Forsaken World:Coming of Age (7 page)

When Ian stepped out of the bathroom drying his hair with a towel, he saw Lance at the table. “Ready?” Ian asked, and Lance spun around.

“No, don’t come in yet,” Lance said.

Shrugging, Ian headed into the bedroom and grabbed a t-shirt, dropping his clothes in the basket. When he came out, he sat on the sectional, and when the girls came out, he called them over as Lance worked at the table.

“Okay,” Lance finally called out.

They walked in and saw a Monopoly board set up. Allie and Carrie let out cheers, and Ian and Jennifer gave half smiles as they walked over. Then both of their jaws dropped. “Lance!” Ian shouted. “That’s real money!” Carrie and Allie stopped cheering and gazed at the stacks of bills along the board with open mouths.

“Yeah, Dad and Uncle Doug had some in the safes. They’re more collectors’ items than money,” Lance said, pulling out his chair. “I’m the car; don’t care what everyone else is.”

“Lance, we can’t play with
real
money,” Jennifer gasped, looking at the stacks of bills.

Lance looked up at her. “Jen, it’s just fancy paper now. Think about it.”

“I’m the horse,” Ian sang out and jumped in his chair.

She rolled her eyes with a blithe expression. “I like the car,” Jennifer said then looked at Ian. “If I’m not the car, I like the horse.”

“Forget it,” they said in unison.

“Fine, I’m the hat,” she laughed, sitting down.

As Ian grabbed the dice to see who rolled first, he looked at Lance. “You know, in the real world, I would be quitting now and just leaving with my money.” He reached over and took the money tray. “This is the first time I don’t mind being banker.”

When Ian rolled, Lance looked over at him. “When I looked in Uncle Doug’s safe, I wanted to go to the store with all the money he had in there. Then I opened the safe downstairs and almost passed out. There are stacks of gold and silver coins.”

“I’m first,” Carrie cheered.

Ian threw two hundred-dollar bills in the center of the board. “Hell, I just want to land on free parking now,” Jennifer laughed.

Chapter Six

Feeling something tug her foot, Jennifer cracked her eyes open and saw the bedroom was still dark with only the nightlight on. Feeling her foot being pulled again, she looked down to see Lance, and Jennifer gave a little jump. “We’re starting the day,” Lance said and walked out, closing the bedroom door.

As Lance came out, Ian was standing in the living area. “She get up?”

“She sat up, so I’m taking that as she got up,” Lance said, walking over to Ian. “How long should we give her?”

“Let’s just get the stuff ready, and if she’s not out by then, we’ll start,” Ian said and started laying out equipment.

When Jennifer stepped out of the bedroom, she froze mid-yawn, staring at the two. On the back of the sectional were pistols and ARs, but they all had an orange tips on the ends of the barrels. “What kind of guns are those?”

“Airsoft,” Ian said, turning around with a grin. “We can follow along with the DVDs without the risk of shooting a real gun off in the cabin.”

Lance turned around, adjusting a tactical vest. “Just because they’re airsoft, we still follow the five rules.”

Giving a huff, Jennifer moaned. “Treat every weapon as it’s loaded, and always keep the barrel pointed in a safe direction. Keep your finger off the trigger and your weapon on safe till you are ready to shoot. Never point your weapon at anything unless you’re willing to destroy it. Make sure your target’s foreground and background are clear.”

Shaking his head, Lance turned to Ian. “If we would’ve had that attitude, Uncle Doug would’ve punched us in the chest.”

Ian walked over, handing Jennifer a tactical vest with holster. “Those rules are for everyone’s safety,” he said as she took the vest. “This is your airsoft vest to use when we train.”

Feeling bad, Jennifer looked away. “Sorry, but Ian had me say them like a hundred times as he showed me my guns.”

“And we still say them,” Lance said, grabbing a pistol.

Putting on her vest, she asked, “So we are using play guns to practice with?”

Both boys froze, and Ian turned around. “They aren’t ‘play’ guns, Jennifer. We can use them to get better with the more powerful versions.”

Now feeling like a complete idiot, Jennifer just nodded as Lance handed her a pistol. “Hey, it’s just like the one you gave me,” she said, looking at it. “I still haven’t shot the real one yet.”

“You will today but with a suppressor,” Ian said. “It’s the airsoft version of the XDM. Your airsoft AR is set up like yours too.”

Shoving her pistol in her holster, Jennifer took the AR and saw it had the same EoTech and fore grip. The only thing missing was the suppressor hanging off the end. “They’re metal. I thought airsoft guns were plastic.”

“Cheap ones are, but these are what Uncle Doug taught us on. They weigh the same as our real ones do,” Lance said, handing her a pair of safety glasses. “Sorry you had to take the crash course with the real thing.”

