The Last Gallon Page 5

  Joey beat him to it and was coming out of the bathroom as Mark was about to head in. “Dad there is a naked girl knocked out on our floor, what the hell have you and mom been up to?” Mark laughed and told him that Cindy, the naked knocked out girl was their next job. Joey shook his head and walked out muttering something about naked girls and his parents.

  Mark woke Cindy up with a bucket of cold water. “Now what the hell did I tell you girl?” he asked. She looked at him pathetically. He shook her and asked again and she began to weep. He picked her up and carried her out to the living room where Kara awaited. “Oh hell no, don’t be bringing that thing to me for sympathy” she said wagging her finger. Mark dumped Cindy unceremoniously on the couch and threw a blanket to her.

  “Look,” he said “we don’t want you to be a sex slave either and if we can figure something out we will but if you continue to be a pain in our asses then it will be our pleasure to deliver you to your new mistress, are we clear?” Cindy nodded yes and Mark continued “Kara and I will do what we can but no more fighting, no more bullshit and definitely no more biting.” Cindy agreed and looked at them through tear swollen eyes. “Why would you help me?” she asked. Kara piped up first. “Honey we are slaves just like you, we just do a different kind of job. If we can find a way we will all just get the hell out of here.”

  Mark and Kara felt like they had an understanding with Cindy but they decided to cuff her to the bed for the night. It was either that or stand guard and they all needed as much sleep as they could get.

  The sun rose early and everyone stirred awake. Mark uncuffed Cindy who was still a bit sore about being restrained. “Get over it sister, you ain’t earned your freedom yet” he reminded her. She smiled coyly and said “yes massa, I be earning my freedom” Mark shook his head and couldn’t help but smile. “Smart-ass” he said and tussled her hair a little. She rolled her eyes and cracked a little smile.

  The new and even more dysfunctional family ate a quick breakfast and prepared to hit the road. The first stop was Philly and it was rumored to be an even bigger shithole than it was before the world collapsed. Mark wasn’t sure how that could be possible but he was a firm believer in the term “never say never” when it came to the dregs of humanity.

  Everyone loaded up in the car and Mark turned to Cindy. “Do we need to restrain you?” he asked her. She pouted and tried to put on a sweet voice. “No daddy” she said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes and turned to Joey. “Son, put a bullet in her head if she so much as thinks about pulling anything” Joey nodded but had a wild eyed look. Something in his raging teenage hormones wouldn’t allow him to kill a possible lay. Mark chuckled and thought to himself “One bite will change your position on that matter son.” Kara read his mind and snickered to herself as well.

  Within the half hour the family was cruising down the god-forsaken New Jersey turnpike. Yes, it was still just as awful as before and instead of being run by government thugs, it was run by street thugs. Each toll booth was “owned and operated” by different gangs and they had an agreement to only mildly rob you at each stop so they could all profit. Luckily the company had given Mark a sack of gold coins for the trip.

  They pulled in to the first booth and four men with AKs stepped in front of the Armadillo. A guy appeared from inside the booth and tapped on Mark’s window with the barrel of his gun. Mark popped the gun port open and dropped a gold coin on the concrete. The thug was not impressed and demanded more. Mark stuck the muzzle of his 220 through the port and Joey popped up with the SAW charged and ready and the gangsters quickly changed their tune. Suddenly the payment was more than adequate. Hell, one of them even thanked Mark. Of course, being thugs they also took a pot shot at them as they sped off. Joey contemplated ripping off a few rounds in their direction but Mark told him not to bother, they would likely need every single round in the cities they were visiting.

  Thirty three toll booths later they were finally clear of the turnpike. Mark actually still had a coin left over because one of the booths made the mistake of firing a shot at them as they approached. Joey turned their crumbling hut into a crumbled hut with his armor piercing rounds.

