Hell to Pay Ch. 01

He shook himself and smiled at Dixie. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't. I was scared down in the city but I feel safe now," she said hugging him closer. Dixie was deep in thought for a minute and then asked, "Why isn't the government doing something? What if it doesn't get better for months? How long can we stay up here?"

Casey took Dixie's hand. "The government, in its own fumble fingered way, will finally get things under control. It might take a while for them to find their ass with both hands and a road map, but they will." He chuckled and went on. "We've got enough packaged supplies and food for several months. But if things don't get better within, say a month, I'll hunt to supplement our supplies."

"But you gave up hunting," she objected.

"I gave up hunting for sport. If it's hunt or go hungry, I won't have a problem hunting," Casey replied. After locking up he said, "C'mon let's get some sleep. I've got a lot to show you about our hideaway tomorrow."

The other times he'd brought Dixie to the cabin it seemed like a good place to spend a weekend or a few days together. They'd taken advantage of the seclusion and the romantic setting offered by the woods and the valley. But this night, they slept with their clothes on and just held each other. Casey's weapons were never more than an arm's length away.

The next morning Casey was up at daybreak. He hiked to the top of the hill that overlooked the rear of his cabin. Hidden in a tall oak tree was a radio antenna. Under a brush pile, covered by a waterproof tarp was an AM/FM/SW radio that could be powered by a hand crank or solar energy. He didn't have to worry about batteries for it. He attached the antenna leads to the radio and waited for the morning news broadcast. As long as the stations continued to broadcast he would be able keep aware of what was going on in the city.

While he waited for the morning broadcast he thought, I didn't tell Dixie the whole story when I said I didn't hunt anymore. It was true that he thought it was disrespectful to kill animals and not use the meat. It was also true that he'd seen a lot of killing in the Army. But the real reason he didn't hunt was that he'd been responsible for a lot of men's deaths and would have been responsible for more; except for what happened on his last mission.

Casey had been a sniper. And a damn good one, he admitted to himself. One shot, one kill is the sniper's creed and Casey lived up to that creed. It was on a search and destroy mission that his career came to an end. Casey and his spotter, Tommy, had trailed their human target to a jungle hideaway. They spent three days in the hide they'd chosen before Casey got the shot.

The distance was just under a half mile. He was using a Remington Model 700 Tactical rifle with a noise suppressor; the round would take four point three seconds to travel that distance. The man was kneeling talking to a young boy and Casey planned to fire as the target stood up. What he hadn't counted on was the man picking the boy up as he stood.

Casey watched through the scope as the bullet hit first the boy and then the man; both were dead before they hit the ground. Tommy had to pull Casey away before they were spotted. When they made it back to base, Casey and Tommy made an after action report and Casey applied for a transfer out. He followed the chain of command up the ladder and told his First Sergeant, his Lieutenant, the company commander, and the Major commanding the brigade that he'd gone on his last combat mission.

Over a period of two weeks, they all tried to reason with him and tell him that he couldn't just quit. The Major suggested a week of R&R in someplace like Spain. Casey's response was "Transfer me or send me to the stockade, but I've done all the killing for you that I'm going to do."

Casey had been decorated several times and the powers that be decided it wouldn't look good if such a decorated soldier was court marshaled. They discharged him and sent him home.

********************

Right on time the news broadcast began; pulling Casey back from his memories. The news wasn't good. Armed gangs of looters were taking over the city and people were running with no idea of where to go. There was no mention of the National Guard or the police or any other group trying to establish control in the city.

After an hour Casey shut the radio down, covered it, and returned it to its hiding place. Looks like we might be up here for a bit, he thought. He chuckled and said softly, "It's a good thing I fortified this place. Like it was Fort Apache or something."

Using a propane camp stove, Dixie had fixed a breakfast of steak and eggs while Casey was gone. He sat down at the table and she said, "The steaks were starting to thaw and we don't have a way to refrigerate the eggs so I thought we had better use them."

Casey nodded and started eating. "After breakfast I need to show you a few things about the area around the cabin."

Later Casey led Dixie to a stand of trees growing close together. He took her hand and led her through a small aisle between the trees and a rock bluff. Behind the trees there was a room size cavity in the rock. Set in the wall at the back of the cavity was a steel door. Casey showed Dixie the combination to the lock and opened the door.

"This is my storage area," Casey said pointing to a long room cut in the rock.

Dixie looked around, surprised at the size and length of the room. "Did you dig all this out?"

"No, it's an old mine shaft actually. Don't know what they were looking for but I guess they never found it. It had been abandoned for years when I bought the place."

Casey had picked up a flashlight just inside the doorway and now led Dixie further into the mine. About a hundred yards into the mountain the shaft sloped gently downward.

"You can't see it but there's an underground stream at the bottom of the shaft. Guess that's why they stopped digging. The water is safe to drink." Casey and Dixie retraced their steps toward the door. "I thought this would be a good place to cache stuff so I put in that steel door to keep people and varmints out."

