Bug Out! Part 3: Motorhome Madness Read Online Free Page B

carefully about it.”
    “We have a crowd of people heading this way,” Jerry said as he looked out the window. “Took them a while to get out from under their beds after all the shooting, I guess.”
    Hilda looked over at Jerry with an annoyed expression. Then she walked out onto the veranda to greet them.
    “What’s going on?” asked Earl. Jackson was next to him, and the rest of the people gathered around.
    The sheriff joined Hilda on the veranda before she could start talking.
    “Hi, Folks,” the Sheriff said in a loud voice. “I’m sure you heard the gun battle this morning. It appears to be over at this point.”
    “Who was it?” asked Earl.
    “Three Islamist fighters and three militia men,” he replied.
    A murmur went through the crowd.
    “Were they fighting each other?” asked Jackson.
    “No, it appears that they were working together.”
    “Who shot them?” asked Earl.
    “Jeb, Frank, and Jerry.”
    “It’s important that we don’t panic,” Hilda said “We have Frank in the blind at the rear of the park keeping watch now, and Charlie is on the roof of the store watching the front of the park.”
    “Yes,” the Sheriff said. “The Army’s also on their way here.”
    More murmurs from the crowd.
    “You mean an officer, or a bunch of troops?” asked Jackson.
    “Probably an officer and a junior officer,” the Sheriff said.
    “You are welcome to hang out in the clubhouse if you’d like,” Hilda said. “I made up some coffee earlier, and it ought to be ready now.”
    “Sheriff, are the roads safe enough for us to be able to leave if we so choose?” asked Jackson.
    “In a word, no,” the Sheriff said. “We have been getting bad reports over the last day and a half.”
    “What kind of reports?” asked Earl.
    “Scavengers attacking vehicles on the highway.”
    “How about Islamists and Militia folks? How much trouble are we really in?” asked Jackson. “The truth, please.”
    “The Islamists? They took us by surprise here,” the Sheriff said. “We were told they were all contained east of Flagstaff. We knew there were militia active between here and Tusayan. We had no idea they were working with the Islamists. That one is a shock, at least to me. I don’t understand what is going on there. The objectives of these two groups don’t coincide.”
    “Yes they do,” Jackson said. “Just like the Venezuelans and the Islamists also lined up. They want to topple the US Government, or secede and set up their own territories. They want to appoint themselves warlords.”
    “Wonderful,” Jerry said, walking out onto the veranda. “They are both pretty damn stupid. They have no chance of winning, but even if they did, as soon as they got the US authorities out of the way and the US citizens under control, they would be fighting each other. Idiots.”
    “I saw a story on TV last night about some Islamists that were caught sneaking over the Canadian border yesterday,” said Earl. “The report said that a number of these creeps probably got through. Wonder if these Islamists are from the southeast or the north?”
    “Another good reason not to get back on the road now,” the Sheriff said.
    Just then an Army Humvee drove in through the gate and parked in front of the clubhouse. There were two officers in the front, and four troops in the back. They all jumped out of the vehicle. The officers made their way towards the veranda.
    “Who’s in charge here?” asked the one of the officers.

Chapter 3 – The Cavalry Arrives
    The four soldiers that got out of the back of the Humvee stood around the vehicle with their weapons in their hands, keeping an eye on the crowd. The two officers were up on the veranda of the clubhouse.
    “I asked who was in charge here?” the officer asked. He had a surly manner.
    “I’m the owner of the park, sir,” Hilda said. “But we don’t have anyone formally in charge.”
    “That’s going to change,” he said.
    “Actually, no it’s not,”