  Philly, like Boston, used a river as one of its major borders. Luckily on this side of town there was no outer wall so entry into the city would mean safe passage until they were on their way out. Of course crossing a river means crossing a bridge and in this brave new world crossing a river meant some scumbag was going to extort you. The Betsy Ross Bridge was no exception. These guys even had armored vehicles. Mark saw no choice but to see what they wanted. He turned to Joey and said “I think I will request a missile launcher next time Joey, what do you think?” Joey smiled and gave him the thumbs up.

  As he pulled up to the checkpoint Mark realized this was going to be trouble. The thugs running this bridge were the Black Panthers, the famous racist group Mark liked to call the Black KKK. “Shit” he said as he saw the uniform.

  A “panther” approached the car and said “Good morning cracker.” Mark bit his tongue and did not reply with his own racial slur but decided to try to be pleasant. “Good morning” he said. “Open the door” the panther demanded. Mark smiled through the gunport and told the man he “would rather not” which really upset him. At this point Mark counted a dozen others surrounding the car. Kara quietly chambered a round and Joey made sure the belt-fed was ready. Mark calmly asked what the toll was so they could make their delivery and be on their way. “The toll is whatever I see and want in yo car, now open the damn door honkey” the very agitated “soldier” said. Mark shook his head and said “Nevermind, we’ll go around.”

  Mark put the car in reverse as the irate soldier shouldered his rifle. Mark stuck his 220 out the port and put a round into the man’s arm. He spun around from the impact and dropped his AK on the concrete which caused a round to go off into the crowd that had gathered. This set off a frenzy of return fire and Mark gunned it and spun the car around. Joey popped the turret up and squeezed off about 20 rounds at the panthers as the Armadillo zoomed off the bridge.

  “Well shit” Mark said as they sat on the side of the road wondering what the hell to do next. Kara looked at a map and was trying to find alternatives for them. “You know there is a train trestle just past the bridge right?” she asked. Mark didn’t know that but he was curious as to whether the car would make it across. “Hell why not?” he asked her and she just shrugged.

  They drove down to the bridge and luckily it was a two track job that was plenty wide. They had to look around to find an entry point on the tracks and eventually did in an industrial park. Mark set the suspension to off-road mode and the Armadillo bounced along the tracks quite unhappily. The panthers spotted the car crossing the bridge and took some shots at them but they didn’t have a chance at hitting over 200 yards away with no training and little skill. Most hit the steel support of the trestle anyways. It was too dangerous to fire back so they just let it be and went on their merry way.

  Their unauthorized entry kept them from burning an entry coupon as well so if for some ungodly reason they ever wanted to return to Philly they could get in through the gates with no issues. Mark led them down the streets that Kara pointed out and they were in front of the company building in no time. As before someone was waiting on the steps and Mark handed over the envelope. The man gave him a briefcase this time and told him to deliver it to DC and to deliver it before he did anything else there. Mark nodded affirmative. The man handed over the usual envelope with gate passes and depot tickets as well.

  Mark filled the car up even though it had only used a gallon and a half on their journey. He also topped off their magazines and threw a couple extra rounds in the back. The route from Philly to Wilmington was almost completely company owned so other than sporadic check-points and card checks the route was safe and trouble-free.

  Between Wilmington and Baltimore was a bit of a dicey stretch. It wasn’t populated enough to be under control and was full of thieves and bandit
s. There wasn’t much organized gang activity but the people were very poor, starving and desperate. This was bad juju for a family in a very expensive looking automobile. There was also another god-forsaken river crossing. Mark began to feel like he was in the 80s game ‘The Oregon Trail’. He said “You’ve got dysentery” out loud and Kara gave him a confused look.

  The family took the opportunity to get to know Cindy during the trip through the safe-lands. She seemed to be easing up and was finally ready to open up. Mark asked her how she ended up property of the company. She was silent for a moment but decided to tell the story. “My mom and I were free, living in the Bad Lands and keeping to ourselves pretty much. Only mom got addicted to opiates and when the bottle that she found ran out she began seeking it out. It got to the point where she was more interested in finding drugs than food or shelter. We were in bad shape and one day she marched us up to the wall of Cincinnati and sold me for a bottle of oxy” she said trying to hold back the tears. “Jesus” Mark said and tried to comfort her “I’m so sorry Cindy.”

