Story Market Day

Griz3752

Retired, practising Curmudgeon
I can't find it, and may be imagining it, but wasn't the group given law enforcement status to allow them to carry?
Yes but truthfully those orders were only written as a cover for the move and if a Sheriff says “This is my county and the military has no authority here.” there was likely to be trouble anyway, one way or another. Putting a burst into Sabine just accelerated the process....

As she said; drag that piece of shit away
 

Landcruiser

Contributing Member
Going back to the beginning of this series, social problems got big almost immediately, it’s actually amazing that the sheriff didn’t have a hardened roadblock set up if they were going to indiscriminately seize assets coming into the county regardless of the credentials of the convoy coming in. I would have thought that they would have lost deputies immediately if they had talked about ‘redistribution’ in the community.
 

Texican

Live Free & Die Free.... God Freedom Country....
Andrea’s voice was trembling as she spoke. “none of it was real. I just bluffed. Get me inside before I puke!”

Bluffing works, but the sheriff will be a continuing problem unless the problem is removed.

Thanks ccg for the chapter.

Texican....
 

Chapulin

Veteran Member
We have already met a rogue deputy that isn't that far behind and the incoming fuel truck will have more resources unless there is a road block on its road too. Essentially a rich cliff environment. Mhr please!
 

Griz3752

Retired, practising Curmudgeon
We have already met a rogue deputy that isn't that far behind and the incoming fuel truck will have more resources unless there is a road block on its road too. Essentially a rich cliff environment. Mhr please!
I fully expect a shitstorm of ascending intensity until we are all perched together on yet another cliff edge and yes. the fuel delivery will be part of it. Stand by; remember to keep your hands inside the car at all times .....
 

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Paige was wavering in her head. she stared at Sabine, unsure where to start. She was till remembering her thoughts when she walked into the house.

The house had a comfortable, lived in feel. Paige felt at home like it was the kind of place she would raise a family if only…. She had to stop thinking of things like that and stay on task. It was hard as she followed the older man through a living room and dining room to a small den. She could see herself sitting on the battered couch rocking a baby gentle singing lulu-a-bye with Henrik sitting the in matching chair with ugly checkered material along one wall watching TV. In front of the couch was a chunky slab wood coffee table.

“Sprout”

She was in daze and as almost unresponsive as Sabine. Karl called again in louder voice “Sprout, the table. Let’s set her down. I stood on this darn thing so it ought to hold her”

To Paige, his words threw an ice-cold towel in her face to bring her back to the reality of the situation.

Before that, it was as she drove in the gate

She tried to quiet her mind but the butterflies were starting to whisper to her as the man there waved her on through. “Some shit, isn’t it Paige, you need a plan quick or your friend is going to die”

“Shut up, dumb butterfly! You don’t think I know that! You have ****ing flare for the obvious!”

“Now, now, now. ladies don’t swear”

“ I AM MARINE, I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT HAS TO DO WITH IT! I AM ANGRY SO I WILL SWEAR IF I WANT TO ****, SHIT, WANKER, BUGGER, BOLLACKS, ****! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!”

And when she picked Sabine up

“See Paige, he kept his promise he didn’t leave.” The butterfly was back. Mocking her for not believing he would keep his promise.

“Norm this is no time for you and one of your philosophical conversation. She needs to concentrate. If you must ramble, pull out your medical knowledge. She needs that more right now!” came the voice of one of the other butterflies.

Paige took a deep breath to clear her mind, hoping to rid her mind of those darn butterflies so she could keep on task.

Now here she was, looking at Sabine's broken body. Sabine was leaking blood from god knows where with at least one hit in the lungs since she was coughing up blood at some point since it was leaking out her mouth. Her last deployment and combat lifesaver class was years ago.

Come on, Paige, pull it together! You have to save her.
 

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Paige took a deep breath to clear her mind, hoping to rid her mind of those darn butterflies so she could keep on task.

Now here she was, looking at Sabine's broken body. Sabine was leaking blood from god knows where with at least one hit in the lungs since she was coughing up blood at some point since it was leaking out her mouth. Her last deployment and combat lifesaver class was years ago.

