The Piney Woods

"Sshh, someone is coming.", Mom whispered to me. I was tired of being quiet. I was tired of hiding. It had been a year since the world exploded. No one around here really knows what happened. One day I was at school, and the next day, my Mom, my little sister, and I were running for our lives. Hiding in empty buildings. Scavenging for food and water wherever we could find it. Mom kept pushing us. She would tell us things will be better once we get to the Piney Woods. Dad had sent word he would meet us there. He had been released from his obligations when the armies disbanded. There were no more societies, no more countries, no borders, so we needed no armies.

I didn't know how much farther we had to go to get to the Piney Woods. My only concern right now was making sure we avoided all contact with people if possible. There was no telling what would happen if we stumbled into the wrong people. At a minimum, they would steal our belongings. They might even kill us. Mom was right. It's far better to be quiet than risk trouble. So we shrunk back into the darkened corner of the building and lowered our breathing. Our hope was whoever or whatever it was would pass us by--no such luck.

The door to the room in which we were hiding burst open, and in walked 3 grown, ruff-looking men. They began rummaging through the cabinets, looking for anything of value. They made a lot of noise in their searching but found nothing. They turned to leave, and as they were walking out the door, one of them bent over and said, “well, look what we have here,” and picked up a heart-shaped necklace he found laying on the floor. Out of instinct, my Mom gasped and grabbed her throat, but her necklace was gone. It must have fallen from her neck when we were searching, and now these thugs had it.

To make matters worse, they heard my Mom gasp, and all three turned in unison to face her. I knew I only had seconds to fix this situation before it went from bad to worse. Remembering what my Dad had taught me about staying calm under pressure, I stood upright and let go 3 arrows in rapid succession. Each arrow found its mark, dead center in each man’s chest, before either one of them could loosen their own weapons or shout. Dropping my bow, I picked up the ax I carried and lept across the counter that separated us and finished the job. Now the room was eerily quiet again. I returned to my Mom and little sister and handed Mom her necklace.

I told Mom to gather what she could and that we needed to leave fast and quiet. Two of the men wore the mark, which meant others would soon come looking for them. We wanted as much distance between them and us as possible when they found them. Mom nodded in agreement and grabbed our bags. She took my little sister by the hand, and they left quietly out a side door without looking back. I retrieved my arrows from the dead men, one of their handguns, two knives, and a bag filled with some canned goods. Then I followed my family out the same side door.

This is how we intended to travel until we arrived at the Piney Woods. I would travel separately from Mom and my little sister. I would shadow them, keeping a safe distance from them but close enough that I could help them if they needed help. Our thoughts were that a woman with a child traveling alone would often be ignored by everyone except the worst of the worst. It was easier for a woman and a child to mingle with a larger family too. No one was threatened. I could stay a safe distance away, always watching and always protecting.

We had been traveling for close to 2 weeks now. San Antonio is a long way from NE Texas when you’re traveling on foot. The only information we had was to go north to the Interstate 20 corridor and then travel east until we crossed the Sabine River. The letter we received from Dad said to stay off the main roads and use the back roads and trails whenever possible. He warned of militias and tribal families that might be a problem. He also warned of cartels from the south. If there was any good news, it was that once we made it to the Piney Woods, there would be a boat waiting on us to take us north, deep into the woods where we would be safe.

It was getting late in the day, and Mom and my little sister had stopped to rest alongside others who had gathered near a bridge north of the Interstate 20 corridor. I sat down and watched them intently for any signs of trouble. From my vantage point, I could see if anyone approached them from all sides. By my count, there were maybe 15 women and children and 4 older men traveling together. It was apparent they planned to settle here for the night because the kids were gathering firewood and several women looked to be preparing a meal. I started to make my own camp when I observed a movement in the brush just to the north of where my Mom and little sister were sitting. Rising into a kneeling position with my bow at the ready, I watched quietly as a young buck deer walked from behind some brush.

