CH 25

On their grocery run, Cameron and Delilah met some of the locals, including the cashier and the assistant manager and got welcomed into town. The simple store run ended up lasting two hours just inside the store. Christine was also a hit with the local crowd.

Dave Johnson was the assistant manager. He had a small ranch out to the south of town and had horses, lamas and the all important chickens he raised for eggs. He also hunted wild pigs when he had the chance. He cautioned Cameron and Delilah to always have a gun handy. If not worn, then within easy reach. Besides wild pigs that might be aggressive, or on their land to eat their crops, there were also rattlesnakes and alligators near the lake.

"Boots an hats ain't just a fashion statement, girls," he told them. "It gets hot, so a good wide brimmed hat keeps the sun off ya, an wearing normal shoes won't protect ya from snake bite. Git a good solid pair of boots for everyone in yer family. Lest the snake's bigger than you are, their bite won't to through the leather. Ya see a log, doan take it for granted it's just a log. Could be a gator. Tell yer kids not to fish from the lake banks either, that's where gators pop outta the water ta take prey. The look big an slow, but they kin move fast when they wanna."

"Thank you for the advice, we will take you up on that," Cameron said with a smile.

"You have a gun shop, and a boot maker in town?' Delilah asked.

"Bill's gun shop is three doors down on the left. Across the street is Arlan's, it's a clothing store, but he makes a good set a boots. He also makes holsters. Doan need ta hide yer guns here either. If yer in a pinch, a draw from a holster is quicker than digging it outta your clothes."

Cameron had seen that when they came into town. Many people, men and women, wore their side arms in open carry, strapped to their thighs. She really liked that idea.

They had groceries to get home, so Cameron and Delilah went home to get that stuff put away, but they were going to come back soon.

.

Ch 25

In the Connor front yard, everyone met for a post move reunion. Saran and Martin arrived by car. Not seeing Christine before, Martin fawned over the fully restored old car. Having everyone here, including Bob, they had a picnic and talked about where to put the pit for a pig roast when they got one. That also brought up a question. They had plenty of room to run the EV-2 around now. Who was going first.

The sun was getting low in the sky, John didn't want Bob in his rowboat out on the lake after the sun went down. John drew the wining straw to drive, he had Bob and Joan go down and pulled his rowboat up out of the water to load it into the back .

Bob was impressed as the EV-2 rolled towards them at the dock. John spun the vehicle around, one track forwards, the other back, to point back up at the driveway. The back of the V-2 was like the bed of a pickup when the turret wasn't installed. John got out of the door at the rear of the cab. They got the rowboat up and in, then Bob and Joan got into the cab with John.

Joan had Bob get in the front passenger seat. The interior of this thing reminded Bob of something out of a sci-fi space ship. LED's lit all the controls and displays. a couple screens were dark. When John started out, Bob swore he was riding in a futuristic tank.

It was awesome rolling down the road in this thing. In an area where the road went farther away from the lake, John turned into the brush. They were traveling at a pretty good speed, bouncing through brush that folded under the high centered EV-2. A couple mounds sent them bouncing up to clear the ground.

Before Bob knew it, the were back on the road. John slowed and turned down their driveway. The sky was darkening, the sun was just below the horizon. John turned on the headlights, in front of them was now bright as day.

Driving around the house, John asked, "Bob, where do you want the boat?"

"By the dock I guess."

Driving down near the water, John stopped by the dock. He got out his door that opened out and up, and walked the track back to the bed.

Bob kissed Joan. "Thanks for the great day," he told her. He then got out the other side. They got the boat off the back.

"What the hell is that thing?" Jake asked as he came out.

"My RV!" John replied. "Your boy was on the other side of the lake. He shouldn't be out on the lake at night so I brought him home. Heard you just moved here?"

"We did," Jake agreed.

"Well, until you get familiar with the landscape, it's best not to go too far away. This is open land, and unless you take a compass with you, it's not hard to get lost."

"Well, thanks for bringing him home. I'll get us compasses," Jake replied.

John waved and got back in. With the roar of the diesel, he drove back out to the road and away.

Jake watched the big tank looking thing go. "Looks like we got good neighbors," he noted.

"They are," Bob agreed. "And yes, Dad, we will need compasses. Just rowing on the lake I got turned around."