“Shit if I’m complaining,” Jennifer said and glanced at the clock. “You two got up at four?”

“No, three thirty,” Ian said, grabbing the remote for the DVD player. “We got the stuff together before waking you up.”

“I want a watch so I can wake up on my own like you two do,” Jennifer mumbled as Ian hit play. A man filled the huge screen and started describing the drills they were going to do. Glancing over at the front door, Jennifer saw three human silhouette targets. “We’re shooting inside?”

“Yeah, but remember the damn BB things will bounce back, so keep your glasses on,” Lance said, watching the man on the screen. For two hours, the three went through the drills the man on the screen showed them.

When Ian pushed the stop button, Jennifer was glad to see both of the boys were sweating as well. “That is a workout, but I liked it,” she grinned.

“Glad because we will be doing that for a long time,” Ian said, grabbing a broom. After they swept up a pile of pellets, they took off their gear and hung it up. “You want to work out in that?” Ian asked, looking at Jennifer.

Looking down at her tan pants and polo shirt, Jennifer asked, “By work out, what do you mean?”

“Pumping iron, treadmill, and sparring,” Ian said as Lance went to the bedroom.

“I got some clothes from the storage area,” Jennifer said.

“Wake the ladybugs!” Lance yelled from the bedroom.

Jennifer looked over at Ian. “They will be up soon and would freak out if they woke up and no one was here,” Ian said.

When everyone was ready, they found Dino waiting at the back door. As the three checked their rifles, Allie and Carrie let Dino outside. “Guys, don’t be mad, but I’m not working out like you two do,” Jennifer said, slinging her rifle. “I’ll go to the gym and work out at home, and I’ll increase my weights, but you two go crazy.”

“Okay.” Lance shrugged as he followed her out.

When they walked in the gym, they hung up their rifles, and Jennifer looked around at the equipment. For a private gym, it was filled with a lot of equipment, and the left end of the room was open with a thick, padded floor, punching bags near the wall, and a large TV.

True to form, the boys dropped down and started lifting weights. Jennifer led the girls over to the dumbbells and showed them how to exercise. It was almost an hour later that Jennifer looked up to see Ian and Lance on the padded mat with the large TV on. She led the girls over. “What are you learning now?” she panted and looked down to see the girls panting.

“Krav Maga,” Lance said as they repeated the strikes that the man on TV did.

“You know fighting,” Jennifer sighed, grabbing a towel to wipe her face. When she was done, Allie grabbed it, and the girls wiped their faces off.

“Krav Maga is used only to fight and really hurt someone,” Ian said, pausing the video. “Our moms wouldn’t let us take it because it shows how to really fucking hurt someone.”

Jennifer took a deep breath. “What do I have to do?” she asked, moving over beside them.

It was almost nine when the group walked back inside the cabin. Allie and Carrie slowly moved toward the table and sat down. “Ladybugs, will you two feed Dino?” Lance asked, moving over to the refrigerator. With small groans, the two went to feed Dino, who was sitting beside his bowl just looking at everyone.

Jennifer set the eggs they had collected down. “I’m so happy to see these damn things.”

As she helped Lance prepare breakfast, Ian headed to the bunker and came back carrying five-pound containers. When he sat them on the table, Jennifer saw one labeled protein powder and the other muscle powder. Then he set down several smaller bottles—well, smaller than the monster ones but still large—and she saw they were vitamins.

After breakfast, Lance and Ian took a scoop from each jug, put them in two large glasses, and stirred them up. From the looks on their faces, Jennifer knew it tasted bad. “Can I take a nap?” Allie said with droopy eyes.

“Not yet,” Lance said, putting his glass in the dishwasher. “The day is just starting; how about you take a nap before lunch?”

Walking over, Jennifer helped the girls out of their chairs and really wanted to take a nap with them. “We have work to do, guys,” she said, leading them to the bedroom.

When everyone was dressed, Lance led them over to the Hummer. “Okay, time to learn how to drive,” he said as he climbed in. With everyone loaded up, Lance drove around the yard and practiced backing up with Dino trotting along beside them.

Coming to a stop in front of the cabin, Lance turned to Ian. “Your turn.” The color drained from Ian’s face as he gave a slow nod and climbed over to the driver’s seat as Lance got out.

They stopped before noon and made sandwiches, and Allie and Carrie weren’t tired anymore, so the driving lessons continued. When they had to fill up the Hummer with diesel, Lance let them continue driving around as he washed the trailer off. Then, he practiced backing up to the trailer and pulling it around the yard. After he put the Hummer in park, Ian and Jennifer practiced driving the trailer around.

