Anthony Newman: American Survivor

Joe took several cases of each of the items and made two trips back to the Jeep before he began his search again. He walked along the line of trucks and noticed a foul odor coming from one of the trucks. He lifted the tarp on one the trucks and was frightened when he saw three dead soldiers. The men were riddled with bullet holes. They had died fighting with their rifles and pistols in their hands. Joe found several AR-15s and a couple of M4s along with a dozen Berretta 9 mm pistols.

Joe slung both M4s and several AR-15s across his shoulders after stuffing six of the Berettas in his backpack and was able to make safely back to his Jeep before daylight. Joe then rearranged his load to make room for the weapons and gear by securing cases of food and cloth bags of food to the roof and hood of the Jeep.

Joe was now mentally ready to go home but wanted to make one last trip to the Armory to fetch more ammo. He double-checked the Jeep to make sure it was ready to head home as soon as he returned from the armory.

Joe strapped his pistol belt to his waist and put on one of the tactical vests. He placed a Beretta in his side holster and another in the vest holster. He wanted to have weapons that used the same magazines. He then filled the ammo pouches with four spare M4 and four 9mm magazines. He then slung his carry bag’s sling over his shoulder and selected one of the M4’s to go with him. He checked his equipment and left for the armory.

The walk to the armory was uneventful, but he began to see more gang activity than usual as he approached the Walmart building. He went on around the backside of the store only to find a flurry of activity at the back of the building. Four of the massive military trucks were lined up behind the Armory, and there were dozens of people unloading food and other supplies from the trucks and taking the cases through the overhead door to the armory. The trucks were only ten yards from Joe’s supply of ammunition in the line of trucks.

Joe watched and about the time he thought they would be done, another convoy of trucks rolled up to be unloaded. Joe decided to go back to his Jeep and make tracks back to his cabin. He snuck along the walls of the Walmart in the dark to get back to the Jeep. He walked past a dumpster when abruptly two men sprang from the shadows and tried to rob him.

The men were dirty and reeked of alcohol. They had machetes in their hands, and one said, “Mac, just give us your guns and we’ll let you walk away. You shoot us, and the whole damned gang will kill all three of us.”

“Why should I believe you will let me live,” Joe said as he drew his pistol and pointed it at the men.

“Because you don’t have a choice.”

Joe looked at the men in the dim light, and he could see the open sores, and rotted teeth that mark the long-term for meth and drug users. He was surprised that they had stayed alive so long. Then he thought, cockroaches would outlive all of us. The men stank of body odor and piss, which made Joe sick to his stomach.

“You always have a choice,” Joe said as he shot both men in the chest.

Joe quickly placed the gun in one of the men’s hand and stuck the other’s machete deep into the other man’s wound. He threw down his emergency rations, a flashlight, and two magazines for the Beretta. He ran across the parking lot and hid in a car to watch.

A few minutes later, half a dozen men came slowly around the corner with rifles ready. They carefully advanced to the dumpster when one of the men saw the bodies. The men took the guns and other items and went back to the armory. Apparently, they bought Joe’s staged robbery.

Joe was now ready to go home. He drove the Jeep slowly through the mountain roads until he camped for the night south of Ashland to spend the daylight hours. The next night he left Ashland after midnight. He drove further south and approached the cabins from the southwest. He parked short of Dan’s cabin and waited for dawn. He was damned happy to see the cabins and couldn’t wait to see his friends.

Joe sat in the Jeep reading one of his Grandma’s letters before greeting his friends.

Dear Joe:

I hope this letter finds you in good health and ready for an early spring. Anyway, I hope spring is early this year because I hate long hard winters. I do hope you plant a large garden in the clearing by the cabin and grow fresh vegetables.

Have you found a girlfriend yet? A young man needs a woman in his life, and a strong-willed woman would do you good. She also needs a strong back to live in the woods, but most men are more interested in girls other assets.

As I ramble on, I hope you start the treasure hunt after you get your spring chores completed. I assure you that it will be fun if you can bear to find the treasure map and don’t cave into complacency.

Gotta go.

Joe wondered what the hell his Grandma meant by the treasure and treasure maps . Joe was deep in thought when he heard Dan yell, “Who's there?”

“Joe is back. Tell everyone Joe is back,” Dan yelled.

A sleepy boy answered, “But dad it’s only five o’clock, and everyone is asleep.”

Several people ran out of the cabin and swarmed Joe as he stepped out of the Jeep. Jane was leading the charge to the truck.

“Joe are you okay? You’ve been gone over two weeks, and we started wondering if you would ever come back to us,” Jane said.

“Well, I’m here and plan to stay here a long while. There is nothing in town for me, and I missed my cabin and my friends,” Joe responded.

Joe saw Cobie and Cloe walking from the cabin heading in his direction. He ran to Cloe, picked her up, and swung her around as he said, “Cloe, I missed you girl. How is the Bunny Ranch doing?”

Cloe hung on Joe’s neck hugging him for a minute and said, “I was afraid you weren’t coming back. I missed you so much.”

“Cloe, I will always come back to you, and you can always count on me when you need it,” Joe said between hugs.

“Joe, tell us about…” Jane started to say when Cloe interrupted.

“Joe, come see my rabbits. We already have a bunch of babies,” Cloe said as she pulled him away from the others.

Joe said, “I’ll be back in a little while after my girl shows me the rabbits.”

Cobie walked along with her daughter and Joe to the rabbit pen beside their cabin. Cloe and the boys had built a nice rabbit house that was filled with dried grass. The pen was twenty feet by twenty and was made with T posts and chicken wire.

Joe looked at it and said,” Are you losing any rabbits to the hawks and owls?”

“Oh no, two disappeared this week. I thought they ran off,” Cloe said.

“The pen needs a roof to keep the birds from swooping down and dining on your rabbits,” Joe replied.

Cobie interrupted the conversation and asked, “Joe have you had breakfast?”

Joe turned to her and said, “I thought you were still mad at me, so I don’t want to bother you.”

“Joe I want you to come eat breakfast with us this morning then we can all go down to Dan’s and let you fill them in on your exploits. Besides, you apologized for being a dick head. Please eat with us,” Cobie said.

“I would love to have breakfast with you, but let me get a few things from my Jeep first. I have some surprises,” Joe replied.

Joe walked down to the Jeep and told the others that he would be back down to fill them in on his trip after breakfast with Cobie and Cloe.

“Hey, I have some supplies for you,” Joe said as he took several cases of food from the back of the Jeep and handed them to Dan.

Joe drove the Jeep over to Cobie’s cabin and parked by the rabbit pen. He took several cases of food from the Jeep into the cabin after taking his boots off. He took several packages from one of the boxes and gave them to Cobie.