A Private War Page 3

  "Well, I just smelled your good cooking and I had to have some."

  "Gaylon, it's out of a can."

  "So, it still smells good, let's eat."

  In silence, they eat and thoughts of all that had happened in the last few days filled their minds. He could see the pain locked up in Kate's eyes and he hoped that in time it would lessen. All he could do for now was to be there in case she needed him. As soon as he was finished eating, Kate picked up the empty bowls, and walking over to the sink, set them in the dish water she had already ran.

  "Do you think the pirates will be back, are we going to have to fight them again soon? Or have we chased them out of the area for good," Kate asked in a low voice, "God, I just wish this was all over and things could be the way they used to be."

  "They'll be back, but I don't think anytime soon. We kicked their butt and it will take them awhile to lick their wounds." He replied

  "But, why should they come back, a lot of them are dead."

  "That's why." he replied "They will want some payback of their own."

  Still using the tent pole for a cane, he turned and headed back toward his bedroom. He stopped only stopping briefly in the radio room to inform the Paramilitary of their attack on the pirate camp and the loss of Jimmy. The body count was rising on this private war of survival.

  Gaylon's leg was slow to heal and as the days turned into weeks, he thought more and more about Kate's continued silence. It was as if she had drawn in and was slowly wasting away. When finally the leg was strong enough, he told Kate that he was walking into town the next day and Kate surprised him by saying that she would go too. So as the sun was breaking through the trees the next morning, they set out to travel the ten miles to the town of Redway. The very first time he had walked to town was shortly after the holocaust was over and he had been shocked by its appearance as many of the stores were looted and several houses were burned. The tiny local police force had been unable to establish law and order as the survivors from out of town had run wild rioting, raping, and burning. It was only after the local military reserve unit had finally succeeded in getting together many of its people, along with a large number of former military, and they formed the "Paramilitary" had things stabilized. Working in concert with regular military units that had survived in other areas, they were able to get many pieces of additional military hardware, including large numbers of fully automatic M-4s, two armored fighting vehicles, and even four 105mm Howitzers with load outs. The pirates and the paramilitary were always in a constant state of war and casualties ran high on both sides. But the town and much of the surrounding area were currently safe to travel in with the paramilitary providing protection to any farmer that asked for it. They only had to feed and house the men needed.

  As they walked the many miles, he told Kate of the plans that he and Captain Samuels, the Paramilitary Commander, has discussed about destroying the pirates for good. But, Samuels just didn't have the men or supplies needed to mount the size of the operation required. As they passed the scene of their first battle with the pirates, they noticed that the armored car was gone and so were the bodies. Near the edge of the road stood a one mass grave and single grave with a homemade wooden cross with two names and a date. 'Here lies Ken and Mary Johnson, may they have the peace in the hereafter that they could not find here.'

  "The Paramilitary must have found the bodies, we'll have to thank them for the cross and all when we get to town," Gaylon stated," I wish we could have done something more at the time."

  "Yes," Kate said with bitter tears, "I'll have to thank them." He could add nothing more as they continued down the road in silence.

  Early in the afternoon they reached the outskirts of Redway itself and they made their way to the Paramilitary Headquarters in the old elementary school building. The building now had steel shutters and sandbagged entrances with a lookout on the roof that scoped them out while two men manned an M2 fifty caliber heavy machine gun. As they approached the men milling around the front of the building they all stopped and stared, they had heard of the raid on the campground, and as they got nearer the men broke out in a ragged cheer and rushed towards them.

  "Great going!"

  "Yeah, you sure caught those bastards!"

  "You could have saved us some!"

  "Hey guys, back up, we didn't do anything special and besides we had a personal score to settle with those assholes," he explained, "there are still a lot of them out there, believe me!"

  He broke off as Captain Samuels made his way through the crowd and reached for his hand. Gaylon thought he was a fairly big man, but Samuels towered over him by nearly a head. Weighing in at three hundred and twenty pounds and over six foot six tall, he was truly a giant of a man. As he reached them a big smile lit up his face and he grabbed Gaylon's hand and started pumping it for all it was worth.

