William Macthorton (Billy Bob)
It was his fifth and final tour. They were circling the old capital building in a town once known as Olympia. The last earthquake took down the dome and now it was just a mass of rock and plants. Most of the buildings here were stone and those didn’t last long in the wet and cold without human intervention. This place hadn’t seen much human intervention in at least a decade.
Bill and his team were there to determine the threat. Who was here, what was left behind and if any of that would affect their colony. You see things were growing again. We had enough to branch out. But not enough to just throw it away. So, they created the rogue teams. Six members with various skills to venture out of the safe zones and into… Well what was left. There was no backup. You went. You saw and you reported back. If you got caught, captured or killed. You got written off.
Suddenly Bill saw movement. He signaled the squad to hunker down and waited for orders from the squad leader. All six members disappeared into the rubble. They were good at hiding. And that’s what you did while you were trying to interpret what you saw and what to do next.
Bill worked his way up the mound to see over it. He found the perfect rubble that would conceal him, but allow him to see what was over the small hill. He looked back, Put up two fingers and then pointed Northwest. He didn’t wait to see if anyone saw, he knew his squad leader would put himself in a place to see. He heard movement behind him but kept his attention on the two strangers he saw walking along the rubble. They too, were trying to use it as cover, however they were noisy. They were not trained and it did not appear to be organized. Bill looked around to see if this was part of a trap. Two souls acting as bait to see what they would attract. This tactic was not new to them. They had seen it before and lived to tell about it. Bill glanced back and saw Steve and Becky making their way North to flank whoever was out there.
“On you six.” Mark the squad lead said.
“Scavengers.” Bill said.
“Armed?” asked Mark.
“Don’t think so.” Bill responded.
“Tom has our back. I’ll take this. You make contact.” Mark commanded.
“Tell Steve to keep down. Until I call him out. I don’t like this.” Bill looked at Mark. “No yahoo shit.”
Mark nodded.
WIth that, Bill picked a route and started heading down the rubble pile towards the two unsuspecting strangers. He would put himself in their path and then try to make contact. They may have information that would be valuable to the colony. It was risky, but better than spending weeks out here scouring the area.
Everything went as planned and Bill put himself in their path. He hid and waited for them to come past. He was not disappointed. “Hands away from your body, both of you!” Bill commanded.
The two froze and did nothing for a second. They were completely surprised. One tried to turn but Bill commanded, “Hands out! Look Forward.”
One of the two said, “We ain't got nothin you want.”
“Maybe I want two slaves.” Bill said, trying to get them upset. Stressed out people don’t make good decisions and show their hand too soon.
“We ain’t good for nothin.” Said the other one.
“I will determine that.” Said Bill. He had not gone far from his hiding spot and was looking around for the trap. He looked at Mark Briefly and saw no indication of trouble.
“Where you from?” asked one of the boys.
“Well, aren’t you curious.” Responded Bill. “I tell you what. I’ll ask the questions and if I like your answer, I’ll let you go.”
“Rubble!” said the boy.
“No. I will.” Said Bill.
The first boy shook his head. “We’re from Rubble.” he said.
“That’s a place?” Asked Bill.
The boy shook his head yes.
“Okay, How far?” Bill asked.
“That way, not far.” the second boy pointed.
“And how many of you live there?” Bill asked.
“Hundreds.” Said the first boy menacingly.
“Lying is going to get you killed, son.” Bill said and then realized he sounded like his old man. Bill shot a quick glance at Mark. Mark was signaling him to get back. This was not good.
“Okay boys, we’re going on a walk. Just keep moving forward and I will tell you when to stop.” He looked again. Mark’s face was not happy. “Move now!” Bill commanded silently. As soon as the boys were about ten meters away he turned and ran back to Mark. He was fast and he quickly made it up the rubble pile. He saw that Mark had his rifle aimed at something, but did not fire. He put up his hand up with fingers spread and then opened and closed it a bunch of times. That meant that there were a lot of enemies bearing down on them. He didn’t wait, he kept running past Mark knowing that he would follow. On the other side he saw Steve and Becky to his left and then he saw Kyle and Tom, who had covered positions. They would wait for everyone to pass before retreating themselves. Bill could easily outrun the rest of his squad so he quickly made it to another covered position and turned to provide cover fire if needed. Becky, the other skilled runner, was first, then the rest came. Tom took the longest, but he was carrying the big boy with lots of rounds. They continued this process for another two kilometers. Then stopped to see if anyone followed. No one did.
