Last Stand: Patriots (Book 2) Read Online Free
Author: William H. Weber
still coating his eyes.
“I know just the place,” John repli ed. Scoping out a secondary bug-out location wasn’t all that common, but this was where his military training had once again kicked in. Sometimes it was smart to have a contingency for your backup plan. As they said in the services, two was one and one was none—a motto which underlined the importance of redundancy when it came to preps.
Chapter 6
John nudged the car across the road and up int o the forest on the other side after spotting a space between the trees large enough for him to fit. The tricky part was maneuvering the truck around so he could go in rear first. In the event they needed to escape in a hurry, the last thing he wanted to do was lose time trying to back out of the woods.
Camo netting that he kept in the trunk would offer an additional level of concealment he intended to supplement with leaves and brush. The goal was that only someone staring directly at the truck would be able to see it was there.
Near the top of a small hill was an outcropping of rock w hich formed a perfect roof from the wind and rain. For security reasons, it made more sense to sleep in the truck, but that wouldn’t make an ideal place to cook and make camp. This was why John had decided to set them up here, at least for now. Slowly, they unpacked the truck and brought some of their items up to the new location. Having learned from his previous oversight, John decided to keep their food and water supply divided into three separate spots. One remained with Betsy. The second was in camp, sheltered from the sun and protected from predators. The third they buried thirty yards away in a shallow hole John dug in the soft earth.
From the outcropping they could survey anyone approaching from below. It also reduced the chan ces of being snuck up on from behind. An added level of protection came from setting a series of traps designed to alert them should anyone approach from the rear. An Apache foot trap would work nicely. This was made from digging a hole and lacing the edges with sharpened sticks. The blunt end would be sticking out from the walls, the tips pointing toward the middle. The idea was that once a man’s foot broke through, the spears would tear into his flesh as he tried to pull himself free. A second type of trap was a simple hole in the ground covered with a grate and fallen leaves. The drop wasn’t more than a few feet, but the sound of cracking wood and stumbling would alert them to approaching danger.
They were each sitting on a pile of dead leaves they’d collected from the underbrush to use as padding. Both of them were sweating and tired from the effort it had taken to prep the camp.
John filled a plastic cup he normally kept in the truck with water and took a long draft. Among the items salvaged from their property was a Lifesaver water bottle. It was about the same size as a regular water bottle one might bring on a hike, except this one had a built-in filter. Dunk it into a muddy puddle and the water that came out the other end was clean and safe to drink. At least that was what the instructions said. John had never tested it, although given their present circumstances, it wouldn’t be long now before he got his chance.
“We’re gonna get them back,” he told Brandon after wiping his mouth dry. The conviction in his voice seemed to soothe the boy’s fears for a moment. Apart from his father, Brandon’s mother, sister and even Emma had been taken from him. John needed to remember that Brandon also felt a deep-seated need to protect Emma. The crushing sense of guilt over not having been there to help them was likely also playing havoc with Brandon’s mind as it was with John’s.
“What do you think they wanted?” he finally asked.
“They didn’t kill them,” John replied. “At least that gives us hope, but quite frankly I can’t say.” That last part was a lie. John could think of plenty of reasons to kidnap people. Unlike
“I know just the place,” John repli ed. Scoping out a secondary bug-out location wasn’t all that common, but this was where his military training had once again kicked in. Sometimes it was smart to have a contingency for your backup plan. As they said in the services, two was one and one was none—a motto which underlined the importance of redundancy when it came to preps.
Chapter 6
John nudged the car across the road and up int o the forest on the other side after spotting a space between the trees large enough for him to fit. The tricky part was maneuvering the truck around so he could go in rear first. In the event they needed to escape in a hurry, the last thing he wanted to do was lose time trying to back out of the woods.
Camo netting that he kept in the trunk would offer an additional level of concealment he intended to supplement with leaves and brush. The goal was that only someone staring directly at the truck would be able to see it was there.
Near the top of a small hill was an outcropping of rock w hich formed a perfect roof from the wind and rain. For security reasons, it made more sense to sleep in the truck, but that wouldn’t make an ideal place to cook and make camp. This was why John had decided to set them up here, at least for now. Slowly, they unpacked the truck and brought some of their items up to the new location. Having learned from his previous oversight, John decided to keep their food and water supply divided into three separate spots. One remained with Betsy. The second was in camp, sheltered from the sun and protected from predators. The third they buried thirty yards away in a shallow hole John dug in the soft earth.
From the outcropping they could survey anyone approaching from below. It also reduced the chan ces of being snuck up on from behind. An added level of protection came from setting a series of traps designed to alert them should anyone approach from the rear. An Apache foot trap would work nicely. This was made from digging a hole and lacing the edges with sharpened sticks. The blunt end would be sticking out from the walls, the tips pointing toward the middle. The idea was that once a man’s foot broke through, the spears would tear into his flesh as he tried to pull himself free. A second type of trap was a simple hole in the ground covered with a grate and fallen leaves. The drop wasn’t more than a few feet, but the sound of cracking wood and stumbling would alert them to approaching danger.
They were each sitting on a pile of dead leaves they’d collected from the underbrush to use as padding. Both of them were sweating and tired from the effort it had taken to prep the camp.
John filled a plastic cup he normally kept in the truck with water and took a long draft. Among the items salvaged from their property was a Lifesaver water bottle. It was about the same size as a regular water bottle one might bring on a hike, except this one had a built-in filter. Dunk it into a muddy puddle and the water that came out the other end was clean and safe to drink. At least that was what the instructions said. John had never tested it, although given their present circumstances, it wouldn’t be long now before he got his chance.
“We’re gonna get them back,” he told Brandon after wiping his mouth dry. The conviction in his voice seemed to soothe the boy’s fears for a moment. Apart from his father, Brandon’s mother, sister and even Emma had been taken from him. John needed to remember that Brandon also felt a deep-seated need to protect Emma. The crushing sense of guilt over not having been there to help them was likely also playing havoc with Brandon’s mind as it was with John’s.
“What do you think they wanted?” he finally asked.
“They didn’t kill them,” John replied. “At least that gives us hope, but quite frankly I can’t say.” That last part was a lie. John could think of plenty of reasons to kidnap people. Unlike
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