After The Past - 5. Chapter 5

After The Past

Chapter 5

After more conversation, trust was established and Davis’ whole group moved in.

Barry’s two sons and Davis rode out to try and determine how far away the gang was from the ranch. We needed to know how much time we had. Organization was a big part of whether we’d win this war.

Cathy worked with Barry, getting all the people, wagons and animals stored away. Tents were set up, cooking stations prepared and cooks were found. Everyone had something to do and it was nice to see that everyone wanted to work.

Jae and I spent our time helping to sort and clean the various weapons we had amassed. Everything had to work, and be paired with the correct ammo and operator.

Barry came to get me and I left Jae cleaning guns, while Barry and I discussed what to do with people who couldn’t fight and who needed protection. We were sitting on the porch watching the hustle and bustle of people working.

“I think we need to find out how many we’re talking about. The only places we could put them is in the cellar under the house, or in the barn.” Barry hitched up his jeans and said, “I’ll, um go and talk to Cathy about that. She’d know better how many.”

I grinned at him. “Yeah, you do that.”

“What?” His eyes sparkled like I’ve never seen them.

“I’m not blind, Barry. Cathy is a lovely woman. I’d do the same if I were you.”

“There’s nothing going on, Dave. We only just met.”

“No? She with someone?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

I put my arm around his shoulders and hugged him. “Then if you like her, don’t waste time with games. Show her you’re interested before someone else does.”

Barry smiled shyly and nodded. “You’re right. Now isn’t the time for games. I’m gonna talk to her about numbers, and well, how I’m feeling.”

“Good man.”

I watched him walk away with some verve in his step! I couldn’t stop grinning myself.

Jae came out the front door a few minutes later, holding two cups. “Where’s Barry? I brought him some coffee.”

I stood up to accept mine and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “He’s gone to see a woman about some numbers.” I sipped the coffee. “Thanks, babe.”

“Oh well, I’ll drink it.” Jae sat and sipped the coffee. “I’m feeling a bit tired, Dave. You think it would be okay if I lay down for a while?”

“You sure you’re okay?” I had to remember it had only been a couple of days since he’d come back; he was still recovering.

“Yeah. Just a bit tired is all.”

I took his cup and mine, and put them on the small table. I grabbed Jae’s hand and led him into the house and upstairs to our room. Once inside, I kicked the door shut.

Jae smirked, and walked into my arms. Then his lips were on mine, and his arms around me. I let myself return his passion for a minute or so before disengaging gently.

“Hey, I thought you wanted to lie down.” I smiled at him.

“Aww. Yeah I do, but we haven’t had a chance to ….”

“Hush now, boy. You think I don’t know! I came up here to kiss you in private and tuck you in. You will get what’s coming to you once you’re healthier.”

Jae pulled his pouting lower lip back in, grinned, and nodded. He stripped down to his briefs and crawled into bed. I sat next to him and his eyes were almost closed. I kissed his forehead and whispered, “I’ll wake you a couple of hours.”

He moaned a little, turned over and snuggled down to sleep. I left him and pulled the door closed quietly.

I was at the top of the staircase when I saw the front door open and Barry and Cathy enter. They were hand-in-hand. Warmed my heart that did—he was showing her the house. Barry Petersen had a lot to offer a partner. He was a good man, hardworking, generous, kind, and honest. I knew he was lonely—missing someone to share things with. I hadn’t realized that I had been too, until Jae had come into my life. I hoped Barry and Cathy would have a chance.

Later when we ate dinner, there was a nervous tension around the table. We were missing Terry, Joe and Davis. I hoped they would be back by morning.

Turned out they weren’t back in the morning. So we continued to prepare, but we were all on tenterhooks as we awaited our band of spies.

I was a little sad, because today they’d be killing my sweet not-so-little bull. It’s not like he was the first—I gave all the calves to Barry because I didn’t need a herd, but I’d never been around when it happened. It would be quick, that I knew, and well, I was glad I could contribute something. Feeding all these people—it was a lot for Barry to do on his own.

A bunch of us were in the barn after lunch trying to make it a little more comfortable for the people who would be hiding in there when, we heard the thud of hooves. Cathy, Barry and I ran out, as Davis and the boys dismounted. One of Davis’ men ran forward to take the horses. The riders were dusty and they pulled off hats and jackets before entering the house.

Cathy and I brought water and we all sat at the dining room table. Our three spies were weary, as they hadn’t slept or eaten. Cathy went into the kitchen to rustle up something for them, while the three of them drank down two glasses of water each. Steve, Sam’s number two, joined us.

Barry sat waiting while the three each wolfed down a sandwich. “So, what’s the news?”