  They discussed her situation further and the family concluded that they would indeed do what needed to be done to save her from her fate. They knew that their fate would be sealed in turn but at this point what did it even matter?

  Click! Mark heard the sound and turned to Kara who had a big grin on her face. “What was that?” he asked. “The case” she said proudly. “I have been working every possible combo since you handed it to me and it just clicked open”. Mark’s eyes got wide and he said “Well?” Joey and Cindy leaned forward as she opened up the case. The interior shimmered more and more as the lid rose. When it was finally up and Mark could see inside his “Holy shit” joined the kids “Woah” and Kara’s “My god”. The case was chock full of diamonds, thousands of them.

  “Does this shit even have value anymore?” Mark asked. Cindy answered him “Oh hell yes it does. It has become a symbol of power. When one of the girls at the house I worked at got a tiny little chip as a tip from a client she was the madam the next day.” Mark shook his head in astonishment. If that was true whoever possessed this haul would have enough clout among the elite to be their ruler. “Should we just haul ass with it?” Kara asked. The peanut gallery in the back thought it was a great idea but Mark said no. They all asked why so he indulged them with his reasoning.

  “If someone is paying this much for something it has to be BIG. I have been told that we would be picking that item up and delivering it somewhere.” He explained. “I’d like to gamble that the item we are picking up would be even more important than these diamonds. Who would give up all this supposed power unless the return was something that gave you real power?” he asked. Kara agreed and so did Joey. Cindy wasn’t so convinced but she wasn’t a voting member of the family anyways. “The only problem with this plan is we will have a short amount of time to get the hell out of Dodge with Cindy but I think we can do it.”

  Chapter 8- Have a disgrace

  The family left the safe-zone and were on their own in the poor-lands. It was only a 70 mile drive to Baltimore but with darkness approaching it could take all night. Mark asked if everyone wanted to call it a day. He explained they could find a house or building with a garage and take turns standing watch while the others slept. Everyone agreed that was a grand idea and they left the interstate near Perryville so they could be near the bridge in the morning and maybe catch the gangs sleeping.

  Mark found an abandoned service station off of route 222 that seemed perfect. They pulled in and he got the door open and let Joey pull the car inside. He volunteered for first shift so he could sleep until it was time to drive again. He was always a little buzzed from the road anyways so staying up for 3 hours wouldn’t bother him at all. His watch dragged on endlessly like they always do but was uneventful. Kara took his place and he lay down in the corner of the building with his sleeping bag.

  Kara’s watch ended and she woke Joey up. Cindy was snuggled close to him and woke up too. She said she wanted to help so she would stay up with Joey. Kara agreed and told him to make sure he kept an eye on her. She had not fully gained their trust yet as every time they let their guard down she seemed to try something stupid. About an hour into Joey’s watch Cindy was lying with her head in his lap and they heard giggling. Joey pushed her aside and sat at attention trying to listen. He heard the noise again. Cindy whispered that he should wake his parents up but he said he could handle it. He got up to look around the building and left her out front.

  As he rounded the corner his world went black and he faintly heard another giggle as he dropped to the ground. As he lay on the ground with his head ringing like a bell he thought he heard a girl scream but he decided it was just a hawk and it was nothing to worry about.

  The noises woke Mark and he went to investigate. Mark found his son lying unconscious on the side of the building with his M4 still by his side. Cindy was gone and he assumed right away that she had done it. “That bitch” he spit. Joey started to come to and asked “What bitch?” Mark told him he was knocked out by Cindy and she escaped. Joey shook off the cobwebs and told him that he didn’t think so. He told him what he thought he remembered with the giggling and then the world going dark and Cindy’s scream. As he finished his story they heard another scream off in the distance. It broke through the night but neither of them were sure they really heard it. “JOE-EEEEEE” followed by a slam and the squeal of tires.