  "Hey, you old bastard, I always said that you were too hard to kill and I think the pirates found that out. As near as we could tell you must have killed nearly twenty of the suckers." he stated "Bet you were lucky to come out of that alive!"

  "Twenty-two actually. Sometimes, we get Lady Luck to smile on us. Captain Samuels, this is Kate Johnson, it was her family that was killed some time back. She also saved my ass when they were rushing me at the campsite. Helped patch up the bullet hole in my leg too, so don't mess with her, believe me!"

  "It's a pleasure to meet you."

  "Well it's nice to meet you, call me Kate."

  "Ok, Kate, come on into headquarters and tells me more about the raid," Samuels asked. Inside the school, many of the walls were covered with maps and charts of the local area and in the back were tables with radios and field telephones. One huge map covered one complete wall and different color pins were used to denote paramilitary units and known pirate locations, black pins were used to show which farms had been hit and destroyed, and there were a lot of these. Samuels rested one hip on the big desk at the front of the room and started to question both of them about the raid on the pirate camp. What type of automatic weapons, vehicles, number of men, and fuel supplies?

  As Gaylon answered the questions Captain Samuels frowned often, he had never seen the pirates so well equipped and wished that they had been able to question some of them. As the afternoon wore on he went back and questioned them in greater detail on clothing and food supplies, knowing that winter was coming on and that they would be raiding nearer to the town to get the supplies they needed to get them through the severe storms in this part of the Country.

  "I think you're right, it doesn't look like the pirates have the means to get through the winter without equipping themselves even better than they have already. And with the weather already starting to turn bad, it won't be long before they come back. I'm going to call up more patrols and also get the men to build a few more watch towers around this area here" he explained as he pointed on the larger map, " and I'll have my reaction team on alert for any trouble. With the men I have, that's about all I can do, except warn the people to expect trouble in the coming months."

  "Can't you get more men from the other towns?" Kate asked.

  "Hell, they are already afraid of their own shadows, asking them for help is a lost cause. The farms around here are already short handed, so that's out too. I guess we'll just have to make do." He explained with a sigh, "If you can think of anything, it would sure help."

  "We'll do what we can, you know that, now how about something to eat! You've had us here all day and my butt is killing me. Is Sally still cooking for you at the mess hall?"

  "Yes, she is and she is always asking about you!"

  "Oh," Kate asked with raised eyebrows, "one of your many conquests Gaylon? And here I though you lived in that Granite House of yours like a monk."

  "I'd like to fill you in later," he replied as he looked at Samuels, "but I'm certain Samuels would be more than happy to tell you all about it. He can act like a chatty old lady at times!"

  After leaving the School, they
walked down the street toward the local hotel building that was now used as a mess hall and barracks. On the way there, Samuels told Kate about a woman named Sally Morrison. During the first night of the war, Sally had been home and had seen the fire across the heavens of incoming missiles and the glow of the distant fireballs as they fell on the missile silos, military centers, and large cities to the north, south, and west. She raced to her basement and opened the door to her root cellar that had been there since the house was built more than a century before. The apples and potatoes that were stored there made room for a cot, candles, radio, and other supplies as Sally prepared for the deadly fallout she knew was coming. She readied the cellar with everything she could think of except for one thing, a gun. The one of the very first pirates found her cellar not long after the fallout had started to rain down. He had a fun time waiting for it to be safe again. By the time Gaylon had found her, Sally had been more dead than alive. Burns covered her naked body and blood ran from her nose and mouth from the many beatings. The countless rapes had also almost destroyed her mind and it was weeks before she could walk again. He gently nursed her back to health and when she was better, had helped her track down the man and kill him. Now every time he comes into town he stops by the house where Sally lives and spends a few hours with her. As Kate listened to the tale she cast a quiet look at Gaylon and saw there was more to him than she had first thought.