“Come on, Paige, pull it together! You have to save her.” She said to herself since Penguin had left her to check on the others.

Paige looked down at Sabine’s broken body trying to remember what she learned about treating injuries. It had been along time since deployments and training. The top of Sabine’s bag had emergency trauma gear in it. She hoped she knew or remembered how to use it effectively.

She looked down at Sabine made the sign of the cross and said a little prayer. She wasn’t sure if she believe in it but she figured Sabine would want it. She also remember meeting a photographer who had a variety of conflicting religious medals with her. When Paige asked her about it, she said she was a Lutheran but friends had given her these. If they believed different, who was she not to take all the protection offered in good faith and when bullets are flying you need all the help you can get. So Paige figure she was just the messenger, a conduit of sort for Sabine so her God would listen.

On first glance, the first thing she saw was blood leaking out of her mouth, a bad sign. Her airway was in jeopardy. She knew she had to fix the leaks and such. Was she doing this right?

Step one, you had to see what needed fixed or patched. It was like with an engine; all the plastic shrouds under the hood needed to come off to see the engine she thought so time to get her naked. She grabbed the trauma shears off of the outside of Sabine’s bag and started cutting things away.

The outer shirt was first. The first thing she saw after she peeled the shirt away from Sabine’s chest was several ragged holes in her t-shirt under her right arm.

Paige cut faster now! Up the underarm seam of Sabine’s shirt, through the side of the sports bra, Paige was on a mission. When the material was free and she could see skin, she saw three puncture wounds. She remembered the mantra she was taught; ’holes in the torso let air in where it shouldn’t be. Seal them with plastic.’ She immediately grabbed a peel-and-stick occlusive dressing.

Holes in the chest were a very bad thing but these holes were not the ones making her hands slick with blood and her shoulder and face sticky from Sabine’s blood. She had to find the leaks!

Paige rolled Sabine up onto her right side so she could get the clothes off of her torso. With one side cut away and Sabine laying on that side, Paige could now yank the rest of the shredded and ruined clothes off of her torso to expose Sabine’s back. When she did, Paige heard a gasp from someone beside her. Paige turned to the sound.

Standing next to her was a woman in her late twenties of early thirties who bore more than a passing resemblance to the older gentleman who let her in. She seemed to be stunned at what Paige had revealed when she pulled Sabine’s shirt off. Paige turned back to look at Sabine.

There was a bunch of shredded muscle and bleeding from at least two exit wounds in Sabine’s back. Paige wasn’t sure if she could get enough bandage to cover it all. She remembered the medic on her last deployment used something else. Might as well ask.

“Ma’am, I need you to go to the kitchen and get me a roll of plastic wrap, right now!”

Paige was glad to see her take off back the way Paige had come in, presumably to the kitchen they had passed through to get the plastic wrap. While the woman was getting the wrap, Paige began packing the biggest holes with combat gauze. She had to get the bleeding under control!
 
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ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Andrea barely made it in the door before decorating the floor with the contents of her stomach! God! The rage and control that had possessed her, enabling her to …..to…..to shoot that deputy in the face and bluster to the other one was gone. She could hear the hollow wet sound as his head vanished, the thud as his body hit the ground almost at her feet!

The older man, Karl she thought his name was, was now kneeling next to her, his arm across her shoulders. He offered her a handkerchief from his pocket. He was talking now, but not to her.

“Kevin, get Karen and get those trucks and trailers around back and out of sight from the road. I don’t want you to let the kids drive them, I don’t trust them to move them trucks and loaded trailers yet. Get the trucks between the house and the barn. I don’t want to give that jackass any more targets to **** with. Get one of the young-ins up in the attic to keep lookout from the cupola. I want to know if the bluff worked or if he’s coming back with more help.”

“Sure thing dad. Penny has them in the barn. I’ll get them back in the main house and I’ll tell David to keep watch from the top of the hay loft from that side.”

“Sounds like a good idea.’ Karl stopped Kevin with one hand on his shoulder. “Kid, I don’t know how bad this will get, but it might get real bad; as in fight for our lives bad. The Sherriff has been looking for an excuse and now he has one.”

