as he squinted to see down the road. "Well, it is ain't it? I haven't seen ol' Ollie in quite some time."
Evan waved Jason and Ollie forward and Ollie fired the tractor up and they drove on up to where Daryl and Evan were standing on the side of the road.
"Good to see you old man!" Daryl said to Ollie with a big smile on his face shining through his beard.
"Same to you mountain man!" said Ollie returning the smile. "We've all been so holed up since everything went to hell that we've damn near lost touch with everybody around these parts."
"About Isaac Murphy," Daryl said. "I don't know what's goin' on up there myself. I rode up there about a month ago to see if he needed anything and the place looked like a dump compared to how I remember it last. There was a bunch of crumpled up beer cans laying around the front porch and cigarette butts everywhere. From what I remember, Isaac didn't drink or smoke. Did he?"
"No, he sure as hell didn't," replied Ollie. "I don't like the sound of that."
"We never got close enough to see anything like that when we were up there last week," added Jason. "We didn't even get past the gate on the driveway before he... or someone, popped a shot off at us."
"Well that doesn't sound like him at all. Something is up. I'll follow you fella's up there with you if you don't mind," Daryl replied with concern.
"The more the merrier," Ollie said. "Let's get movin', the days a wastin'," said Ollie as he fired up the tractor. "Hop on boys," he said.
Evan and Jason hopped on the Bush Hog and with a jerk, Ollie let out on the clutch and the tractor lunged forward from pulling out in fourth gear. Ollie was tired of talking about it and was bound and determined to get up there and see what was going on for himself. Daryl Moses mounted his horse and followed along behind. After twenty minutes or so, they arrived just short of the Murphy place. Ollie shut down the tractor and let Daryl catch up. Once they were joined up, Ollie said, "So how do you boys want to handle this?"
Jason spoke up and said, "I've got the high powered scope, so let me sneak around to the side of the property and glass the place. Once I'm in position where I can see what's going on, I'll radio Evan on his hand held. Then as you proceed up the driveway, if we get to that point, I'll also be able to cover you if anything fishy is going on."
Daryl then added, "I can get up around back in a hurry with Ben here," as he referred to his horse. "That way I can cover things from the back end, just in case. I've got a set of binoculars in my possibles bag. If all is well and you guys make contact and it's all good, I'll come on down. If not, I can either assist from there, or create a diversion for your retreat."
"Well, that about covers everything then," Evan said. "Ollie can drive the tractor, which like he said, hopefully will make him recognizable to Isaac, and I'll ride shotgun for him. Daryl, you and Jason get moving. We will wait here until Jason gives us the signal."
"Roger that!" said Jason as he slung his Remington over his shoulder and headed off into the woods.
"Stay safe," replied Daryl as he disappeared into the woods on the back of his trusty horse Ben.
As Jason made his way around the side of the home, he paused occasionally to glass the area with his powerful Nightforce scope. The home was in a terrible state of repair. It appeared to be completely neglected, with litter and beer cans strewn about around the entrances, just as Daryl had said. At this point however, he had still not seen any signs of possible occupants. He crept on through the woods taking up a vantage point that would give him the best overall view that covered both the front and back entrances to the house, as he was directly off to the side. Just as he began to glass the property, he saw someone come out of the back door. It was a young white male with a mullet style haircut,
Evan waved Jason and Ollie forward and Ollie fired the tractor up and they drove on up to where Daryl and Evan were standing on the side of the road.
"Good to see you old man!" Daryl said to Ollie with a big smile on his face shining through his beard.
"Same to you mountain man!" said Ollie returning the smile. "We've all been so holed up since everything went to hell that we've damn near lost touch with everybody around these parts."
"About Isaac Murphy," Daryl said. "I don't know what's goin' on up there myself. I rode up there about a month ago to see if he needed anything and the place looked like a dump compared to how I remember it last. There was a bunch of crumpled up beer cans laying around the front porch and cigarette butts everywhere. From what I remember, Isaac didn't drink or smoke. Did he?"
"No, he sure as hell didn't," replied Ollie. "I don't like the sound of that."
"We never got close enough to see anything like that when we were up there last week," added Jason. "We didn't even get past the gate on the driveway before he... or someone, popped a shot off at us."
"Well that doesn't sound like him at all. Something is up. I'll follow you fella's up there with you if you don't mind," Daryl replied with concern.
"The more the merrier," Ollie said. "Let's get movin', the days a wastin'," said Ollie as he fired up the tractor. "Hop on boys," he said.
Evan and Jason hopped on the Bush Hog and with a jerk, Ollie let out on the clutch and the tractor lunged forward from pulling out in fourth gear. Ollie was tired of talking about it and was bound and determined to get up there and see what was going on for himself. Daryl Moses mounted his horse and followed along behind. After twenty minutes or so, they arrived just short of the Murphy place. Ollie shut down the tractor and let Daryl catch up. Once they were joined up, Ollie said, "So how do you boys want to handle this?"
Jason spoke up and said, "I've got the high powered scope, so let me sneak around to the side of the property and glass the place. Once I'm in position where I can see what's going on, I'll radio Evan on his hand held. Then as you proceed up the driveway, if we get to that point, I'll also be able to cover you if anything fishy is going on."
Daryl then added, "I can get up around back in a hurry with Ben here," as he referred to his horse. "That way I can cover things from the back end, just in case. I've got a set of binoculars in my possibles bag. If all is well and you guys make contact and it's all good, I'll come on down. If not, I can either assist from there, or create a diversion for your retreat."
"Well, that about covers everything then," Evan said. "Ollie can drive the tractor, which like he said, hopefully will make him recognizable to Isaac, and I'll ride shotgun for him. Daryl, you and Jason get moving. We will wait here until Jason gives us the signal."
"Roger that!" said Jason as he slung his Remington over his shoulder and headed off into the woods.
"Stay safe," replied Daryl as he disappeared into the woods on the back of his trusty horse Ben.
As Jason made his way around the side of the home, he paused occasionally to glass the area with his powerful Nightforce scope. The home was in a terrible state of repair. It appeared to be completely neglected, with litter and beer cans strewn about around the entrances, just as Daryl had said. At this point however, he had still not seen any signs of possible occupants. He crept on through the woods taking up a vantage point that would give him the best overall view that covered both the front and back entrances to the house, as he was directly off to the side. Just as he began to glass the property, he saw someone come out of the back door. It was a young white male with a mullet style haircut,
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