Hell to Pay Ch. 03

She nodded and Casey continued, "I've got some walky talkies and we can stay in contact with you at the cabin while we're hunting. If anyone shows up give us a call and we'll come a runnin."

Dixie had wandered over and said, "You help us and we'll help you. You'll have food and a safe place to live. Probably more important to you, your children will be safe too."

"Think it over Sally," Casey said. "Sleep on it and give us your decision in the morning." Casey stood and stretched. "I'm done talkin ladies, I'm headed for bed. Y'all stay up as late as you want. Good night."

The next morning after a breakfast of oatmeal and some canned bacon, Casey strapped on his .357 and picked up his bow.

"I'm gonna check the snares," Casey told the ladies. "Should be back in about an hour, then we'll go listen to the radio and see if things are getting back to normal. Dixie you know the drill."

"Yes dear," Dixie responded. "Stay close to the cabin and if anybody shows up call you on the Walkie Talkie."

Sally nodded and watched the two say goodbye. It's nice of them offering to let us stay, she thought. It's nice that they've made up a story to make me feel useful if we do stay. I don't know how long it will be before we can go home or even if I want to go home. Stay or go, either way we're in better shape than when we got here.

An hour later, Casey returned carrying two rabbits. John offered to clean them so Casey handed them to the boy. He and Dixie climbed the hill, attached the antennae to the radio and listened to the latest reports from the city and the country.

The National Guard had begun to restore the infrastructure. They had managed to get the water plants fully up and running and would soon have the electric generating plants back online. Government IT people had finally found a way to eradicate the virus. It would take time to erase it from all computers and to repair the damage it caused but progress was being made.

A government agency spokesman said that no group or one person had claimed responsibility for the virus. The agency believed that it was an experiment that had gotten out of hand. He said there was no indication that terrorists or hackers were involved.

The spokesman added that the citizens who had left their homes could return safely. The gangs that had taken over the cities were being dealt with. There was still rationing of food and supplies but according to the reports everything would be back to normal in a couple of months. Then the people could go back to their lives.

The radio station said the next report would be at midday and soon they would be broadcasting as they had before the virus.

Casey disconnected the antennae and put the radio back in its hiding place. He looked at Dixie and shook his head. "Bullshit," he said. "It could take months before this is all sorted out."

"You really think so?" Dixie questioned.

Nodding his head Casey replied, "It will be quite awhile before the government can give up control over the cities and effected areas." He stared down at the cabin for a few seconds. "You really want to go back Dixie? We can stay here for a long, long, time."

Dixie was quiet and then said, "We can't stay here forever."

"Yeah, but by that time maybe things will be better in the small towns around here." Casey smiled and added,

Casey saw Dixie's hesitation. "No matter what they say, your job at the bank won't be reinstated for some time, maybe months. But....If you want to go back, I'll take you."

"Will you come with me?"

"No. I'll get you back to a safe zone in the city and then I'll come back here." He shook his head. "I don't want some government bureaucrat taking my guns and food supplies and then telling me when and how much I can eat. I'll do better out here."

Dixie stared at Casey for several minutes. He sat quietly and waited for her decision. Finally she sighed, took a deep breath and said. "I think I'd rather decide when and what I eat for myself too." She smiled and added, "I didn't like being in that office all day anyway."

Casey grabbed her and pulled her to him. After kissing her he took Dixie's hand and led her to the storage cave. They spent a little over an hour in the cave; it was the only privacy they'd had since Sally and the children came into their lives.

On the way back to the cabin Casey smiled and said, "If Sally stays we'll have to figure a way to get some alone time."

Dixie nodded and returned his smile.

Sally, John, and Mary were sitting in front of the cabin when they returned. She had a shotgun lying across her lap as she watched the children play.

"Have trouble?" Casey asked.

"No, but I remembered what my Dad taught me," Sally replied. Casey raised an eyebrow and she said, "He said that the only time you needed a gun was when you need one."

Casey chuckled. "I didn't mention it before but if you want to go back home I'll take you there. Have you made a decision?"

Sally nodded. "I think we'd better stay here and be your rear guard," she said with a smile. Maybe later we can go back to the city."