“Why? Why did you let them come here?” Kevin sounded angry now. “Who are they that you let them come here, where we are! Putting your grandchildren at risk! I want to know. If you can’t tell me now, tell me soon!” Kevin didn’t wait for an answer. He rushed off, presumably to move the trucks.

Andrea was watching Karl now. She saw the hurt and determination on his weathered face.

“Sir, I’m sorry we brought this trouble to your door. We didn’t know all of this was going to happen.” Andrea saw him stiffen a moment and compose himself before he spoke.

“A Marine must always pay his debts. Many, many years ago, Sgt Barnheart did a favor for me. At the time he did it, neither of us knew the cost it would have. It cost him everything and gave me a life debt I can never repay. Evidently, the payment is due.”

Karl shook himself a moment, seemed to return from whatever memories gripped him. “You, young Marine, need to come in and get cleaned up a bit and help me figure out what to do next. I hope your bluff worked. I’m afraid it won’t though and we need a plan ‘B’”
 
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ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Paige got the biggest holes stuffed with the Combat Gauze. The next layer was the plastic wrap. She was able to make a big enough square to cover the holes. This she held down with good old fashioned duct tape from the roll attached to the shoulder strap of Sabine’s medic bag.

Paige kept Sabine rolled up on her right side. She seemed to remember the rule was to place the casualty on the injured side so the blood and fluid didn’t put pressure onto the good lung. Paige hoped she was remembering all of this correctly. It had been three or four years since the training and she might not be correct.

Paige went rummaging around in Sabine’s bag trying to find more stuff to help. She hoped looking at the equipment would help her remember more, but so far nothing triggered anything. Eventually she came across Sabine’s IV supplies and start kits.

Paige remembered learning about IVs, but they only did three of them during the whole class and she didn’t remember the details very well. She started laying the stuff out anyway. She would probably have to attempt an IV. Sabine had lost a lot of blood and needed fluid replacement. She did have several bags of Hextend volume expanders in the Medic bag. Paige found herself talking to the butterflies.

“How about you be useful, Norm. Find that memory for doing an IV that is buried somewhere in this Swiss cheese of a brain of mine! Sabine needs more help than I remember how to give. I need you to help me remember how to do this!” Paige didn’t realize she was talking out loud until Andrea came up to her.

“Paige, how is Sabine doing?” Andrea’s voice was full of worry and concern.

Paige looked over at Andrea. “Not good. Her back is torn up, she has three holes into her chest from the rifle with some big exit holes in her back, and she is still unconscious. I’m trying to remember how to do an IV and the damn butterflies refuse to help me!” Paige was starting to sound manic!

“Paige? Paige? Hang on, I remember how to do the IV. I can do that part. You dig around and see if there is anything else we have that can help her.”

With Paige’s stress level skyrocketing, Andrea didn’t want to unload the additional worry of the confrontation with the Sherriff just yet. Besides, Andrea needed all her concentration to remember IVs.
 
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Lone_Hawk

Resident Spook
Stop the sucking chest wounds, then pray a Corpseman is close at hand to do the rest! At least that is what I did 40 years ago. Thank you CCG!
 

ComCamGuy

Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Paige was sitting next to Sabine while Andrea was doing the IV. Paige was trapped in her own head for a few moments, minutes, seconds, she didn’t know how long. She was stunned by how pale Sabine looked. Almost the pale grey THAT Henrik was the last time she saw him? NO! She could not let that happen! She didn’t know what she would do, but she wasn’t going to be forced to go on having lost another friend on this trip!

Paige looked around. Andrea was adjusting the flow rate of the IV and staring at Sabine. She was still covered in Sabine’s blood. God! What a mess the three of them looked! What a great way to make a good impression on new people.

Paige pulled the casualty blanket and the disposable heat blanket up around Sabine. Got to keep her warm. All was peaceful in the room. Meanwhile, there was a raging screaming match in Paige’s head.

