comedy about the hillbillies who moved from Tennessee to Beverly Hills. All we need is Granny B in the back, sitting in a rocking chair.”
Granny B scolded them for being late but understood when Jackie told her about saving the teens from the escaped convicts. “Load up your scavenged stuff. We can look at them later. We need to be off the road four hours before the rest of the world wakes up. As you can see, the moon is giving off enough light to drive by as long as we keep the speed down.”
Tom drove while Jackie kept vigilance using the night vision scope. Granny B rode in the cab with the others in the bed of the truck. Two of them watched in front of the truck while the others watched behind the truck. The moonlight was barely enough to drive by and took a strain on Tom’s eyes.
The road was a nightmare, as expected, north of Redding with abandoned and wrecked cars. They passed one long chain of wrecked cars where each one had rammed into the one in front of the other. Tom wound his way through the tangled mess of steel and many burned vehicles. Tom had to pull off onto the side of the road and wind his way through trees several times to make their way through stalled cars. He had to stop to cut a fence twice to go around massive pile-ups. Then suddenly, the stalled cars thinned out.
Tom passed a couple of semis carrying automobiles when it dawned on him that some trucks could be full of groceries. An hour later, he saw a Walmart truck on the side of the road. He stopped and addressed the others. “This truck could be full of food. Let’s open the doors and see what’s in it.”
Granny B wasn’t happy about stopping but found a crowbar under the seat. “Here, this should be able to break the seal.”
Tom was pleased when he saw the seal was intact and only a thin metal strip. He twisted the seal from the handle and threw the door open. “Crap, it’s full of children’s toys. Nothing we can use.”
They’d been on the road for two hours
