Chapter 55

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."R. Frost

Man I felt good. I haven't slept that well since I don't know when. But I had to piss like a Russian race horse. I gently moved one of the loves of my life off my arm. It had fallen asleep and I couldn't use it to get up. No feeling whatsoever. I tried to shake my arm and had trouble doing that, too. I managed to get my arm working and I carefully edged my way to the wall. I found the light switch and carefully turned the light on to it's dimmest setting. I picked up my clothing from the floor where they had been dropped. I quietly got dressed and went to the facilities. When I got to the main cave, I found everyone in the cave and the door was shut. I pissed down the water escape hole, cause I couldn't hold it any more. I found Billy and Shanana and Abo talking over near the door.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

"There are about 20 or so men outside. They look like they want a tussle. We were just talking about going to get you. Shanana wouldn't tell us where you were. It was fixing to be a problem." Billy replied.

I took Shanana in my arms and gave her a big smooch, with lots of sound effects for good measure. Then I put her down and turned back to Billy. "What does it look like out there? Would one or more of us get hurt by them?"

"They seem to be very organized and they are using all the shelter that's available out there to conceal them from us. I haven't been able to get a shot off but 2 spears have already hit the door. They have smaller spears and they use some kind of stick to throw it at us. Our people have never seen this before. The seem to be very accurate. " Billy was glancing through the port in the door as he spoke. "Shanklin alerted us to their presence. He had a vision about them sneaking up and he raised the alarm in time for everyone to get in the cave and get the door shut before they attacked. We could have lost a lot of men if he hadn't warned us."

"I have an idea. You two follow me." I said to Abo and Billy. " Shanana, send Nolo and Gabner and Voltan and Quizno to the new cave. Those are the boys that hadn't gotten any wives yet and I am sure they'd be taken care of today. Make sure they have a fully loaded Henry and shells for one reload. We will meet them there."

Then we were off. We made a detour to container 2-1, the armory. I picked up a Barrett M95 in 50 cal. with a sniper scope. Billy got an AK and Abo took an SKS Mod 61 Paratrooper. I got a web belt with 2 of the Glocks, Billy had switched out to his Desert Eagle 50 as his sidearm of choice. We didn't give Abo a hand gun because he wasn't trained yet. He did have his flint knife which was sharper than any I'd ever seen. When the other boys arrived, I outfitted them with Henry's in standard 44 rim fire. We'd had practice daily for the last couple weeks and even gone on a hunt. Each boy got a full load and additional shells for a complete reload. I took 2 clips for the M95 and Billy had a double banana clip. Abo only took one 20 round clip to go with the one already in the gun. I slung the big weapon over my shoulder and told everyone we were headed for the barn. I said to keep low and keep going. We'd enter the barn and then go from there.

We got to the barn without any fuss. I don't think the invaders knew the barn was here. They must have come up from the south. I told Billy to get the Percherons saddled. I went up the to top of the barn. I tied off the swinging hay door and then opened it a crack. By sticking a small board in the opening I had the door open enough to see out. From that height I could see the front area to the cave. We were looking at about 1000 meters, but I knew the Barrett was up to the task. I opened the bipod and used the frame of the door as a rest. I found by moving one bale I could sit comfortably and use the scope to peruse the camp site. Just for safety sake, I also scanned the tree line. I noticed a glint of light from the sun being reflected off something shiny. That shiny thing was a flint spear point. In the woods were about 20 more men, behind them a ways down the treeline I started seeing unarmed men and women and children. I lost count at 50 and I hadn't gotten through half of them yet. I didn't want to play my hand yet, so I patiently waited and surveyed both groups of men. The group by the cave was using the natural cover to their advantage. If we tried to get out of the door, we'd be cut down before going 2 steps. I continued to wait.

My diligence paid off. I was looking at the group by the woods. I saw one big guy grab a small boy and tell him something, they shove the boy toward the cave. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He got to a man near the back of the cohort by the cave. He spoke briefly, heard a reply and ran back to the man in the woods. From these proceedings, I guessed that the big one was the leader of this rogue's den. I knew once I fired our position would be given away.

HAL, send a message to Shanana. Have her give Henry's to everyone that's trained and has recent practice. Have them ready to attack out the door. I will tell you when to signal Shanana, ok?

Sure thing, Michael. I have already informed Shanana to be ready. I will let you know when they are ready. You assumption is correct, by the way. The big guy by the woods is the leader. His second in command is the one by the cave. If you can get them both, the group will be leaderless and you may be able to end this conflict without too many casualties. Be aware, there are 127 captives tied together at the tree line, beyond the soldiers in the trees. Most are women and children but there are also men there that are tied. They are prisoners also.

Now that I knew what I was up against I needed to make a decision. At that moment, Billy appeared at the top of the stairs. I motioned him over and told him the situation. I asked his opinion. He suggested my first shot be number #1 at the trees, then get #2 at the cave. He also thought it would be a good idea to send Abo with the other guys with the Henry's to sneek up to the treeline and get as close as possible. Then if they decide to rush us, they'd be in a crossfire. I thought that a splendid idea. I told him to send the boys and to get ready. I'd take out the leaders and then be down to mount the Percheron. Be ready. We'll give them a sight they haven't seen before.

I lined up my shots. It would only be a 25 degree arc from one to two. I should be able to complete the job in less than 5 seconds. I figured my shots, knowing they would not recognize the danger. The distance involved and the speed of sound 343 m/s on a day like today meant they would not hear the report of the gun until about three seconds after my first shot. I'm relatively sure I can make the second one before they can react to this cannon I'm holding.

I sighted in on the big guy in the back. I slowed my breathing and held. I squeezed off the shot. I didn't bother to look I just swung around to sight in on number two. I must have been a little slow. He turned his head towards me as I squeezed. His head exploded like a ripe melon an instant later. Leaving the Barrett on its pod, I raced down the stairs. Billy had the horse next to the stairs. I leapt on the horses back grateful I didn't have to try and mount him from the ground. We burst out of the barn at a gallop. I'm sure the sight was impressive. As we rode toward the main body of combatants, I noticed that Abo and the others were in position. We rode up to about 200 yards from the group by the cave. The group by the woods was slowly advancing from the woods with spears at the ready. I called out to the men to surrender and throw down their arms. One particularly nasty looking guy reared back to throw. He kept rearing back as the 7.62x39mm slugs coursed through his body. Unfortunately, the two standing by him and the one directly behind ended up as collateral damage. This caused the group to pause for a bit. With a yelp, the group from the woods charged en masse. I waved my arm in a circle above my head and the Henry's sang out. In less time than it takes for a good belch, the entire group was wiped out. Abo and the boys remained in position. I again repeated my demand that they give up. They came out from cover and laid their weapons down in a pile. I told them to move away. They complied and we nudged the horsed forward. We were just passing a boulder when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. "Right" I shouted as a gun blazed. Billy must have seen the movement too. He had his Desert Eagle in hand before the cast could be made. That took care of that. As our attention was turned towards the ambush, two of the stupider ones picked up their spears. Someone from Abo's group cashed his chips in. There were 13 men who stood in a group with their heads bowed. One smaller man stepped out. He identified himself as Sano and he spoke to us.