It was a good of excuse as any.

.

Arlan was a happy camper when the big group of newcomers to town came in to get boots and hats. Some had firearms also, but no holsters. He sold four holsters for glocks and a few 9mm holsters. He ran out of wide brimmed hats for the adults. The teenager sizes, he ended up with two left. From mid morning until mid afternoon, he measured feet for boots, and found he had to make nine more pairs. At $300 a pair average, he didn't mind missing lunch at all.

Bill was please as well. In the afternoon, newcomers can into his shop. He got to meet the Connor and Young clans, and although they were set for side arms, they did need hunting rifles. He sold the thee Semi-auto Remington 700's he had, .308 caliber, and five boxes of ammo for them. Those were best for pig hunting. 3X9 scopes for each rifle and bore sighted them for 200 yards. They also bought the Mossberg pump 12 gauge and the Remington 870 12 gauge he had along with a few boxes of ammo. The paper targets and a few jars of Tannerite they got, he put in a box for easier carrying.

With everything he sold by the end of the day, Bill decided to take tomorrow off.

.

Looking at the security aspect of their new home, John and Cameron agreed. Being fairly isolated was good. The chance of anyone sneaking up on them was low. Of course they had to inform Homeland Security where they were, they were still officially agents, but other than deeds at the town hall, very few knew where they lived. With cameras and motion detectors place around the house and barn, and 100 and 200 yards out in a perimeter, nothing was getting close that they didn't know about. Cameron, Delilah and Sonya took turns monitoring just as they did back at the mansion.

Since here anyone over 12 was allowed to carry a gun, Joan and Allison got their own 9mm's with holsters. Jackie went out to practice shooting also, even though she didn't need a gun.

Meeting Bob (who now had a compass) out on the lake, Joan told him about the gun handling and hunting safety course they were going to.

Looking at Joan, which he love to do, Bob said, "Dad's dead set against guns. He'd never allow it."

"Too bad," Joan said with a frown. "We're going, Dad's taking the bunch of us, Young's too. There's an open season on wild pigs. I guess you have to cook them well done, because they can carry worms and bugs inside them, but cooked all the way through, it's not a problem, and it's lots of free meat."

"So you're going hunting?"

"We are." Noticing Bob was paying extra attention to her chest, she grinned and asked, "What are you hunting for?"

"huh?"

Joan giggled. She arched back and popped her top clasps. Then took it off and held it up to him. "Could you dunk this in the water for me? It's drying out."

"Ahhh sure," Bob said eyeing her mounds. Wow, those were getting bigger.

"And rub and suckle some." Joan then pouted, "That top's a bit tight, rubbing helps."

Bob didn't need to be hinted at twice. Getting down on his knees in the bottom of the boat, he dipped her top in the water and with lots of kisses, did what she asked.

OK so this boat wasn't too bad for making out.

.

The Connors and Youngs were settling in and enjoying themselves. They loved Driftwood. Within a few weeks, they knew everyone in town, and everyone was friendly. The sherrif's deputy had one of those gyrocopters to fly the area. He let everyone know know a big pack of wild pigs was near the Lewis farm.

John loaded up the EV-2 with Cameron, Sonya, Martin and Sarah with their rifles. Delilah took all the kids in Christine, it was a tight fit with their guns. They met Daniel, Claire and Allison at the lot in back of Bill's guns shop with what had to be half the town.

The Sheriff was there with a large map put up on the back wall of Bill's store. Men and a few women were standing around and sitting on barrels. With their hats and boots on, The Connors and Youngs looked more like 'townfolk' as the Sheriff motioned them over.

"Good to see you folks!" he beamed. "We got Fred and his clan and Dave's family on the edge of Lewis' fields along here with them. We need someone down this road to watch for those pigs heading to the side to the east."

"We can do that," Delilah offered.

Good! We also have no one yet to drive those pigs into where we want them." He looked out at the EV-2. "Who's got the tank?"

"That's us," John said, raising his hand.

"Great, start out here, where we suspect those pigs to be. Go back and forth over about two miles and work your way towards the lines of shooters. If you can take some down, great. The important thing is to drive them," he said.