Although Dixie had been to the cabin several times, she'd never seen this storage area. There were twenty or so large metal boxes with hinged lids. She opened one and saw it was full of military type MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). Others had sacks of beans, oats and rice in them and still others had dehydrated food packages. Dixie looked at Casey with a question in her eyes.

"Told you we could hold out for quite a while up here," he said. Smiling he continued, "I may have gone a little overboard preparing this place as a refuge but I'm glad I did now." Let me give you a running inventory of what I, I mean we, have here." Casey unfolded a camp stool and offered the seat to Dixie.

"As you've seen before, there are solar cells on the south facing roof of the cabin. All they really can do is work the water pump and give us lights at night; there's not enough power to run a refrigerator or anything like that. Further back in the mine and one level down is my "cool room" where I keep perishables," Casey said and led Dixie to a portion of the tunnel that slanted downward.

"As a backup to the solar power, we have several kerosene lanterns. During the rainy season or cloudy weather there is a gas powered generator for backup. It's a small one but it can charge the batteries in about two hours. We can use that old wood burning stove to cook on and it'll heat the place in cold weather; if we have to stay here that long. I cook on the grill or over an open fire as much as I can. And we have a deep well with a hand pump in the cabin for water in case the electric one shoots craps."

Casey stopped to think for a few seconds. "C'mon, one last thing to show you." He took Dixie's hand and pulled her to her feet. Still holding her hand he led her into a small side tunnel.

"I know what that is," Dixie said. "It's a gun safe. Although I've never seen one that big."

"To me it's an arms locker," Casey said smiling. "But gun safe is right too. The combination is the same as the one on the main door and the door to the cabin, 7-4-17-76. July 4, 1776; go ahead, open it"

Dixie worked the combination and opened the heavy door. Inside were several weapons of various types; including a bow. Casey took a pistol with a belt and holster and handed it to Dixie.

"Put that on," he ordered as he handed her the belt and holster. Then he handed her the pistol. "Be careful, it's loaded. "That's a .38 Special six shot revolver; it has semi wad cutters in the cylinder. They'll hit hard and make a big hole. I want you to wear that rig every waking hour and when you sleep keep it within reach."

Casey smiled as Dixie put on the gun belt and stuck the pistol into the holster. "You look like Annie Oakley," he teased her. "I gave you a revolver because they don't jam. It's double action so all you have to do is pull the trigger. You've got two speed loaders on the belt. We'll do some target shooting this afternoon so you can get use to reloading in a hurry and get a feel for the weapon."

"I know how to shoot Casey," Dixie told him. She laughed at the surprised look on his face. "My Dad wanted a son but he got me instead. So he treated me like a boy until I was about 15." Dixie stopped for a moment and smiled. "Then he began to treat me like a little princess."

Casey smiled and reaching into the safe, he pulled out a Remington 887 tactical 12 gauge shotgun. He gave Dixie a quick lesson on where the safety is, how to load it, and the use of the weapon. "I've loaded it with double aught buckshot so it has got a range out to about 150 feet. Just point and pull the trigger. Pump the action," he said demonstrating, "and you're ready to shoot again. It holds five shells in the magazine and one in the chamber. Got it?"

Dixie nodded and Casey added, "There's also a Ruger .22 Magnum SR-22 rifle back at the cabin over the door. I hope you won't have to use the guns but if you do have to use them at close range, keep pulling the trigger until you're out of ammo. Don't stop to warn anyone, don't stop to threaten them and don't stop to see if you hit anything, just keep shooting."

"I know Casey, I know," Dixie responded. "Daddy taught me how to shoot most of the weapons you have here."

Before Casey closed the arms locker he ran his hand over the Remington 700 he'd used in the Army. He'd made a deal with a compassionate (and greedy) ordinance sergeant and brought it home with him. He'd used the 7.62 NATO round in the military which was the same as the .308 available commercially. A ready supply of ammunition was one of the reasons he'd brought it home. But the main reason was that he hated to think of "his rifle" being used by another sniper. Dixie didn't see the gesture or the extent of the small arsenal inside the locker.

For the next week, Casey and Dixie spent some time cutting firewood and stacked it behind the cabin with a small supply beside the stove. He also set up his BBQ grill under the covered patio at one side of the cabin. Casey, and Dixie, would use the wood stove or the grill to cook most of their meals. Even though the cabin had a 250 gallon propane tank, he wanted to save as much of it as possible for cold weather.

During that time, Casey listened every morning and evening to the news reports. The situation locally and from what he could tell around the country, was still deteriorating. The military had been deployed in the major cities to put down the riots and looting. But it's a big country and not all areas had been stabilized.

At the start of the second week Casey decided to make a trip back to his truck. Dixie looked at Casey with apprehension. "Look Honey, I don't know how much longer we're gonna have to stay up here," he said taking her in his arms. "There are supplies in the truck that can stretch our food for a long time," he told her. Among other things are cubed beef, oats, rice, and some vegetables."