John spoke up and said, "I want to learn to use your bow Mr. Casey."

"I guess that decides it," Casey said and laughed. "You'll have to stay now."

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

Over the next two months the three adults and two children became if not a family, the closest thing to it. Casey found he really enjoyed teaching John about the outdoors. Mary tagged along on some of their hikes and she learned to be very quiet in the woods. Dixie taught Sally the finer points of hunting and tracking.

Casey and Sally hiked to the stranded truck with a can of gas and brought the four wheel drive vehicle back to the cabin. He showed Sally how to pull and reconnect the ignition coil, hiding it nearby.

A couple of days later, Sally watched Casey and John return from a hunting trip carrying a turkey. Casey handed John the bird and the boy took it around to the back of the cabin to clean it. Mary followed saying that she'd help with the 'big chicken', which brought a smile to both Casey and Sally's face.

"Why not use a gun instead of your bow?" Sally asked. "I would guess you have to get much closer with a bow."

"You do, but a bow doesn't make any noise," Casey answered. "The sound of a gunshot carries a long way and I don't know who's around to hear it." He grinned at Sally and added, "The next visitors might not be as nice as you guys."

Becoming more serious Sally asked, "When do you think things will be back to normal?

Dixie came out onto the porch and heard Sally's question. "It'll be a while yet, but even then we've decided we're not going back to St. Louis. At least, not any time soon."

Casey nodded. "We'll get you to where you want to go but we're staying here."

Sally stared at them for a few seconds. "I've got no reason to go back. The house was a rental and with that ass living next door I wouldn't feel safe." After pausing she said, "But I need to get John and Mary back to a normal life. They need to go to school and interact with other children."

"Let's wait a while and see how the recovery goes," Dixie suggested. Sally nodded her agreement.

Two weeks later Casey made a scouting trip to the little town closest to them. Winona was about fifty miles distance so he took the Jeep. Dixie and John wanted to go with him.

"I can travel faster by myself if something goes wrong," Casey told them. He hugged Dixie and promised, "I'll be back late this afternoon. I'll drive close to town, do a quiet scout to see how things are, and come back."

"But why do you have to go?" Dixie asked. She was worried about the possible problems he could encounter.

"I think the smaller towns have gotten by better than the big cities. Winona is a farming community and they should be okay. It might be our contact with the outside world."

The next morning Casey was ready to go. Sally smiled and patted his shoulder, John shook his hand, and Dixie hugged and kissed him. "Come back safe please," Dixie ordered.

Casey drove forest service trails and back roads to within two miles of the small community of Winona which sat in a valley surrounded by hills. The only road into and out of town wound around through the hills and the forest. He parked the Jeep in a ravine, covered it with brush, and hiked through the woods to a small hill overlooking the town. He saw a three vehicle caravan circle the town using a forest road and disappear over the hill. One of the vehicles looked like a military Humvee and it looked like they were trying to stay out of sight.

Casey knelt down behind a hickory tree and scanned the town with his binoculars; he smiled as he watched the people. The only things out of the ordinary were the road blocks on the two roads leading into town and guards walking sentry duty on the water tower. People were walking on the main street, stopping to talk to friends. Stores were open and doing business. A more or less steady stream of trucks made their way through the roadblocks bringing crops into town.

Casey sat for over an hour watching and decided to approach one of the road blocks. Might as well find out what our options are he thought as he walked out of the tree line. He walked toward the roadblock with his rifle slung over his shoulder and his hands held at shoulder height with his palms facing forward. I don't want to get shot, especially by accident he told himself.

"Stop right there Mister," one of the young men guarding the road block yelled as Casey got about twenty yards from the barricade. "What do you want?"

"Like to talk to your mayor or someone in charge if I could," Casey answered.

The guard nodded and ordered, "Stay right there, lay your rifle on the ground and step back. We'll send for Mayor Stephens."

Casey shook his head. "Don't think I want to give up my rifle Son. I'll just wait over by that tree." He walked over to a tree by the side of the road and leaned against it.

It was close to ten minutes before he saw an opening appear in the barricade. An older man walked through the opening followed closely by the young guard and another man. The two guards were carrying what looked like hunting rifles, the older man was unarmed.