The Sheriff then got up on a barrel and announced, "Remember your safety! Make sure of your target and be positive no one is behind it! If there's a question, don't shoot! If you don't have one already, grab one of the radios for your group, or yourself if no one's near you." He pointed to a box of head sets. "As always, we collect all the kills first then split them up. Gut'em before you bring them in. We'll need three porkers for the town pig roast. Now let's go slaughter some pork!"

.

Joan sat in back with Allison and JJ, Jackie on the front seat with Louise as Delilah drove to where they were supposed to be. Only Delilah and Joan had rifles. Allison had her pistol, as did Joan.

Coming up to a rise in the road, Delilah stopped. She looked around then said, "OK, kids, everyone out."

scanning the area, Delilah said, "Joan, see that tree? get up in it and get comfortable. Allison, over there in front of the car, sit behind the tall grass. JJ, right here by the car, sit and watch the fields out there. Louise, come with me, we're going back a ways and watch from those bushes. Everyone, when you see the pigs, call out where and how many. Remember! we're on the south east side, there are others off to our left." Delilah said on the radio, "This is Delilah, we're set up on the flank."

.

John drove a few miles out and around the farm to sit in grass and brush land. He shut the engine off. Cameron got on top of the EV-2 and scanned the area. Sonya stood in the back, scouting for swine on the sides. Martin and Sarah walked off to the sides, using binoculars to look for movement.

Cameron called down to John. "John, just to the left about ten O-clock, there's shapes in the brush, One got up. Most are resting, lying in the brush. It looks to be fifteen pigs I can see. Range, 630 yards."

John radioed in the information. Cameron motioned for everyone to get together. She pointed out where the pigs were. Martin, Sarah and Sonya went to the left and used cover as they approached. Cameron jumped down and told John. "Start up when you hear shooting, go right first and pick me up, then we'll go get the others."

Martin and Sarah stepped carefully along, Sonya crouched down as she stayed off to their side.

"See'em," Sonya said. "Bout a hundred fifty yards ahead. See that big clump of brush? They are in there. The mounds that look like they might be dirt."

"OK, Get bead on'em," Martin said and looked through his scope.

"Got one, a big one," Sarah said, aiming.

"I'm on one, " Sonya added.

Having the radio head set. Martin said, "Shoot!"

They all shot, so did Cameron who was far off to the left.

Squeals of pigs cried out as all the pigs shot up and ran. Sonya, Martin and Sarah kept shooting pigs that were running around, looking to escape. Cameron's rifle also barked out again and again. Many of the pigs ran away from them, the few that tried to run this way lay dead. The heard the EV-2 run off to the right. It then came back their way. A couple more shots came from Cameron.

Seeing the EV-2, crash through brush ahead and stop, they all got back on. Cameron told them, There wasn't fifteen pigs, more like forty that I saw. We'll come back and get the carcasses later, now we've got to drive them.

With the EV-2 racing back and forth behind them, the whole herd of pigs ran squealing for their lives to escape the danger behind them.

.

Joan noted movement in the distance. "Mom! Far to the right! A whole bunch of ... they look like pigs, running fast! They can really move!"

Delilah stood up and saw motion coming over a knoll only a few hundred yards ahead. She zoomed in for a better look. "They're pigs, get ready to shoot, wait until the get within a hundred twenty yards, they're moving fast."

The pigs charged ahead, right down to cross in front of them. "Lead your target!" Delilah announced.

Joan began firing, then Delilah Allison started shooting. Jackie morphed out her plasma canon and pulled her pistol.

Louise ran around behind the car, pulling JJ with her.

With the pigs running and dodging as they angled away from Delilah's group, only a few went down, and had to be finished off.

Joan reloaded and kept shooting as the pigs angled away. More broadside to her, she got one, it tumbled to a stop, another fell and flopped violently until she put another shot into it. Delilah got three, Allison shot her gun empty and reloaded to shoot and made another one tumble.

But that time, all the other pigs had fled.

One large pig had charged right at Jackie, getting excited and a bit scared, she forgot about the pistol in her hand and hit it with a plasma bolt. The headless pig tumbled to a stop.

Yay, she got one!

.

Across the road on the farm side, Daniel knelt behind the fence. To each side a short ways away were hunters. Claire watched the brush beside Daniel. Someone announced, "Here they come!"