Mark turned to his squad, “Billy Bob” That was Bill's nickname. “You need to run. Get word to Mike and Alan.” He looked at the rest, “We’re going to keep an eye on these guys and see just how many and how organized they are.”
Bill wanted to stay, but knew that this was the prudent measure. The colony needed to know. “I’ll be back in two days.”
“Hell! It's only forty-five kilometers, Billy Bob.” Tom slapped him on the back.
“We will be at Checkpoint, Seria, come in slow.” Mark commanded.
Bill handed his AR to Kyle who put it over his back. Bill needed to be light. He then handed out the rest of his spare amo. He looked at Mark, “What’s your estimate?”
Mark thought about it, “At least thirty, but my guess is that that was just one of many parties. And that does not take into account the home bodies.”
“Got it.” Bill said and then looked at his map. He wanted to head straight North along the old Freeway then head inland, but that was risky. The Valley was just so big and open. In the end he decided to go inland first then cut over Elks Plain. More cover and he knew the territory. It would be slower, but safer for one person. He looked at his Squad, “see ya in two days.”
It would have been so much easier if they had a radio, but those didn’t leave the compound. They were just too valuable and they couldn’t afford to have any fall into enemies hands. The standing order for the security team was to destroy the radio if they were going to be overrun. As for his team, they would have to do without. It was just too risky. Bill put his hat on backwards so she would see better and then looked at everyone, “See you in two.” Then he took off.
Bill started off slow, this was a long distance and he would be on his own, so that meant be careful and watch for any signs of trouble. The first six kilometers went as planned. Then he had to hide. A small band of hunters were camped near a pond and they heard something approaching them. They didn’t venture too far from camp, but they were looking in his directions. After not finding anything, they settled back down and Bill snuck away. He settled into a good pace and kept running. Early in the afternoon he estimated that he was almost half way back and thanks to the summer night, he still had four or five hours of light left in the day. He could make it.
As he approached a field he stopped. It was more than half a kilometer of open terrain with only under brush for cover. If he was going to be discovered, this is where it would be, but he wanted to make it back tonight, he couldn’t go around. There was no movements or smells that would indicate people so he took off. He was running faster here. Picking each step and scanning quickly. Suddenly, about a dozen birds flew up out of the underbrush. Instinctively he threw himself on the ground. His heart was racing and he waited for something bad to happen. Nothing did. Slowly he got up and scanned. Nothing. Just some stupid birds. Bill got back to running and made it to the nisqually river. It was low this time of year but it wasn’t a good idea to run soaking wet. He scanned both up and down stream. Upstream he saw some buildings and decided that might be interesting to look at. He got out his map and compass. Using two points of reference and their angles he plotted them on his map to see where he was. Where the lines crossed, he marked his map so they knew to come back here on another trip. Industrial buildings along a river meant that it could be a fish hatchery or, if they were lucky, a power production plant. It would be small, but that’s better than nothing. That's when the cable caught his eye. There was a cable that went across the river. It was low and he could easily use it to cross. He carefully approached the buildings. They appeared to be abandoned. Doors open. Debris scattered about. He looked in the first. No movement. Then the second. Looking South there were more buildings that were farther away from the water. Another party would have to explore those. Heading East, up river, he saw a third building that was right on the water. There were large openings at the water level. He wondered what this building was used for. Then he saw a boat. What luck. He crossed the open area and checked out the last building. Many of the windows were broken and all was quiet. He then turned his attention to the boat. It was upside down and brown with rust. If he used the boat and the cable, he might just get across this river dry. 30 minutes later he was pulling the boat up out of the water and hiding it. This would be where he would return. It’s better than a bridge as most of those are watched. The next ten kilometers were fairly easy. Small fields and scrub brush. Most of this area had already been cleared. Not much here. Definitely nothing to build a settlement on. Farm maybe, but for some reason this whole area was devoid of buildings and trees found it difficult to grow as well. To Bill it just meant easy terrain to cross. He was about four kilometers from the no-man's-land when he saw a herd of Elk. Mostly cows and a few spikes that have not left moms side yet. He stopped to look at his map. They didn’t belong here. Not this time of year. They should have moved East up to the mountains. Something was keeping them here or something was off. He decided to go around. It would only add two kilometers, but he could still make it to no-man’s-land before nightfall. He marked his map and left.