It was late in the afternoon when they went inside, and the Hummer and trailer had new scratches on them from getting too close to trees but no dents.

When Allie and Carrie moved to the kitchen and started helping with supper, Lance grinned. “We are getting better,” he said, taking off his gear.

***

At five a.m. the next morning, all of them were standing around the Hummer. Looking in the back of the vehicle, Lance saw Dino’s massive head looking at him from the wagon area. “Everyone ready?” Lance asked, looking around.

“No, but let’s go anyway,” Ian said, lowering his night vision goggles. They could see fairly well without night vision, but it really helped a lot.

Nodding, Lance turned to Jennifer. “Wait till we give the all clear before leaving.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Jennifer said, gripping her rifle tight.

Lance and Ian climbed on one of the electric buggies as Jennifer walked over and opened the gate. They sped down the dirt track and slowed before reaching the field as Lance pulled up his smart phone and saw he still had signal from the cabin. “Nothing has gone off, so the valley is clear,” Lance said as Ian pulled through the stand of cedar trees and came to a stop. Raising his rifle, Lance turned on the thermal and lifted his goggles, scanning the area. “That is one big ass deer,” he said, looking at the far side of the field.

“Dude, forget the deer,” Ian whispered.

“That thing would be a state record,” Lance said, making Ian turn to look, but it was just out of range for his goggles.

“Let me see,” Ian said, taking Lance’s rifle and looking through the scope, then sucked in a breath. “Holy moley, that thing is huge.”

“Told ya,” Lance said, lowering his goggles and taking his rifle back from Ian. “Let’s ease up some.”

Driving slowly down the dirt road, Ian could feel his heart pounding in his chest. “We couldn’t wait till daylight?”

“No, we will sit in the Hummer till daylight and see if anything comes from the sound.”

Easing around a curve, Ian stopped as Lance looked ahead where they burnt the bodies. “I don’t see anything except small animals running around,” Lance said.

“What about the bodies we burnt?”

“I don’t see anything there,” Lance said, lowering his rifle and pressed the radio. “Clear.”

Staying off the road, Ian pulled down to the spot, and the area was completely flat. “They burnt down to dust.”

“Look at the ground,” Lance said, getting out and kicking the dirt. “The fire baked it to rock.”

An owl hooted from the ridge above them, and they both dropped down to one knee, raising their rifles up aiming at the sound. “That bitch better shut the fuck up,” Ian hissed as something moved the bushes off to their right, making both spin, aiming their rifles.

Seeing a shape move around a tree trunk, Lance sighed. “Raccoon.”

“He better quiet down before I light his ass up.”

Lance moved over behind Ian. “Back to back,” he said, staying down on one knee. “Call targets before you shoot.”

They knelt back to back, listening to the sounds of the forest and expecting a man in a hockey mask to come out at any minute. Ian glanced down at his watch. “What the fuck is taking her so long?”

“Call her,” Lance said, swinging his rifle as a bird chirped in the darkness.

“You coming?” Ian called over the radio in a low voice.

“God damn it, don’t start!” Jennifer shouted back.

“You’re finding out what’s wrong this time,” Lance said, watching an armadillo move across the road. It wasn’t much longer before they heard the Hummer’s diesel engine. Lance grabbed his radio. “I can hear you; where are you?”

“Just coming out of the Christmas trees in the field,” Jennifer snapped.

Giving a sigh, Lance said, “We are teaching her trees and plants.”

“Hey, cedar trees do look like Christmas trees,” Ian said, jerking his rifle up as a bird flew out of the trees. “Not good; we can hear that damn thing a mile and half away.”

“Yeah, and you want to use that stuff on that trailer.”

“We can make it quiet. We made your riding lawn mower quiet when we mowed down Mr. Oliver’s flower beds. He was inside and never heard a thing,” Ian said, glancing over his shoulder, but he couldn’t see the Hummer yet.

“Ian, those are a lot bigger than a riding lawn mower.”

“If it can be done, we can do it,” Ian huffed in a low voice. “If we can just make them as quiet as the Hummer, I’ll be happy. I really don’t want to dig that damn hill out with shovels. We have way too much to do and learn to be tied up for a year digging out the hillside.”

When Lance saw the dark shape of the Hummer come around the curve, he breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah, I know you’re right, but I like the idea of being quiet like a hole in the Earth so nobody knows we are here,” Lance said as he stood.

Feeling Lance move, Ian stood and turned to see the Hummer ease up and stop beside them. Lance opened the door to see Jennifer just climb between the seats to the back. When he and Ian got in, Lance continued easing down the road.

“Sorry, but it took a long fucking time closing the gate from the outside,” Jennifer huffed.