The brush on the other side of the road shook as pigs ran through. Here they had shotguns. Loud blasts filled the air as the shotguns shot into the brush. Squealing pigs cried out as a few showed themselves to be blasted ar short range and fell, splashing blood in the air. Many small pigs tried to turn around and were shot down. brush gave up limbs from the intense fire. The sound of pigs squeaking in pain and fear faded.

In the distance, the EV-2 came rolling into view. Cameron and Sonya stood in the back with their own shotguns. Driving towards the fleeing pigs, they opened up. The remaining pigs ran to the sides, the EV-2 chased he larger pack to intercept them. Pumping their shotguns fast, Cameron and Delilah downed another nine pigs before they had to reload.

The remaining pigs scattered and raced away. Here and there, there were single shots, but the hunt was mostly over.

Now then had to go around and gut all the carcasses.

By the end of the day, he Sheriff and townspeople were happy. They collected and gutted 32 wild pigs, many of them full grown 400 pounders. A farm truck an the EV-2 was used to collect them. A few pickups also ran through the area, picking up pigs to take back to the farm truck.

Volunteers helped to slit swine throats and hang the harvested pigs in a large cooler behind the grocery store. Once they were all taken care of, the Sheriff gathered everyone together. This time standing in the bed of a pickup, he announced. "This had been the best wild pig hunt ever! Thanks to the Connors in their private tank to do a good drive, we collected 32 wild pigs! If nothing else we put a serious dent in their population. All you farmers can know you're crops are a little safer now. Once these pigs are slaughtered and the meat deemed safe,three will be held for the pig roast, the rest will be pre-cooked to ensure safety then the meat divided among all who participated. Give it about two week, there's a lot of pork in the cooler to process."

Jackie jumped up and down and announced, "I got one!"

People chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Well, good for you, little lady!" the Sheriff told her.

The pickup teams noted that beside the drive they did, the Connors had gotten half of the total kills.

.

Every weekday, Joan was meeting Bob on the lake. The last few times, she left her top hanging on a post on the dock, and went out to meet him bare chested. It was silly to wear it out there when she knew she'd be taking it off anyway.

Thinking it was Friday, she hung her top on the post and swam out to meet Bob.

It was Saturday, Jake and Bob took the boat out fishing. His line off the left side of the boat, Jake heard a splash off to the right. He turned to see a big rings spreading out on the water. "There must be some big fish here," he noted. He was in the rowing seat.

"Yeah, too bad we can't catch any," Bob said in a musing tone.

"We're not doing bad," Jake told him. "We got a few nice ones. That 17 inch bass you caught is nothing to sneeze at. Neither is that 21 inch Walleye I hooked."

The water beside the boat erupted. Topless, Joan flew out to land in the seat beside Jake. She beamed him a smile, which quickly changed to a look of horror. She screamed and jumped back in, splashing him with her tail in her hasty exit. The boat rocked gently as she swam away.

Jake stared at nothing, his face dripping water. He did see her tail as she dove deep and away.

"Ahhh," Bob said, also shocked.

Jake sat stunned for a moment, then looked at Bob. Bob shrugged. "I didn't know she was going to do that."

"Who was that? Was that Joan Conner?" Jake asked blankly.

"Ummm, yeah. Swims good, doesn't she?" Bob asked hopeful.

"Reel your line in, we're going back," Jake replied tonelessly.

.

Bob helped clean the fish, glancing at his father who looked kinda numb. His mother praised them on their catches. They were going to have fresh fish for dinner. Probably tomorrow night or some other time also. The five fish they caught were too much for just one meal. Bob helped his father clean the fish, fearing to say a word.

The fish gutted, scaled and beheaded, they took the fish in to be cooked. It wasn't until they went in to wash up did Jake asked. "She follow us here?"

Bob winced. "Actually Dad, we followed them here. They were already here when we arrived," he said meekly.

His father turned and walked out then let out a yell of "GOD DAMMIT!"

"That went well," Bob mumbled.

.