"Stay close to the cabin and if anybody shows up lock yourself in," he ordered. "It's next to impossible to break into the cabin. Anyone that tries will go crazy." He hugged Dixie and kissed her. "I'll be back in about an hour. Okay?"

Casey left at a ground eating trot. Better make time now, he thought. I won't be able to keep this pace coming back.

********************

Raff Talbert looked alertly out the passenger window of the Jeep Cherokee. His brother Sam was doing the same thing from the back seat. The driver was Ted Adams and they'd just met him a few days ago. Raff and Sam had been living in the city. They had run a family out of their house and taken it over; that included the food and supplies the family had cached.

A larger gang of thieves and looters had moved into the neighborhood which forced Raff and Sam to leave. On their way out of town they saw two men trying to pull another man out of the Cherokee. Raff shot the two thieves. He was going to shoot Ted too and steal the SUV but decided that a willing third man could be helpful. The three men formed an uneasy alliance and left the city.

Raff had been in the military and had learned a little about scouting before he was dishonorably discharged for desertion and commission of a felony (grand theft auto). He'd been stripped of rank and benefits and sentenced to two years in the stockade. Sam, although a civilian, had been part of the same operation and had done time in a state run jail. They had both gotten out only four days after the computer virus attacked.

That had been almost three weeks ago. Now they were following old faint tire tracks along a forest service road. Raff had said that there had to be a cabin or lodge along the road. He hoped they'd find one with food and a place to stay for a few days. As the Jeep made a sharp turn another narrow road branched off and went up a small ridge.

"There," Raff said. Pointing to the narrow path, Raff order Ted to take it. The 4x4 topped the ridge and the three men saw a cabin in the small valley on the other side. "Told ya there'd be something up here," Raff bragged. "Stop the car and let's do a little reconnaissance," he ordered, using a term he'd learned in the Army.

The three men slowly made their way down the ridge to the valley floor. Raff directed Sam to one side of the cabin and Ted to the other side. He walked just inside of the tree line until he could see the front of the cabin. Sam and Ted tried looking in the windows but they were mostly covered. They walked to the front corner of the cabin and peeked around at the front door.

Raff began to inch his way through the trees toward the cabin. He was picking his way as quietly as he could but suddenly there was a loud clanging and banging; Raff had tripped one of the perimeter wires that Casey and Dixie had set.

He was about forty feet from the cabin door as it opened. Raff saw a young woman step onto the porch. Damn, he thought. She's a looker, maybe we'll get more than just some food and a place to stay.

The woman put her hand on the pistol. "What do you want?" She challenged.

"Hoping to find some water and maybe a little food Miss," Raff answered. He gave her a big smile and held his empty hands out to his sides trying to reassure her that he was friendly. He took three or four more steps toward the cabin.

Dixie didn't hesitate and pulled her pistol, pointing it at Raff. "Stay where you are," she warned.

"You out here all on your lonesome?" Raff asked taking another step toward the young woman.

"I told you to stop," Dixie told him. "Don't make me shoot you Mister." Raff stopped and she added, "My fiancée is hunting and will be back any minute."

"All right Miss. Sorry I didn't mean to scare you," Raff said. He took a step back and asked, "Can you spare some water and a little food. It's been a couple of days since I ate."

The man was smiling and seemed to be harmless but Dixie didn't trust his looks. He doesn't look like he's missed many meals, she thought. Pointing down the ridge line, she replied, "There's a spring at the bottom of the hill; the water's safe to drink."

Dixie took a couple of steps back toward the doorway. Reaching inside she pulled out a can of beef stew and threw it to him. "That's all we can spare. Now be on your way."

"Thank you Miss. Can I borrow a can opener?" Raff asked, still smiling.

"Use the knife on your belt to open it," Dixie answered. "I don't want you any closer. Now one more time, get going."

"Yes ma'am. I'm leaving," Raff answered. As he turned he made a motion with his right hand.

Dixie heard a noise off to her right. She turned and saw Sam creeping toward her. Before she could bring her pistol up to cover him, another man grabbed her from behind. When Ted put his arms around her, Dixie fired a shot at Sam. The bullet hit the log wall, narrowly missed him. As she and Ted struggled, Dixie remembered the lessons that Casey had taught her early in their relationship.

She stomped on the instep of the man holding her and threw her head back quickly, head butting him. Blood gushed from his nose and his grip loosened. Dixie almost broke free but Raff had closed with them and pulled her in close to him. Dixie tried to shoot him but he knocked her arm away just as the pistol went off a second time.

Raff was 6' 3 and weighed well over 200 pounds. He easily lifted Dixie off the ground holding her in his arms. She kicked and made hard contact with his shin. Raff dropped her to her feet, turned her around and backhanded her to the ground. Dixie dropped the pistol as she fell.

"Now Missy, let's just see what else you can spare," he said kicking the can of beef stew to the side and picking her up.

To be continued