Terry tore his attention away from his food. “Two days, Dad. They should be here in two days.” He bent to check with the other two, who nodded their heads.

Davis swallowed and had some water before he said, “But they’re a mess. There’s a lot of in-fighting and arguments. I think there are more weapons that we thought. They have a very well-guarded tent and I’ll bet that’s what’s in there. I’m afraid we couldn’t get close enough to sneak into it.”

“They’ll be coming up the road I think. None of them seem to have a head for planning—they’re like locusts—just run straight through everything and destroy it.” Davis went on, “I don’t think they’ll attack from the rear or anything like that. We need all hands at the road entrance and maybe someone to watch the rear who can ride hard to warn us if necessary.”

“I’ll do it.” That was Cathy. She smiled at Barry, who shook his head. “Don’t worry, I’m a good rider and I’ll stay out of sight. I can handle myself.”

Steve nodded. “Cath can do this. She’s a good shot and a good rider.”

Cathy reached out her hand and placed it on Barry’s forearm. The rest of us just shut up as she said, “It will be all right, Barry.”

He gazed back into her eyes and just nodded.

I thought, ‘Oh, my God. They’re falling in love.’

I left it to Barry, Samuel and Steve to determine where we need to place our men. It had been decided to dig holes in a zigzag pattern along the long driveway and plant dynamite—if they came up that way, well, it wouldn’t be pretty, but it had to be done.

I’d found a nice 1500 Remington which I’d fashioned into a sniper rifle. They wanted me up high on the barn. Jae helped me lug some straw bales up to the roof—I wanted some sort of protection up there. After we’d placed the final bale we sat in my sniper nest together. I was scared, and worried for all my friends, for Jae, and myself.

“Dave … I know you’re worried.” Jae leaned against me.

“Yeah, I am. I’m fucking scared.”

“Babe, it’s gonna be all right.”

Damn! I was sick of hearing everyone say that and I lashed out at the man I loved with all my heart. “How do you know that? Why do you keep saying that? If anything happens to you … I … I ….”

“Baby, please. I say that because I want to believe it.” He stroked my face. “I love you, David. Love you so much, and to get through this I need to believe.”

I hung my head. I’m not a coward but I just was not ready to die. I pulled Jae close and we kissed gently, softly. Pulling back a little, I said, “You’re right sweetheart. It’s gonna be all right.”

We embraced and just held on; it’s all we could do.

That night Jae and I made love. I know it hurt him, but he wanted it, too. So slowly, quietly, with our eyes locked on each other, we clung together as I stroked into him and we came together, but that wasn’t enough, I wanted so much more. We just hung on, kissing and sharing our souls the only way we could.

We slept wrapped in each other. In the morning I woke Jae and we walked to the river to clean up. The sun was rising and birds sang; the beauty around me seemed brighter and more in focus than usual. The fear I’d felt yesterday was replaced with waves of peace and contentment—Jae seemed to be feeling it too.

The river was cool, but it felt good on my skin. We washed each other and sex wasn’t what either of us wanted this morning it seemed. Just being together, in contact with each other was enough. After we hauled ourselves out of the river we sat on a rock in the sun drying off.

“Dave … If the world was normal, like people say it was years ago, and we were together, would we get married?”

I gazed at my lover. He was basking in the sun, sitting up, but arms behind him, head back, and his strong muscular legs splayed out before him, letting the sun’s warmth take the river’s coolness. I’d never thought about marriage—no one got married now. It was stay together or don’t.

“Would you want to get married, Jae? I mean we’re together and the world is nothing like it was.”

He smiled at me. “Well, maybe not like those old ceremonies, but I don’t know, it would be nice to have something. Like just say vows to each other, in front of friends and then have a little party or something. Make it a real commitment.”

“Don’t you feel committed now? I mean, I do.”

“So do I, babe. I love you. I’m not leaving you. But life is hard now and there’s so little in it celebrate. I just thought it would be nice.”

That made sense to me. He was right, there was so little that we celebrated now. During the years I’d lived alone, the only bright day out of all the rest was Christmas at the Petersen’s. It was something they celebrated, though not on the scale it used to be.

I reached for Jae’s right hand and squeezed; I pulled him close and kissed him. “When this is done … when it’s all ….” I moved around to face him and took his other hand. “Jae, when all of this is done, will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Heedless of the rock under him, Jae threw his arms around me, buried his face in my neck and said yes. “I love you, David.”