Joan was happy the water was cool deeper. Her face felt like it was on fire. She was SO embarrassed! That was his Dad! She'd hopped up in the boat right in front of him. After a short while she realized she had to breathe. Going slow, she could stay down for ten minutes. Going fast, she used up oxygen quickly. She'd only dove in maybe three minutes ago and her lungs were screaming for air. She swam strait up. No jumps, she approached the surface slower and just poked her head up. Getting her breaths of fresh air, she looked for Bob's boat. It was a ways off and it looked like they were headed back to their shore.

Once she satisfied her lungs she took a slow deep breath and went back under to continue home. Closer to the surface and slower. She decided that she was going to wear her top from now on, even if she was just going out to meet Bob. That was so embarrassing.

.

Jake Tanner was an angry man. Coming to Texas was some much needed financial relief for them. It was also meant to put those cyborgs far behind them. He went to town and stopped at the only bar. IN the front was a long porch that had a hitching rail on it. There were a few pickup trucks out front. He parked and went in.

It was a country bar all right. Country music played in the juke box, every guy and all three women wore cowboy boots and had those wide brimmed hats. The bartender was a wide fellow who talked and joked with those at the bar. Jake settled down on an empty stool. The bartender came right over to him.

"Hey fella, haven't seen you before. New in town?"

"Just arrive a couple weeks ago," Jake replied. "Just give me a cold one."

"Coming right up."

"Hey, Kevin? Were you in on that last pig hunt we did?"

"Missed it," The bartender said as he filled a glass for Jake. "Heard it was good though."

"Hell yeah! Got 32 pigs, many of'em big fat porkers. Sheriff said we knocked their numbers down good! I gotta tell ya, I haven't seen one all week. Usually, a few come routing around in our garden damn near every night. Once the slaughering's done, we're all gettin our share of the meat. Heard Billy say everyone's gonna get around 80 pounds of meat. Pork, ham and some sausage."

"That's Bonanza for sure," another guy added. "Won't have to buy any for quite a while."

Perking up, Jake asked, "A pig hunt?"

The bartender came over and gave Jake his beer. "Yeah, wild pigs. They're a real nuisance. they eat crops, ruin gardens. It's open season on them. The Sheriff organizes the hunts. Find out where the main pack is, box'em in then take out as many as we can. Not only does it help the farmers, it's also free meat. All it costs is the ammo you use."

"I'll tell ya, a skinny man said a couple seats down, "Those Connors are dead-eye shots! They got at least fifteen of those we took. Hell even that little blonde girl got one. All she had was a pistol. The was driving the pigs and shootin any pigs that didn't keep up. That big woman, Sonya, said she snuck up on'em when the pigs was sleepin. A few ran the wrong way, right into'em! I woulda loved to been there."

"I seen that Sonya, the giant woman with the red hair! If she was a couple feet shorter, she'd be hotter than hell. Great figure on her, legs that go on forever and man is she stacked!"

"Doin her would be like climbing Mount Everest," anther man said, which brought a round of laughter.

The man next to Jake stuck out a hand and said, "I'm Ed, welcome to Driftwood."

"Jake Tanner," Jake said and shook his hand. "Good to meet you, Ed. I take it its easy to get a gun permit here?"

Ed frowned at him. "Permit, for a gun? Where you from?"

"We just moved from California."

"Ahh no wonder! The disarm all citizens so no one can defend themselves state." Ed announced. "Jake, here ya need a permit for hunting. That's so the Sheriff will see you went to the gun handling and hunting safety course. You want a gun? Go down to Billy's and buy one." Ed stood up and turned to show Jake the revolver he had on his hip. "Long as you carry it so it can be seen, you don't need no permit." He sat back down. Waving a finger, Ed added, "We do got snakes and gators around here, if you ain't armed, you're taking yer life in your hands. While you're at it, get yourself a good pair of boots too. Rattlers don't like to be stepped on, and they can be hard to see."

Jake never thought of that. "This is wild territory, isn't it."

"Yep, and a hell of a lot better than being in the city!" the skinny man announced. "I had my fill of living packed in and all the predators bein other people!"

"Hell yeah!" another man cried. "Here ya kind count on yer neighbors, not be scared of'em."

"You do know the Connors are cyborgs," Jake said.

"Heard that," a woman three stools down said. "I say good for us! That big chested blonde, Delilah with that old red car? I was dragging the burning barrel, it was full of ash to dump it, having a hell of a time. She asked if I needed help. Well, she picked it up and took it over to dump it like it weighed nothin! Held it up and shook it out she did! I thanked her and we had a good chat. She had to git goin, but I gotta tell ya, I was happy she lent me a hand."