Finally he saw the “No Trespassing” Signs that marked their border and the beginnings of the no-man’s-land. This was a kilometer and a half stretch of land around their colony that had been cleared just before the world went mad. It was full of traps and pits and was designed to keep people out. On the inside edge were the security details that kept watch of this area. They either reported someone who ventured out and died or they were strongly encouraged to go back. A few, of the more stubborn ones lie out there with their bones being bleached by the sun. Bill got out his signaling light and walked past the “No Trespassing” Sign. He walked out to the edge of the opening and signaled the guards on the other side. There was a flash of light from the trees and Bill proceeded South until he came across a marking. He looked at this map an then turned East. The course threw the traps was memorized. Nothing could be written. He was met on the other side by Bruce. The supervisor for this sector. If a scout had returned before he was scheduled, then something important happened. Bruce took Bill to a truck. Bill was grateful for the lift back to the commons.
In front of Mike, Bill gave his report.
“So you think they’re organized?” Mike asked.
“To what extent we don’t know, the kids we held, said that there were hundreds.” Bill responded.
“If that were true then they would have had some type of settlement. Farming.” Mike mused.
“Mark was going to scout the area some more while I reported back, he will have more information by the time I return.” Bill said, even though this was standard procedure. He just wanted Mike to know that they were following prodigal.
“But a group that big. We haven’t seen that in a while.” Mike didn’t like this. They were so close. He was thinking about the last group that they had to deal with. They had taken up residence in the old army base and were terrorizing the areas around it. Taking supplies and killing anyone that opposed them. For a year they roamed the area taking what they wanted until they wandered into No-man’s-land. That’s where they met Mike’s security forces. And they didn’t live to tell about it. They were so used to taking what they wanted that they just brazenly walked out and tried to do that with Graham. After that, those at the old fort just faded away. Could this group be a remnant of them? And if that was the case, they could be very dangerous. Mike looked up, “You did good to get this back to us.” he said, then fell silent again.
Bill just stood there. He was not dismissed but Mike was lost in thought. He didn’t want to disturb the commander, but he did want to get some food and resupply before he headed back out in the early hours of the morning.
Mike suddenly realized that Bill was still there. “Oh, sorry Bill. I.. I don’t like this.”
Bill recognized Mike’s statement, “That’s why Mark sent me. He had a bad feeling about this as well.”
Mike didn’t respond. Then he looked at Bill, “Billy, I need you to guide our Alpha team back to your checkpoint. Then help them find this group. Hopefully, Mark will have a lot more intel by the time you get back. I just don’t want to see anyone threaten our Southern border.”
“Sir.” Bill wanted Mike to know that that was not their plan, “I only have until tomorrow to get back to Mark. I need to move fast.” He wanted to say that the other team would be way too slow, but that would mean that he would have to say that they were too old and too slow to keep up with him]. And you really didn’t want to piss these guys off.
Mike realized his mistake, “Of course, Take Jessup and run. He will keep in contact with the team via radio. This way you can make your rendezvous and our team will catch up where it’s best.”
“Thank you Sir.” Bill was relieved that it was that simple. “I’ll need to get some food and rest. I’ll be in the commons.”
“I’ll have Jessup report to you there. You can fill him in on the details. Good Work Bill.” Mike said as a dismissal.
Bill left and went to the cafeteria. He got food and water. Refiled his canteen and his water pouch. He then sat and let his body relax. After dinner he found a corner and laid down. He needed sleep. He wasn’t asleep long when someone roused him. “Hey, Billy.”
“What.” Bill responded.
“Wake up.” The other person said.
“Go away.” Bill was tired. He just needed a few hours and then he would be good.
“We need to go over tomorrow’s run.” the voice insisted.
“We are going to run Southwest.” Bill said then pulled his hat down over his eyes.
“How far?” The voice asked.
“Forty.” said Bill.
“What time?” came the voice again.
“First light.” Bill said.
“Okay.” Said the voice and then left.
Then Bill felt a blanket being placed over him. He just let himself fall to sleep, here. He was safe.
