Conflicted Home (The Survivalist Book 9) A American (fun to read .TXT) 📖

told Sarge I would meet him in town and left to go get the little red truck. The Hummer was full as it was, and I wanted to see if anyone else wanted to go. Wallner was at the bunker when I walked by and expressed his condolences again. I thanked him and asked if they needed anything.

“No, we’re good. You taking him to town?”

Watching the Hummer and the Stryker turn out onto the road, I nodded. “Yeah. They’ve got to pay for what they’ve done.”

“Should’ve just shot them.”

“Hanging them in public will do far more good. For everyone. If we just told the people we shot him and put him in a hole, they would never really know. There are already some rumblings in town that the Army was responsible for what happened at the park.”

“That makes sense. Let everyone see it,” Wallner replied.

I told them I would see them later and headed for the house. I went to Danny’s to see if he wanted to go. He was already on the porch when I walked up. Thad was there with him.

“You guys want to go to town?” I asked.

They both stood up, the answer clear. I nodded and said, “Let me get Mel and we’ll head that way.”

The girls were sitting on the porch with the dogs. I told them we’d be back shortly and to stay around the house. Little Bit asked if she could go to Danny’s house to play with Jace and Edie. I said she could, but that they needed to stay within sight of the house. She said they would and jumped up and ran off.

“How long are you guys going to be gone?” Taylor asked.

“Couple of hours,” I replied.

“Can we come?” Lee Ann asked.

I shook my head, “No, kiddo. You need to stay here and keep an eye on your sister, help with the kids.” I thought she’d protest, but she didn’t.

I went in to find Mel. She was ready to go and I didn’t even shut the door before we were heading back out. Thad pulled up in the little truck and we hopped into the back. The air rushing by felt good. It was still warm, but it was moving. The market in Altoona was bustling with people, and even from the road, I could see people were trading the goods we’d just given them. It made me wonder what they were trying to get. Why they didn’t just eat the food. But it was bound to happen. The sudden influx of items no one had seen in a long time made them valuable, and therefore, they were defacto currency.

The Umatilla market was also busy, with more people out than usual. It was good to see so many people out and about. I’m sure word had spread about what happened in Eustis. But it didn’t seem to deter folks from getting out and gathering. As we passed the Publix, I saw Alex on the side of the road. He had a bag over his shoulder and waved as we passed. I waved back, noticing the boots. He watched us for a moment before turning and continuing his trudge down the road.

As we passed through the barricade, I saw the old bucket truck on the side of the road. Terry and Baker had apparently managed to resurrect it. I thumped the roof of the truck. Thad slowed and pulled up behind the big truck. Baker was on the ground looking up.

“How’s it going?” I asked. “You’re making better time than I thought you would.”

She nodded. “It’s going faster now. We’ve almost got the line to the armory ready.”

I looked up at the bucket where Terry was cutting a sideline lose. “That’s great. How long do you think?”

“We might have it today if everything goes alright,” she replied.

“How about getting it out to our place?” Mel asked.

Baker’s head rocked side to side. “That will take a little longer.”

“But you can do it, can’t you?”

“Babe,” I said, “don’t get your hopes up for power to the house.”

“We’ll get it out there. It’s just going to take a while. We’ll have to clear all the lines out there. But we’ve got a system now,” Baker replied.

I nodded up the road, “So this will power the armory, the clinic and the county building?”

Baker wiped her forehead with the back of a gloved hand. “Yeah. We’re going to bring up the armory first, then the clinic, then the courthouse. The guys are up there testing the transformers now.”

It was a major step. Real progress everyone could see, and I hoped it would be a boost for the entire community. Not that it would affect their daily lives, but just seeing that it’s coming, that things are returning to normal, would reinforce people’s will. Maybe pick their spirits up after recent events.

The Stryker was sitting in the park, not far from the burned-out hull of the five-ton truck. The bodies were all gone, though the park still smelled of death. The acrid stench of the fire, the putrid smell of the dried blood and other organic matter mixed into a nocuous funk. Sarge and the guys were standing on the ground in front of the gallows with the prisoners. I hopped out of the bed of the truck and told Mel I was going to look for Mitch. She gripped my hand and said she was coming with me.

We made our way through the crowd until I found Mitch and Michelle by the side of the gallows. He was watching the goings-on and asked, “What’s this all about?”

“We’re about to hold court,” I replied.

“What do you mean?”

I nodded at the three bound men. “They’re the ones that attacked the park. We caught them in the act. The one in civilian clothes there, he’s caused a lot of problems here. He’s going to read an accounting of his crimes and you’ll decide his fate.”

“Here? Like this?”

I nodded. “Look at these people. They think the Army, that we, attacked