The Jared Chronicles | Book 4 | The Devil's Bastion, page 41
part #4 of The Jared Chronicles Series
The man didn’t call out as he almost casually made his way to the parking lot, only pausing briefly to inspect the dead body of the man in uniform. The man on the horse held his rifle pointing skyward as he rode directly toward Josh’s body, coming to a stop several yards short of the grisly scene.
“I mean y’all no harm,” the man boomed, his voice deep and sounding like he could have done radio before the solar flare.
Jared was the first to step out in to the open, his rifle held firmly in his hands, muzzle down, where he intended on it staying unless this stranger reoriented his own weapon in a threatening manner.
“Hey there,” Jared called out.
The man on the horse swiveled the lever-action rifle, dropping it into a scabbard secured to the side of his saddle, then leaned forward against the saddle’s horn and crossed his arms.
“I don’t usually go poking my nose in other people’s business, in fact I make an effort not to, but I seen what you all did with that there dead chap. I saw you all gave him a chance to surrender, and I saw what you did,” the man said, looking directly at John. “Now I don’t know what gripe you all had with this feller, but you gave him a fair shot, and he didn’t take it. Now this guy.” The man on the horse jerked his chin toward the dead soldier. “He was fixing on shooting one of you in the back, so I took it upon myself and shot him first. Hope that don’t sit sideways with any of you.”
John stepped from behind a truck and nodded at the rider before walking to the downed man in uniform and inspecting what was left of his face and uniform. Satisfied, John returned to the group. “Thanks for doing that. He was given a second chance earlier this week, and I guess he didn’t take it.”
The dead soldier was none other than Chris, who’d decided he couldn’t return to Carnegie without at least trying to find Josh. Slowly Shannon, Stephani, Cody, and Devon came out from their hiding places. The man on the horse looked like a time traveler from the 1800s, his hair worn long under the black hat and his beard hanging down far enough to cover his neck and upper chest. There was a hint of gray in the man’s beard, but none in his hair, leaving everyone to wonder how old this stranger was.
The stranger could have been thirty-five years old or fifty-five, no one in the group could say for sure. Jared immediately liked the man, he couldn’t say why, but he felt drawn to this stranger. The man had an unthreatening ease to him while at the same time seeming more than capable of taking care of himself in violent fashion if need be. His gruff speech pattern was endearing to Jared. It was straight-to-the-point talk, nothing other than the truth, and Jared felt sure if the man intended on killing any of them, he would have told them before doing so.
Jared stepped forward and gave a little wave. “My name is Jared. Thanks for doing—that,” Jared said, ending the sentence awkwardly as he gestured to Chris’s body.
The stranger tipped his hat. “Glad to have your acquaintance, Jared. They call me Sam. Sam Cohen, not that last names mean much these days.”
One by one each member stepped forward to introduce themselves, with Devon stepping forward last and in his usual awkward way. When Sam didn’t bat an eye at Devon’s quirky mannerism, Jared knew they were going to get along just fine.
“You traveling alone?” John asked.
“I am, have been for months,” Sam replied. “All the way from a little place called Mosby, Montana.”
“Well, that sounds like quite a story,” John noted.
“Indeed, my friend,” Sam said, a bit of sadness creeping into his eyes. “And not a story that has an ending yet,” Sam added solemnly.
The End
About the Author
Rick was raised in Napa Valley, California. In 1986 he joined the Marine Corps and served over four years with Third Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment as an anti-tank assault missleman and later as a scout with 3/1’s Surveillance Target Acquisition (STA) platoon.
After the Marines, Rick went into law enforcement, where he worked for 28 years in numerous positions such as Gangs, SWAT, Patrol and Homicide before retiring in 2018.
Writing has always been his passion, which he now pursues full time. He draws on his experiences from law enforcement and the Marines to flesh out reality based apocalyptic novels.
Also by Rick Tippins
The Jared Chronicles
A World Slowed - Book One
Tears of Chaos - Book Two
Chains of Tyranny - Book Three
Tippins, Rick, The Jared Chronicles | Book 4 | The Devil's Bastion