‘Where was the help? Damn butterflies! You annoy me when I get like this! Where are you now that I really need you? Henrik, you have the knowledge! You said you would never leave me! Where are you?’ Paige pleaded with any god who would listen.

She cried out to Sabine’s God “Why do you forsake her when she is faithful to you. I don’t know what has happened to her in the past to hurt her, leaving the scar she tries to hide but we see but pretend not to see because that is what she wants. Why do you not save her now! what has she ever done to deserve more crap dished out on her? Hasn’t she suffered enough to prove she is loyal. HELP HER! Please. I need her, no matter what happens I hear her. She prays for others never herself. She helps others Help her please.”

Paige looked at Andrea. She had a strange look on her face. She had an emptiness about her. The normally bright optimism in her eyes was gone. It was as if she had already said goodbye to Sabine and was working on a stranger knowing the person was going die.

She could not bear to see her friends vanish before her. Andrea please don’t give up hope if you do I will”

Out loud, Paige said “What’s wrong?”

“We may have bigger problems.” Andrea was still focused on Sabine and fiddling with minor details. She didn’t want to look at Paige right now. Andrea could not make eye contact. She had to maintain this cold heartless person until they were alone.

Paige was about to ask what she meant when she heard strange sounds above her head; first a banging and then a thump and some screaming! This was followed by pounding footsteps in the ceiling.

Moments later, the guy from the gate came charging down the hall, a young girl in his arms, blood streaming down his arm as he carried her into the den.

“Quick! My daughter needs help!” he said. He set her gently on the couch then turned to Paige. Meanwhile, the girl was alternating between screaming and sobbing.

“Help HER! They shot her!” He pleaded to Paige who wasn’t sure why he brought her to her. It wasn’t like Paige was a medic. Andrea was the one fiddling with the med gear at the moment.

Andrea turned, a shocked look on her face. She started forward to help but was stopped cold by his next comment.

“NO! Not her! She brought this shit down on us!” His voice was sharp and full of venom.

Paige was confused. She was the one who led them here, called ahead, and lined everything up. As she started pulling more trauma gear out, she started talking.

“Sir, what do you mean? I don’t understand. I was the one who led us here.”

She was looking at the girl. She had to be all of nine or ten. Her left shoulder was a mess of blood and meat. She started with cutting the shirt from her. She looked up at the father.

“I need you to hold her still while I work.” She turned back to the kid. God! She didn’t know what she was doing! She had to talk to distract herself.

“What do you mean, Andrea brought this shit down on you? I led us here.”

“You didn’t blow the deputy’s head off while he was standing next to the Sheriff then threaten the Sherriff with a drone strike!”

Paige looked over at Andrea, who was six shades of pale and looked like she was going to throw up.

“Andrea, Combat gauze and a battle dressing out of the top of the pack.”

Paige turned to the father. “Sir, I need you to hold her still while I try and stop the bleeding.”

Andrea reached over to hand Paige what she asked for. “Here you go, Paige.”

It was about this time they heard a tapping or a thumping above them.

Paige took the supplies from Andrea with a look of ‘we will talk later’ and proceeded to pack the wound in the kid’s shoulder.

“Dad? What is her name?” Paige tried to engage the father a bit to distract him.

He was looking down at his little girl now. “Hera. Her name is Hera.”

“Well dad, Hera is a hurt little girl but I think we can get things slowed down and wrapped up. I need to talk to, your father is it? And see what else we can do to help since we brought the mess to you. Let me get her wound packed and wrapped, then I will look about something we can do for the pain.” It was then that the nature of the wound and the sounds above them came together. Hera was shot! And whoever shot her was still shooting at the top of the house! What the hell was going on?

About this time, the older man she knew as Penguin came back into the room.

“Kevin! What the hell happened?” He came running up to kneel at the side of the couch.

“I tell you what happened! The Sherriff didn’t believe the bluff and has brought in more people! I had Hera up in the cupola as a look out and they blasted her out of the cupola! She got shot in the ****ing shoulder! That’s what’s going on! They are still shooting the shit out of it! I don’t know why, but they are!” Kevin was understandably upset.