I held him, his clean warm skin against mine. I kissed him and let my hands roam his sweet body. Jae moaned as we kissed and I pushed him back gently. Looking down into his eyes, I bent and kissed his neck while my fingers teased his inner thighs. They moved up to caress his balls, marveling in their softness and his hardening member. All the while he moaned, and touched me in kind. I knelt beside him, and sucked his nipples. I moved down his body with my lips, he reached for my now-hard cock and stroked it, while I kissed his hard belly. Reaching my goal, I took him in my mouth and pleasured him for several minutes.

Then straddling him, I reached behind me and positioned him against me and whispered, “I want you to fuck me.”

Surprise flashed across his face but he nodded and pushed into me. It was good, and we fucked slowly, while the sun warmed us. After we’d come and lay in each other’s arms, I didn’t think I could ever love him more.

Barry, Terry and Joe were up when we got back and we went into the house to eat breakfast. Cathy and Samuel came in a few minutes later.

I sipped my coffee as they took their seats. “Where’s Steve, Sam?”

“He’s gone to scout, and see how far away those assholes are.”

“Jerry Huth has finished wiring the driveway and the detonator. We made sure the batteries are live. We just need to wait.” Joe said as he devoured scrambled eggs and a plate of beans and tomatoes. “Mmm, oh yeah, the detonator is well hidden behind those raspberries that are just outside the fence.”

Those bushes were a tangled mess of raspberry canes. I’d picked them before, and they are worth every scratch you end up with.

Jae sat as close to me as he could while he sipped coffee and picked at a muffin. Barry noticed and asked him if he was all right.

“Yeah, Barry, I’m okay. I was just thinking. What are we gonna drink when the coffee is all gone. So much stuff we had once, we won’t anymore right?”

If he was surprised by the question, Petersen didn’t show it. “I know what you mean, but people always find a way. Yeah, one day there will be no more coffee. But there is chicory growing all over the place, it makes a fine coffee substitute. No caffeine, but we’ll get used to it and it tastes damn good.”

Jae perked up, listening with interest. “Oh really?”

“Yeah, you’ve seen those plants alongside the road, with the blue flowers? That’s chicory. And if you’re worried about sugar—there’s honey. I found a book on beekeeping, if you’d like to read it.”

Jae sat up even straighter. “Yeah, yeah I would. I could plant chicory and clover and stuff and have bees for honey. Oh, that would be terrific.” He turned to me. His smile was at least ten thousand lumens. “That would be great, wouldn’t it, baby?”

I smiled at his genuine joy and enthusiasm. “It will be great. Just imagine fresh honey for breakfast. Wonderful.”

The small talk went on for another hour or so and though it didn’t feel strained, I think all in our little company knew why we were doing it. The sound of a galloping horse made my heart jump into my throat. We all gasped and glanced around the table at each other, only Samuel said it; “Steve.”

Barry and Sam both ran out together, the rest of us followed but held back on the porch. Sam handed the horse off to one of his men. Steve was sweat-stained and dirty. He pulled off his hat and jacket, and accepted the glass of water offered to him. Barry and Sam helped the tired man up the stairs and he dropped onto a chair.

Barry leaned on the porch rail, while Davis squatted beside his friend and asked, “So? What did you find?”

“They’ll be here by tomorrow morning as far as I can tell. They don’t move fast but they are about four hour’s hard ride from here. They’re on foot mostly, so, I figure they’ll be here between 9 and 11am, if we assume they move until six this evening. I think we need to have some good riders spotting for us. So we know when they are about an hour away.”

Everyone nodded their agreement of the plan, and Barry started giving orders. “Joe, Terry, take a couple of guys who can ride. I want you to start to move the main herd to the back pastures. Leave about ten animals here. Then I want you to take all but say six horses over to Dave’s place, they should be safe there until we can go fetch them back.”

I piped up with, “There’s hay in the barn, boys.”

Barry turned to me. “Dave, I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t think there is much point putting people at your place to protect it—damn, I hate saying that ….”

“I know. It makes sense though—they’ll either sit there doing nothing when they could be helping here, or they’ll be killed anyway if we don’t stop those bastards here.”

Nodding, Barry said, “It’s my hope we do stop them.”

We worked feverishly for the remainder of that afternoon getting everything we could think of prepared. Women with little kids and babies would be in the basement of the house, others who couldn’t fight would be in the barn, and as many men as we could arm already had their weapons and ammo.

In the morning we’d leave saddled horses inside the barn ready if we needed them. Cathy and Barry had found a place for her to watch from near the rear entrance.