"Who do you think hung most of those porkers up?" another man said. Four, five hundred pounders, Sonya, Delilah and than skinny one, Cameron, were gettin them up on the hooks all by themselves. Saved us a ton of work and time. Gotta say, all three of'em are easy on the eyes too."

"They do kill people," Jake stated.

Ed let out a snort. "With all the theivin, burnin shit down and trouble in California, I'd probably be killin too! Like, what the hell's wrong with them? Got no problem with someone who want to come and work to make a livin. We got Mexicans all over the place, but they go to California and they get nuts or somethin."

"That whole place is nuts," a Hispanic man said. "Good place to stay away from." leaning over, he added, "Jake, you made a good choice commin here. Your family will be safer." he lifted his beer to Jake.

The Sheriff came in and called out, "Evenin folks!"

A bunch of hands waved as everyone return his greeting. He came over to the bar.

"Night cap Sheriff?" The bartender asked.

"Yeah, half glass, I gotta be up in the mornin."

"Hey Sheriff!" a woman called over. Leaning on the bar she said, "We're kinda tipsy here, you going by our place on yer way home, aint ya?"

"I am, Stacy, pour your fella in the back seat. Make sure Kevin has your keys. I'll have someone pick him up in the morning. Just peel him outta bed in time."

"Will do, Sheriff!" the man beside her said with a salute.

The bartender went over and collected the keys then put them in a small safe behind the bar. "You're set Willy, just don't forget to come back and get'em."

"I won't, Stacy here will remind me," he said, which caused some chuckles.

"You'd ferget yer boots if I didn't remind you," Stacy told him. The bar erupted in laughter.

This wasn't the typical bar scene Jake was used to seeing. No fights, no hookers, no dealers, just people relaxing after a day's work.

Jake decided he had enough for the night. He left the change on the bar and wished everyone a good night. He got waves in return. Going out to his car, he saw willy and Stacy holding each other up and giggling. The Sheriff followed them out and guided them to his car.

They weren't being arrested, they were getting a ride home.

Jake got in his car and headed home himself. On the way home, he thought about how the Connors were making a good impression on everyone here. Even after he told people here what they were, they didn't seem to care they were cyborg killing machines. This place was really odd. His thoughts shifted to Bob, and his infatuation with Joan Connor. Just jumping into the boat like that, half naked, that thing was a tramp! A tramp that right now, he had no idea what to do about.

Getting home, Jake barely made it for dinner. Carol wasn't pleased.

"Were you been?" She asked in a sweet/sarcastic tone.

"Thinking, mostly," he told her. Since Bob was here, he added, "I'll tell you about it later."

The fish they caught was good. Fresh and with just a light touch of spice, it was the best fish he'd ever eaten. He helped clear the table after dinner, then sat down at the kitchen table. Carol sat down with him.

Jake let out a huff and asked, "Did Bob tell you why we cut our fishing trip short?"

"No, I thought you were just done. You and Bobby did get a nice catch today."

Jake let out a snort. "You know Joan Connor? Out of nowhere she jumped up in the boat, wearing nothing but that mermaid tail. Right in front of me. Then she screamed and jumped back out!" he said firmly.

Carol's face grew a grin. She clapped a hand over her mouth.

"It's not funny! How long's she been jumping into the boat with Bob out on that lake?" he demanded. "And how in the hell did they not only find us, but get here before we did?"

Carol dropped her head on her arms and chuckled. stifling herself, she said into her arms, "Jake remember the concert?"

"What about it?"

Lifting her head, she said, "Think about some of the songs they did. The ones Bob sang and the one he did with Joan. The last one Cameron did, that loosing my religion song. I don't know how she did it, but Cameron arranged everything. She got you the job you wanted, she got the lower price on this house for us. She made sure we would be exactly where she wanted us."

"That's impossible!" he snapped. "She had nothing to do with that real estate agency, or the lawyers or the bank!"

Carol shrugged. "I'm sure that's what she wanted us to believe. You'd have to ask her how she did it if you want to know. That means you'd have to go talk to her."

.