Without hesitation, I aimed and shot the deer through the heart. The buck took one step and fell dead. My Mom had been watching me, and when she saw me let loose my arrow, she instinctively grabbed my sister, and they bent forward to the ground. Just as quickly, when she heard the animal grunt and fall, she stood and ran to where the grunt came from. Working quickly, she removed the arrow and hid it beneath her coat and took out a knife, and buried it in the deer’s wound. Just then, a man and two women came up and were amazed by what they saw. Not questioning anything, they asked Mom if they could help her, and together they carried the deer back to the camp. Everyone except me ate very well. It’s okay, though. I know Mom would save me some for later. With the sun nearly setting, I decided to grab some sleep before the moon rises. For some strange reason, I had a feeling something bad was going to happen soon, and the closer we got to safety, the worse that feeling got.

I awakened with a jolt. Men were kneeling near me. I instinctively reached for my bow, but it was gone. Suddenly, a man reached out and placed a hand over my mouth, and another hand shoved me firmly into the ground. “What did I tell you about sleeping with both eyes closed, Jonah?” I recognized that voice. It was my Dad. I relaxed a little, and he let me sit up. I looked around and saw my Dad, four of my uncles, and my oldest brother, James, all smiling at me. James handed me my bow. “Dad, it’s good to see you. Mom and Crystal are over there by the bridge, and I pointed.”

I was shocked by what I saw. Instead of seeing a group of women and children sleeping, I saw them all huddled together, bound, near a raging bonfire. It appeared the 4 older men that had been traveling with the other women were dead. Their bodies had been dragged to the other side of the fire and stripped naked. What was most alarming was the group of men, maybe 25 in all, that were standing around, talking loudly. They were heavily armed. Two men were standing off to the side, and they appeared to be discussing what to do with the women and children. Suddenly, a little boy darted away from his Mom and ran for the brush. In a flash, one of the men threw a hatchet striking the boy between the shoulders. The boy fell to the ground and didn’t move. The man walked over, retrieved his hatchet, picked up the boy, and tossed him into the bonfire.

Dad took out his hunting scope. The same one I had given him on Father’s Day two years ago. It was a monocular style and had a built-in range finder. Dad looked over the scene and said, “Most of the men bear the mark. We will have to kill all of them.” Without another word, my uncles and my brother disappeared into the night. Dad looked at me and said, “Jonah, are you good and awake now?” I nodded. He said, “Take your bow and find you a place, a little closer than here and when you’re ready, take as many as you can with your bow.” I started to turn and leave, and he added, “Jonah, you did good, son. Thank you for bringing our family home to the Piney Woods.” I nodded again, this time a little less enthusiastically. Dad said, “We will handle this. No worries. Remember. No sound. Use only your bow.” Then I slipped away into the darkness.

The men had turned their attention to the women and children now. They were patting them down and going through their personal items. One red-haired, evil-looking man with a long dirty red beard snatched the heart necklace from Mom’s neck and was admiring it. The necklace was the last thing he ever saw. My arrow pierced his eye and burrowed deep into his brain. Before anyone could shout a warning, all but two lay dead on the ground. Arrows decorated the dead bodies. Some had only one arrow, like the man I had shot in the head. Others had as many as ten arrows. The only sounds you could hear were the cracking of the fire and the muffled cries of the women and children.

The two men who had avoided the arrows stood back to back, each holding a gun. Two arrows whistled through the night air piercing their hands, and the guns fell to the earth. Soon, more arrows followed, striking the men in their legs, and they to fell to the earth. Like vengeful angels, my Dad, uncles, and brother strode into the clearing and released the women and children. Dad picked up the heart necklace, put it back in Mom’s hands, kissed her on the forehead, and turned his attention to the two surviving men. I walked up in time to hear Dad tell them, “you two have a choice. I can remove those arrows and send you home with your promise never to return, or I can toss your bodies on that fire with friends. Which will it be?” Of course, that wasn’t much choice, so Dad and I removed the arrows. My uncles gathered everything we thought we could use and carried it to the boats beneath the bridge, along with the women and children. There was an old swamp dinghy with a paddle. Dad had me put the two men in it and shove it into the current headed south. As for us, we headed north into the Piney Woods and the safety of home.