  The hotel, now mess hall and barracks, was crowded and Kate saw that the meal being served was much better than she expected it would be. Gaylon informed her that Sally had ran one of the best restaurants in town before the war and that she had asked for the job after she had recovered from what had happened to her. As they entered the line to be served a woman ran up and threw her arms around Gaylon's neck. She thought that the woman had been very beautiful before the war, but now a long puckered scar ran down the right side of her face and one arm was twisted and covered with scar tissue.

  "Gaylon, it's so good to see you! The boys told me you were back in town so I cooked you up something special, and who is this with you?" Sally said as she turned to face the others.

  "Sally, this is Kate Johnson, her family was killed by pirates some weeks back and she has been staying with me at Granite House. Kate, this is Sally, the one Captain Samuels was just telling you about."

  "Nice to meet you Kate, I'm sorry about your family," Sally said with a soft voice, "I hope you'll come to my house whenever you are in town, so we can get to know each other better."

  Kate smiled and said, "Thank you, I'd like that."

  Sally led them over to a table sitting by itself in the corner with a clean silk tablecloth and fine china. The silverware was real silver and had been given a bright shine and next to them were lead crystal glasses and a cold bottle of good German wine. As they walked up, Sally lit two candle tapers and showed Gaylon and Kate their place at the head of the table. The guests of honor always sit at the head of the table!

  "Sally, this is really too much!" Gaylon explained.

  "Why can't I show you how much you've done for me? If it hadn't been for you, think I would have lost the will to live. You gave that back to me and showed me that there is always something to live for. No matter how bad things can get. No one could have done so much and never ask for anything in return. So that's why all of this, to say thank you, Gaylon, thank you for my life." With that Sally kissed Gaylon lightly on the lips.

  "I hope you know you can always count on me," He whispered to her with a tear in his eye.

  "I know, hon, now what have you been wanting for a long time?"

  "Surprise me!"

  Sally went back to the kitchen and came back with a metal serving cart covered with a silver serving set and in the center was a small glazed ham covered with pineapple slices.

  "Sally, where did you get this, I haven't seen a ham since before the war!" Samuels explained, "And does that one sure looks real good!"

  "I have my ways," she said with a big smile on her face.

  The party that night was the very first one since the bombs had fallen and as the dawn broke Kate and Samuels helped carry Gaylon upstairs and laid him on the bed that Sally had prepared earlier. The clean sheets rustled as Kate pulled off his boots and the rest of his clothes. Kate turned as Samuels started to leave.

  "Gaylon is a good man. I glad he found someone like you. Sally wants it like this too. And besides, she and I have kind of a thing going. So, sleep tight and I'll see you both later." Samuels explained as he looked down on Gaylon's sleeping face. "It's good to see him laugh again. Well, good night."

  "Thanks, and tell Sally, thank you for everything." she replied.

  Samuels just smiled and closed the door behind him. As Kate turned back to the bed, Gaylon opened his eyes and looked at Kate, then motioned her towards the bed. She sat down besides him and smiled, ever since the raid on the camp, this is what she had wanted. His arms drew her nearer and as he gently kissed her on the lips she began to cry. He just held her closer and his own tears started to fall as they mourned the terrible losses they both had lived through. They were both alone in the world and that shared pain helped to free them. Slowly, they made love and as the sun was rising, they fell asleep in each other's arms. Later as the sunlight advanced up to the head of the bed, Gaylon slowly opened his eyes, looked next to him and smiled. The night before had not been a dream; Gaylon rolled over and kissed Kate on the side of the neck as her hair brushed against his face. He took a second to just enjoy the view as the sunlight reflected on the highlights of her hair, the curve of her body, and he knew he loved her. Finally a smile formed on her lips, a soft gentle smile as she opened her eyes. Gone were the haunted looks, her eyes were clear and bright and shining. Moving over, he gave her a soft kiss on the lips, a token of the future, and a token of his heart. And as he held her closer, they kissed again, and with rising passion they made love again. Later, passion spent, Kate began to laugh and soon Gaylon joined in until they were both rolling back and forth across the bed. They had been alone together for weeks and only now had they let their true feeling come out. It was good to be alive! Suddenly they heard shouting in the hallway and Samuels burst into the room, took one look, and laughed.