Casey slowly slid the sling holding his rifle off his shoulder and leaned the weapon against the tree. He stepped away from the tree and went to meet the three men.

"Howdy, I'm Tony Jackson. The Mayor and I guess you could say the officer in charge of Winona."

"Hello Mr. Jackson. I'm Casey Stewart."

"You'll have to excuse young Jimmy here," Jackson said pointing to the young guard. "We had some trouble with a couple of drifters last week and he's a mite skittish."

"No harm done," Casey replied and smiled at the young guard. Jimmy was about 30 years old, the same age as Casey. But Casey's experience in life made him seem much older. "What kind of trouble?" The question was directed at Mayor Jackson.

"The men came into town asking for food. Said they were willing to work for it. We told them we'd let them work for a couple of days but they'd have to leave after that. Their second day here, they roughed up one of our womenfolk, stole some supplies and tried to steal a car. They didn't make it." Jackson stopped and frowned as if thinking of something unpleasant. "We buried them behind that hill yonder."

Casey nodded. "I guess there are bad ones all over right now," he said. "Had something similar happen at my cabin." He could see the Mayor was curious. Casey told him about Rafe and the other two.

"He almost got lucky," Casey said pointing to the scar on the side of his head.

"What happened to them?"

"My fiancée shot them when they came in to make sure of their kill," Casey answered. "We dumped them down a mine shaft."

The Mayor shook his head and gave Casey a small smile. "Jimmy, go get Mr. Stewart and I some coffee," Jackson ordered. "You go with him Charley," he said to the other guard. "Let's grab a seat in the shade of that tree and talk for a bit."

Casey and Mayor Jackson walked over to the tree where his rifle was and sat down in the shade. Jimmy returned with a coffee pot and two cups. By the time the coffee in the pot was finished it was Casey and Tony instead of Mr. Stewart and Mayor Jackson.

Tony explained that when the troubles came, everyone in town joined together. The owners of the grocery store, general store, gas station, and other businesses basically gave their inventories to the town. Tony made sure the owners received receipts for everything the town took. They would be repaid from the town coffers when normal deliveries began.

"I've got a problem Tony, well a situation really, that you might be able to help me with," Casey said. He explained about Sally and her two children. "She wants a normal life for her kids and my cabin isn't the place for them over the long haul."

Tony nodded and asked, "What can I do to help?"

"Let me talk to her and then bring her down to meet your people and see your town. That is, if you are willing to consider letting them stay in Winona?" Casey requested.

"Does she have some skills we can use? If she does we'll see what we can do. I can't just let everybody that needs a place to stay come into town," Tony responded. "In Winona you do your share or you don't eat."

"You got a use for a registered nurse?" Casey asked with a smile. "Sally worked at St. Alexius Hospital before the trouble started."

Now smiling Tony answered, "I think we can find a spot for Mrs. Douglas and her children. Doc Gibson has been working too hard and needs help. Yes sir, I'm sure we have room for her."

"I'll head back and talk to Sally. We'll come for a visit in a couple of days and see how y'all get along." Casey paused and added, "I won't make her leave my place; Sally and the kids are welcome as long as she wants to stay. But if she wants to move here I'll help her."

Casey hiked back to the Jeep and returned to the cabin. It was early evening when he pulled in next to the cabin. Dixie was the first to greet him as he stepped out of the SUV with John right behind her.

"What did you find out?" Dixie asked.

"Did you see any kids?" John questioned. "Do they have a school? Are we going to move there?"

"Easy everybody," Casey replied laughing. "Let me get some supper and I'll tell you all about Winona."

After eating he told them about his meeting with Tony Jackson. Casey explained that the town could use a trained nurse to help the doctor and that Sally would be welcome.

"Why don't we use your truck and go visit?" Casey suggested. "If you like the place you and the kids can stay."

"Will you be moving too Mr. Casey?" John asked.

"Oh, please do," Mary said.

"We can talk about that in the morning," he replied.

"Come on kids, it's time for bed," Sally told them. While she got the children ready for bed, Casey and Dixie stepped outside to talk.

"It's a nice town Honey," Casey said. "They've done well and kept the place going in spite of things going to hell."