An older lady, about the same age as the older gentleman came into the room, carrying a rifle case. This she handed to the older man.

“Here, Karl, you need to take this. I’ll stay here and help. You and Kevin need to get things better organized. I don’t know what plan you have but it needs to include something to do about that oily-ass under-sheriff shooting the shit out of our home and trying to steal our land!”

She knelt down next to Paige at the couch. “Hi, I’m Isadora. Welcome to our home. Please forgive the reception, we normally have better manners.”

She immediately began assisting Paige in wrapping Hera’s shoulder. Isadora looked back at Kevin and Karl. “You two need to get Penny and David and Karen and get something squared away! I don’t want any more of my grandbabies hurt by that……Slime!”

Kevin seemed like he was going to object until Isadora looked at him. He knew that look from his youth. He wasn’t going to win and better just get to work. Besides, Kevin knew Hera would be as safe as she could be with Isadora there.

Paige finished wrapping the shoulder and stood. Turning towards the older gentleman, “Karl? I’m Paige and Andrea” she pointed, “and Sabine” pointed again.

Karl decided Isadora had made the leap in her head they were all in this together and the sooner they worked like it, the better.

“Paige, Andrea, This is Isadora, my wife, Kevin my son, and Hera my granddaughter. The short-haired woman running around here is our other daughter Karen, and David is her husband. He is over in the barn as a lookout. The red headed pipsqueak about Hera’s size is Olivia, my other granddaughter. Her mother is the other red-head in the bunch, Penny, Kevin’s wife.”

Andrea and Paige’s head swam with all the names. They knew they would never remember all of them. They would take it as they went.

Andrea spoke up. “Karl, if they already took care of the lookout in the cupola, why are they still shooting it?”

Karl had a sad smile on his face now. “You, young lady.”

Andrea was startled. “Me? Why would they shoot up your cupola because of me?”

“They aren’t shooting up my cupola. They are shooting up my antenna. I figure, they don’t want you to be able to contact your boss or worse, your drone. I figure their line of thinking is if they can wipe us out before you tell your tale, they are free and clear.”

Kevin was livid now. “Wipe us out! What the ****! This isn’t some movie where the bad guys wipe out the village! They don’t do those things! This is America!”

Paige had had enough. She stepped forward to Kevin. Grabbing a handful of his shirt, she brought her face within inches of his. “This USED to be America! If you have notice in you corner of paradise things have changed. Now it’s a SHIT Sandwich. These ****s out there, if they are willing to do this now, they would have sooner or later! I’m sorry for bringing this shit show to you. I really am, Kevin, but what we knew as ‘right’ died a couple months ago.” Paige seemed to be spooling even harder. Andrea wasn’t sure what to do but watch.

Paige continued. “Six months ago, I was happy, a Marine working a job I was proud of, living with my boyfriend and our friends in a beautiful home looking forward to good things in my future. Now, I’m on the run, have only the stuff in our two trucks, which are out of fuel, have no home, five days ago I hand dug a grave in the wilderness for my husband of nine weeks, just carried one of my two best friends into a strangers house bleeding to death from gunshot wounds from a band of brigands with badges who thought this gave them the right to take our stuff, and I will quite probably be killed trying to defend them and you to the death, all the while trying to figure a way for my best friend to escape the noose and to have her baby so one of us lives through this hell to have a future so don’t talk to me about causing you problems. Now get out of my way!”

The room was stunned to silence as Paige pushed Kevin out of the way resolved to find a way to hold off the arrogant sheriff until maybe the help her Grandfather was sending arrived in the hopes they could help. All she hoped was her friends could hold on too.

“Karl, I am truly sorry for the problem we have brought. I will do everything I can to help fix it. We do have a few weapons if that will help. I think Andrea dropped them in the entryway,”

Paige turned around and looked at Andrea. “Stay here and keep an eye on Sabine and Hera. Keep the fluid going into Sabine and yell if her breathing gets worse. Maybe you and Karl can figure out some other way to run another antenna.”

Before Andrea could reply, Paige stepped past Kevin and Karl on her way to the entryway and the weapons and packs Andrea left there.
 
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