I was up in my crow’s nest making final preparations for the next morning. I’d broken down a couple of bales so I had a comfortable place to lie prone but still see, and I had some cover. But these bales would not stop a bullet, no way, no how. So, I’d filled a bunch of sandbags and piled them in front of my nest. They’d stop a lot of bullets. Satisfied with my roost, I was prepared to climb down—the sun starting to set—when Jae climbed up. He was worried. I sat down and patted the space beside me. I said nothing, just pulled him close. He put his arms around me and lay his head on my shoulder. We simply sat there listening to each other’s breathing, when he broke the silence.

“What am I gonna do tomorrow?”

“You’re going to reload for the people in the upstairs of the house.”

“Dave, I want to be with you.”

“Jae, it be crazy you being up here with me. It’s not safe for one, let alone two of us.”

“I want to be here, with you.”

“Saying it again, won’t change my mind.” I was firm. “You will reload for the peo—”

“And what if I just fucking climb up here after you?”

“Then you’ll be leaving people who need your help in protecting everyone. Your job’s been assigned.”

“I can shoot you know—fight.” The tension in his body told me he was angry. He pointed at the tattoo on his face. “Do you know what these are?”

Suddenly I felt a foreboding. “Jae ….”

“I got them after I killed three people.”

I closed my eyes and fought down the nausea I felt. I stared at him, at them. “You sound proud of that.” I could barely whisper those words.

“I’m not proud, David. I had no choice. It was before the last guys I was with … these guys caught boys and used them to fight and bet on—like dogs.”

I slid away from him, angry and not listening. “There is always a fucking choice, Jae, always.”

He stabbed his finger in my chest, “No. That’s where you’re wrong. It was me or them. You fought if you wanted to eat.” There were tears in his eyes now. “You fought … and killed … if you didn’t want to die. They put me in there … I swear there was no choice. If you killed and survived, then they tattooed you, so people would know and the bets would be higher. I didn’t want to, I swear to you … please believe me, David.”

He’d pulled his knees into his chest and sobbed then. I didn’t know what to do, or to say—I just listened to him cry, until he finally stopped. I wasn’t hearing him, not like I should have been—there was too much to worry about. What he was saying felt like weakness to me and I didn’t want to deal with it.

I met his brown, red-rimmed eyes. There was sadness and resignation in them. “I’m sorry. Sorry I disappointed you. I’ll ... um, go and I’ll do my assigned job tomorrow.”

He climbed down and I didn’t speak to him or try to stop him.

Jae wasn’t at dinner and he didn’t come to bed that night. I felt like I should have said something to him, asked him things or said that it would be okay. But I hadn’t because I didn’t honestly know if it would be okay.

No one asked me questions; maybe they knew we’d had an argument. I climbed into our bed alone and I drifted off to a fitful sleep, wishing my sweet young lover was in my arms.

Barry woke me by knocking loudly about 6am I washed and dressed, ate a little. I had a pack ready with some water bottles and then we started to wait for the spotters. I paced up and down the porch, anxious, and sad. Barry stepped in front of me and pushed me into a chair.

“Dave, what is going on with you and Jae?”

“He’s not the person I thought he was. We had an argument and I haven’t seen him since. Is he okay, Barry?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. Are you going to be okay up on the roof? I mean can you function? We need you up there.”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks for letting me know he’s okay. I ….”

At that moment one of our spotters was signaling that our mounted scout was inbound.

The horse slid to a stop in front of us, and Barry caught the animal’s bridle. “Whoa, whoa now.” He asked the rider. “How long?”

“An hour, maybe a little more.”

“Right, dismount.” The rider did and the horse was handed off to one of the stable hands. Barry climbed onto the porch. “Listen now. We have about an hour to get into our assigned positions.” Davis and Steve stood by ready to help anyone who needed it.

The next twenty minutes were a flurry of activity. I climbed up to my roost and settled in, and as I watched, I saw Jae. He slipped into the house. I’d sort of hoped he’d make eye contact, but he hadn’t. My heart grew heavier.

I knew I’d misjudged things. Jay was no cold-blooded killer, but making things right with him would have to wait.

My self-pity was broken by noise up ahead of me, the gunfire told me it had begun.

I shouldered my weapon and took several deep breaths, while casting around for targets. The fight had begun in earnest now, and slowly I began to take men out. I was doing my best to do as asked and was seeking the leaders of this group. More than once I heard bullets tear into my sand bags and a couple of times, whistled by my ears.

Then to my left I saw a man who was certainly in charge. I slid out of my sandbag cover to get a better bead on him. As I did, I felt a sharp pain in my right leg; I reached down to rub it and brought back a bloody hand. Fuck, I’d been hit! Deciding to turn back to treat the wound, I was knocked backward, the wind taken from me. I couldn’t move or breathe. I stared upward at the blue sky for a few minutes and watched it disappear.