  "Well, all right!" He shouted.

  "Don't you ever knock," Gaylon chuckled.

  "Sorry, something has come up. We caught a pirate last night! One of the patrols is bringing him in now. He could be one of the survivors from your raid on their camp; he could even know where they are headed now."

  "Let me find my pants and I'll be right there."

  Samuels had given orders for the prisoner to be taken to the local police station and thrown into one of the holding cells. As they entered the cells, they all noticed the smell that was coming from the prisoner. Open sores covered a good part of his arms and face and his clothes were torn and very dirty. A look of fear also covered his face, as he knew it was death to be a pirate.

  Sid had always had a hard time of it, never getting a decent break, and when the bombs had lit up the sky he knew that the cards had dealt him another bad hand. He hid in the cellar of an empty building and cried as the world shook around him. When the pirates found him, he had been half mad with fear and hunger and he begged for his life. They saw him as one of their own and let him stay with them. As the months passed Sid would pick through the bodies of the dead, looking for watches, rings, and weapons that he could use to barter for food and shelter. When Gaylon and Kate had attacked the pirate camp by the river, Sid had hidden in the back of one of the pirate trucks that finally made a breakout passed Gaylon's position. He helped to care for many of the pirates that were wounded and two died the next day. All the pirates vowed to return for some serious payback. Weeks later, Sid wore out his welcome when it was found out that he had killed a wounded pirate to steal his watch. Acting like the coward he was, Sid escaped with what he could carry. Hoping he could make his way south, he had tried to get through a Paramilitary Checkpoint only to be
caught with stolen goods on his person.

  Gaylon looked at Sid and shook his head, never had he seen anyone that disgusted him more. The tale that Sid told was more then enough to confirm what Gaylon and Samuels had thought and they didn't think there was anything else that Sid could tell them. Plus some of the things that he had said he had done had left little question as to his sentence. Samuels had him taken out of the jail and into the public square and Sid was hanged until he was dead. He had played his last hand and lost everything. Afterwards, Gaylon and Kate stopped at the Mess Hall for something to warm them. But after staring for some time at the plate in front of him, he slowly pushed it away. Talking to Sid had taken away his appetite and he thought long on all that Sid had told him about the pirates. To Gaylon it seemed as if the pirates were like the wolf packs that used to roam the timberlines of old. They lived off the weak and alone and were very dangerous if cornered. Captain Samuels currently didn't have the heavy resources to engage the pirates in a protracted running battle, but he did have the heavy firepower that could be brought to bear to destroy the pirates completely in a heavy firefight. The only way that could be done was to give the pirates a nice juicy target that was certain to draw them in and then trap them. But, Gaylon could not think of what that target had to be or how to spring the trap.

  Kate later found herself alone walking along the empty streets of the town and remembered how it used to be like before the war. The park used to be filled with people and the town band would play on the bandstand every Saturday night as the sun was setting. Kate and her family always came early to roast hot dogs and have a picnic on the grass. And once a year on the Fourth of July, there were fireworks and a street dance till dawn.

  Now the bandstand was a burned pile of ash and the late season grass was knee high, not a happy place for walking. There was no longer any laughter or dancing till dawn because the times were now enduring very hard times and the town's people worked from dawn to dusk just to survive. Then she thought about the night before with Gaylon and smiled to herself. Her life had taken a turn for the better and she planned on living life to the fullest. She saw Gaylon was walking back toward the headquarters building and Kate walked up to him and fell in step beside him. He smiled as he looked at her; his heart had felt empty for so long since his wife had died. But now, he knew that things were right again and that he could make Kate as happy as possible in the crazy world they now lived in.