"Do you want to go with Sally and the kids to Winona?" Dixie asked.

"I could live there easier than in St. Louis," Casey replied. "But no, truthfully I'd rather stay at the cabin. But if you want to move there, we'll go"

Dixie thought for a several seconds. "I'm sure going to miss Sally and the kids, but maybe we can go visit them once in awhile," she said with a smile. She hugged Casey and almost whispered, "I'm staying with you."

They returned to the cabin and made plans with Sally for the visit to Winona. Early the next morning Casey hiked to his hidden truck and brought the big Ford back to the cabin. He took a jerry can of gas to the Ford 4 x 4 that Sally and the children had driven from Lemay and then brought it back to the cabin.

Getting ready to leave, Casey put his sniper rifle in the front handing Dixie the .223 as she got into the front passenger seat. Sally, John, and Mary climbed into their truck, Casey handed her one of the shotguns.

"Are all these guns necessary?" Sally asked.

"Remember what your dad said," Casey replied. "You never need a weapon until you need it." He smiled at Sally and added, "There are still some bad people running around out there. We'll be like the Boy Scouts and be prepared."

Casey and Dixie led the way with Sally following in her truck. It took them almost two hours to drive to Winona using back roads and forest service trails. There was one more hill to go over before they reached the town when Casey suddenly stopped his truck at the base. He stepped out of the cab and listened. There was gunfire coming from the direction of Winona.

Casey motioned for Dixie to get behind the wheel. "Sounds like our friends have company," he said. "I'm going to scout ahead and see what's going on. Dixie you guys stay here and if I signal, get the hell out of Dodge. You too Sally. Okay?"

Dixie nodded. Casey pulled his sniper rifle from the truck, gave Dixie a kiss, and climbed to just below the crest of the hill and peeked over. Below him on the road into town the three vehicles he'd seen skirting the area on his last visit were parked about fifty yards from the roadblock guarding the main street into Winona. The lead vehicle was an armored Humvee with a M239 SAW machine gun mounted in a turret.

I was right, Casey thought. It was a military vehicle. The Saw opened up on the roadblock and the men behind it. All the guards could do was squat down behind the two cars that made up the barricade. The Saw was cutting through them and Casey saw two of the guards get hit. The wounded were dragged away and two more men took their place.

Casey counted seven men attacking the town. He could see townspeople on top of a few buildings firing back at their attackers. The turret gave the gunner cover and the other raiders stayed behind the armored Humvee for protection. One of the men knelt down with what looked like an RPG, getting ready to fire at the barricade.

Oh hell no, Casey thought as brought his rifle to his should and took aim. He fired and the man with the RPG slumped to the ground. The man next to him looked around trying to see where the shot came from. The suppressor on the Remington 700 didn't make the rifle totally silent but it was close enough in this situation. Casey's next shot took out the man firing the SAW. Another man jumped into the turret to take over the machine gun; he was the next one to die.

The four remaining men didn't know which way to face. One tried to get into the Humvee but shots from the town cut him down. One of the last two men tried to get to the machine gun and Casey put him down. The last man put his hands over his head, trying to surrender.

Casey was torn. If he let the man live he would be another mouth to feed and a drain on the town. He would also have to be jailed as they couldn't let him run loose. On the other hand, shooting him when he was giving up could be thought of as murder. Legal ramifications didn't bother Casey, it was a moral issue. There was quite a difference servicing targets in a firefight and killing an unarmed man with his hands in the air.

The decision was taken out of Casey's hands as one of the town guards ran around the Humvee and shot the man at point blank range. The seven attackers were now seven dead men. Works for me, Casey thought as he started back toward Dixie and the others.

Dixie and Sally had the trucks running and turned around. Dixie was standing by the open driver's door as she looked up the hill for Casey. She saw him returning at his natural walk and shut the truck down. When Casey got within a hundred feet Dixie ran out to meet him.

"Are you okay?" She asked as she ran her hands over his upper body.

Casey smiled and replied as he pushed her hands away, "Please Honey, not in front of the kids." Then he hugged her and said, "I'm fine but a few raiders that attacked the town made a bad career move."