  Joey and Mark were back in the car like a flash of lightning. Kara was already in the passenger seat ready to go. “Where are we going?” Kara asked. “Gotta find Cindy” they both said together as they shot off down the road in the direction of the car they heard earlier.

  222 took them right into Perryville and towards 40 and the Hatem bridge. Perryville was luckily sleeping still and the family saw some tail-lights crossing the bridge. It looked like they just sped on over the bridge without having to stop. Could it be there is a bridge in this country that doesn’t involve extortion?

  Of course not, only if you are in charge of said bridge do you cross without trouble. Halfway across the bridge it lit up like the 4th of July. Tracer fire came across the front of the Armadillo and two flares were popped illuminating the scene. 8 girls in plaid skirts stood before them with various weaponry drawn. “Well this is a first” Mark exclaimed. Kara laughed. Joey licked his lips.

  Mark slammed the car into reverse and retreated from a bridge for the second time in so many days. The girls took a few shots at them but they seemed satisfied that they chased the family away. Mark drove to the end of the bridge where the toll booths used to be and turned off into the grass. He parked the Armadillo under the bridge and turned it off. “Let’s go get those damn skanks” he told his family as he loaded the weapons onto his person.

  The family moved in the darkness the nearly half mile to the bridge checkpoint. The stayed close to the side but it was so dark that nothing would be seen anyways. The element of surprise was all theirs if they didn’t screw it up. Mark spotted one of the school girls with a pair of binoculars. She was acting as forward scout. Luckily she focused on the middle of the bridge and paid no attention to the sides they were approaching on.

  Mark halted Kara and Joey and proceeded forward by himself. He made a note to find a silenced .22 somewhere in the near future. The girl had stopped watching and was sitting on the curb smoking a cigarette which was fortunate for him. He snuck up behind her and choked her out. He made another mental note to get a knife. He stripped the girl down and dumped her body off the bridge and then regretted his decision when he heard the loud splash.

  Mark brought the clothes and the girl’s weapon to Kara. She looked nothing like the girl but in the dark the outfit should help her get close enough. The boys would move in on the other side hopefully under cover. As Kara approached the other school girl’s position one of them asked “What the hell was that noise?” Kara responded in her best young bitch voice “Oh I kicked a tire over.” They bought it.

&
nbsp; Mark waited until Kara was about 50 feet from their position before opening fire. He and Joey laid an arc of fire across their position while Kara hit the deck and started taking shots while their attention was drawn to the boys. The fire fight was quick and decisive and all 7 remaining school girls lay dead or dying on the concrete. Mark sent Joey back for the car while he and Kara looked for survivors.

  A 30 something brunette was alive but spitting up blood. He grabbed her by the hair and sat her up. “Where did that van go?” he asked. She spit a mouthful of blood in his face and laughed. Mark heard a moan off to his right so he placed his 45 to the woman’s head. “You’re not special, there’s another one right over there still breathing.” Kara went over to the other survivor and began to question her. The older woman’s attitude shifted with the prospect of certain death and she answered the question very generically. “I know they went across the river.” he sneered, “Where across the river?” Kara called out “The marina” and with that he pushed the brunette back to the pavement.

  Joey arrived shortly after and they switched positions and took off across the bridge to go save Cindy. They kept an eye out when they crossed the bridge and spotted the marina not too far from the bridge. “First left off the bridge and the next left after that outta do it” Kara said. Mark agreed and they looked for their exit.

  They took a quick cruise through town and saw that the marina had been walled off by the gang. There was a building entry point and a gate for vehicles that was manned by armed school girls. The family drove by as if they were just passing by. The girls looked suspiciously at the Armadillo but everyone had seen weird cars driving around.