G Hopf - Driver 8 - A Post-Apocalyptic Novel

“Yeah, I’ll go with you,” Leigh said and crawled to the end of the porch.

Gunny opened fire from a position on the second floor. In the distance the Marshals began to holler and call out as they took cover.

“Let’s go,” Jacob said taking Portia’s hand and raced out the front door. Together they leaped from the deck and hit the ground running.

Leigh sprinted from her position and caught up.

The Marshals returned fire on the house.

“Come on you sons of bitches, come and get me!” Gunny hollered and followed it up with a howl of joy.

Portia’s heart beat so hard it felt like it was going to burst. She counted each stride, knowing it basically equaled a yard. If she could make fifty, she was there.

“Runners on the right!” a voice cried out.

Rounds began to hit around Jacob, Portia and Leigh.

“Thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine,” Portia counted under her breath.

“Get some you mother fuckers!” Gunny screamed out.

“Forty-three, forty-four, forty-five,” Portia continued.

A shot whizzed by Leigh’s head. “Damn that was close.” A second round came but this one hit her in the left thigh, it went in and came out, but along its journey the five point five six millimeter round tore her artery. Her leg gave out and she tumbled to the ground.

“Leigh!” Jacob cried out. He stopped, picked her up and continued on.

“Fifty!” Portia said loudly but she was still sigh of reaching the garage by twenty feet.

“I’m bleeding badly,” Leigh said wincing in pain.

“You’re fine, nothing can happen to you,” Jacob said his voice cracking with emotion.

“Here,” Portia said reaching the garage. She flung the door open and ran inside.

Jacob and Leigh were just behind. When he crossed the threshold, Jacob tripped and both, he and Leigh fell to the ground hard.

Leigh grunted out in pain.

“Portia, here are the keys to the SUV, start it up, go,” Jacob ordered.

Portia took the keys and made for the SUV.

“Boss, I’m hit pretty fucking bad,” Leigh said.

Rounds started to hit the side of the garage.

“You’re going to be fine, you listen to me, you’re going to be fine,” Jacob said in an attempt to reassure Leigh.

The SUV roared to life, tossing light across the garage.

Now able to see her leg, Jacob was shocked at the volume of blood. He put his hand against the spot and applied pressure.

Knowing her fate was sealed, she placed her shaking hands on top of his and said softly, “Go, live a good life in Paradise.”

“I’m not leaving you,” he said, his eyes welling up with tears. For years he’d cared for her, but never wanted to express his feelings for concern it would be a distraction for the team.

She placed her left hand on his cheek and said, “Thank you for saving me all those years ago.”

He could see the life draining out of her. No matter how hard he pressed down on the wound, the blood kept pouring out. “No, please, don’t go, I need you.”

“You don’t need anyone, you’re the boss,” she said wiping a tear from his cheek.

“I’ll fix you, I will,” he said and pushed down as hard as he could against her leg.

The rounds kept slamming against the side of the garage.

Her hand wandered over her vest until it found Sally. “I’ve got my girl here. No, go, please, go.”

Portia watched the emotional scene play out and she too began to cry.

Heeding Leigh’s words, Jacob left her next to the truck and got inside the SUV.

“Go?” Portia asked.

He wiped the tears from his cheek, lowered the window, readied his rifle and said, “Drive.”

Gunny put up a fight but eventually, the odds and firepower were against him. After the Marshals’ cleared the main house and killed Gunny, they went to the outbuildings.

A young Marshal walked through the shattered door of the garage and discovered Leigh. “Ty, Aaron, guys, I’ve found another!”

Leigh took a labored breath and lifted her head.

Seeing her move the young Marshal cried out, “She’s alive, the chick is alive. Guys hurry up.” He walked over and shined a flashlight down on her.

Leigh was surrounded by a large pool of blood and her face was so white it almost looked translucent. Her hands were cradled in her lap with her legs spread out in front of her.

Six Marshals entered the garage, their individual lights casting a blinding light on her.

Aaron, the lead Marshal, stepped forward and knelt down to get a better look at Leigh. “Look fellas, she took a round through the thigh, you see that?” he asked pointing at the entry wound.

The others nodded.

“Now that’s a shot. By the amount of blood, that round cut through her artery and now the bitch is about to expire from blood loss,” he laughed.

“With her, that’s four, that means one got away, their leader,” Ty said.

“And he had someone with him, another woman,” the young Marshal said, excitement in his eyes at the prospect of torturing or even raping Leigh. “Senior Marshal Aaron, can we have some fun with her before she dies?”

Aaron stood, gave the young Marshal a hard look and asked, “Is that the kind of people you think we are?”

“Ah, but I thought…” the young Marshal said. He was new to the Marshals’ service.

“You thought right, go have fun boys, do whatever you want, she’ll be dead soon anyway.”

The men drew close to Leigh.

Another Marshal entered the barn bringing their number to eight total surrounding Leigh. “Senior Marshal, total count for us tonight is six KIA and seven wounded.”

“Fourteen,” Leigh muttered.

Aaron turned around and looked at Leigh, “Move out of the way.” The other stepped aside. “What did you say?” he asked her.

“Fourteen,” she answered, her eyes half open and a crooked smile on her face.

“Fourteen? What the hell does that mean?” Aaron asked.

Leigh exhaled her last breath. Her hands went limp, freeing Sally. The spoon flew off the grenade, it rolled between her legs and detonated.

Mindset. That’s all Kyle had going for him at the moment. Following over a week of fighting, beatings and torture he was now operating on nothing but pure willpower. After losing a couple hours because of the detour he pressed ahead to make up time, only stopping to refuel and urinate. He even ignored the screaming baby, a feat that was probably the toughest.

When he entered the Republic, hope began to rise in him. When he crossed into Salina, his hope turned to a rising confidence. Soon, he’d either find Portia or know where she wasn’t, then move onto the next stop. He had tried to call Jacob several times along the drive, but never reached him. The idea of a phone was great as long as the other person answered.

Now that he was in Salina, he’d be nearing the beginning of the end of his search. He rounded the last turn and up ahead stood the Rusty Nail. He wasn’t sure if this was the spot Jacob referenced in Salina, but it made logical sense.

He pulled the truck into the parking lot of the Rusty Nail and backed into a spot in the back. Across from him Conrad, the old lot guard, sat smoking a pipe. Today, he wasn’t going in to talk, today he was going in fight.

The baby began to stir and cry.

“Hey little guy, I’m sorry I don’t have milk or food, but I’ll have some soon, I promise,” Kyle said tickling the baby’s chubby cheek.

Kyle stepped out of the truck. He press checked two Glock 19s before stuffing them into holsters, one on his tactical vest and one on his hip. A third Glock 19 he kept on the seat of the truck, he’d carry that one in. He checked to make sure he had enough fully loaded magazines for his pistols and rifle, an old Daniel Defense MK18 carbine.