Read Online The Last Gallon by William Belanger - Free Book Online

they always do but was uneventful. Kara took his place and he lay down in the corner of the building with his sleeping bag.
    Kara’s watch ended and she woke Joey up. Cindy was snuggled close to him and woke up too. She said she wanted to help so she would stay up with Joey. Kara agreed and told him to make sure he kept an eye on her. She had not fully gained their trust yet as every time they let their guard down she seemed to try something stupid. About an hour into Joey’s watch Cindy was lying with her head in his lap and they heard giggling. Joey pushed her aside and sat at attention trying to listen. He heard the noise again. Cindy whispered that he should wake his parents up but he said he could handle it. He got up to look around the building and left her out front.
    As he rounded the corner his world went black and he faintly heard another giggle as he dropped to the ground. As he lay on the ground with his head ringing like a bell he thought he heard a girl scream but he decided it was just a hawk and it was nothing to worry about.
    The noises woke Mark and he went to investigate. Mark found his son lying unconscious on the side of the building with his M4 still by his side. Cindy was gone and he assumed right away that she had done it. “That bitch” he spit. Joey started to come to and asked “What bitch?” Mark told him he was knocked out by Cindy and she escaped. Joey shook off the cobwebs and told him that he didn’t think so. He told him what he thought he remembered with the giggling and then the world going dark and Cindy’s scream. As he finished his story they heard another scream off in the distance. It broke through the night but neither of them were sure they really heard it. “JOE-EEEEEE” followed by a slam and the squeal of tires.
    Joey and Mark were back in the car like a flash of lightning. Kara was already in the passenger seat ready to go. “Where are we going?” Kara asked. “ Gotta find Cindy” they both said together as they shot off down the road in the direction of the car they heard earlier.
    222 took them right into Perryville and towards 40 and the Hatem bridge. Perryville was luckily sleeping still and the family saw some tail-lights crossing the bridge. It looked like they just sped on over the bridge without having to stop. Could it be there is a bridge in this country that doesn’t involve extortion?
    Of course not, only if you are in charge of said bridge do you cross without trouble. Halfway across the bridge it lit up like the 4 th of July. Tracer fire came across the front of the Armadillo and two flares were popped illuminating the scene. 8 girls in plaid skirts stood before them with various weaponry drawn. “Well this is a first” Mark exclaimed. Kara laughed. Joey licked his lips.
    Mark slammed the car into reverse and retreated from a bridge for the second time in so many days. The girls took a few shots at them but they seemed satisfied that they chased the family away. Mark drove to the end of the bridge where the toll booths used to be and turned off into the grass. He parked the Armadillo under the bridge and turned it off. “Let’s go get those damn skanks” he told his family as he loaded the weapons onto his person.
    The family moved in the darkness the nearly half mile to the bridge checkpoint. The stayed close to the side but it was so dark that nothing would be seen anyways. The element of surprise was all theirs if they didn’t screw it up. Mark spotted one of the school girls with a pair of binoculars. She was acting as forward scout. Luckily she focused on the middle of the bridge and paid no attention to the sides they were approaching on.
    Mark halted Kara and Joey and proceeded forward by himself. He made a note to find a silenced .22 somewhere in the near future. The girl had stopped watching and was sitting on the curb smoking a cigarette which was fortunate for him. He snuck up behind her and choked her out. He made another mental note