Amanda smiled at the thought of another dog. "Will I like Apollo?" she asked.

Nathan shook his head. "Apollo is what a guard dog is supposed to be. He very rarely plays. It took me a year and a lot of training to get Apollo to listen to Tim and Sherry. Ares is not like any dog I've had before. He listens, does a good job, but he makes up his own mind."

"Well yeah," she said.

"Amanda, a guard dog is only supposed to follow one person or two at most. When you introduce someone to a dog like that, it's to let the dog know not to rip their arm off if they walk toward me. When I introduce people to Ares, he decides if he's going to listen to them," Nathan said.

"You mean he's not supposed to do the stuff I say?" she asked, sounding a little disappointed. The way Ares acted with her, Amanda thought she was a dog whisperer.

"Not really, but somehow he knows I like you and are no threat to me. Then you have to admit Ares really likes you," Nathan said.

"Well duh," she said, and Nathan gritted his teeth. "So Apollo won't listen to me?" she asked.

"h.e.l.l, I don't know anything anymore. I've had Shepherds since I was fifteen and thought I knew them pretty good till Ares came along. One of the hardest things to teach a dog is to guard someone that is not their master, Apollo never learned it. Well, I should say he didn't till I taught Ares. Ares had the concept down in three days and I swear Ares taught Apollo what I wanted," Nathan said.

"What's Ares's momma's name?" she asked.

"I can't remember. I studded Apollo out and got the pick of the litter: Ares," Nathan said.

Somewhat offended, she asked, "Don't you own girl German Shepherds?"

"I've only had one and she was a pain in the b.u.t.t. I bet she chewed up ten pairs of shoes. She was with me on patrol one day and we got a call that a man had robbed a store and ran up into some woods. I get the call and show up with Pandora. She finds the guy's trail and fifteen minutes later I'm yelling for him to give up. I'm not going to tell you what he said, but he didn't give up. I released Pandora and she tore into that man thinking there must have been a prize inside. I gave her the attack command, but she was taking bites on all his arms and legs trying to pull them off. I ran over and gave her the command to stop, but she didn't. I had to grab her to pull her off then she bit me four times," Nathan said, shaking his head. "I'm not going to lie; I almost shot her a.s.s right then and there. The sheriff told me she couldn't be on the force anymore. I bought another puppy and trained them. Pandora stayed on the farm, but she died when Apollo was just a puppy."

"Maybe you shouldn't have named her Pandora," John said, making Nathan laugh.

"Why not?" Amanda asked and John said the story of Pandora. "That's stupid," she said. "I want a girl dog, but like Ares."

"Amanda, it takes long hours teaching a dog what Ares knows, longer if they're stupid," Nathan informed her.

"I don't care," she said, undeterred.

"Okay, we'll see." He smiled down at her.

She hugged his arm that she was holding onto as they followed the road up into the hills overlooking a wildlife refuge. When they were on the ridge, Amanda looked down to the valley. "It's beautiful," she said.

Nathan nodded. "Sure is. Makes me miss home," he said, walking on. It was almost noon when they came around a curve and saw a group of men about fifty yards away stripping a car that was on the side of the road. "Get behind me, and if shooting starts, run for the woods," Nathan said in a quiet voice, letting Amanda's hand go. He kept a steady pace as he walked toward the men.

The men had stopped as soon as the three came around the corner. Dropping their tools, the three grabbed an a.s.sortment of firearms and moved to the back of the stripped car. Nathan counted three and scanned the woods. He glanced down at Ares and he was just looking in the direction of the three men, but not coming to attention. Then Nathan felt the wind on the back of his neck. He sighed as he said a silent apology to Ares.

Nathan stopped twenty yards away from the group. "Morning, gentlemen," he said, tilting his head toward them. The one on his right was carrying a pump shotgun and wore a white t-shirt and more gold chains than Mr. T. The one in the middle had a few chains dangling against his bare chest, and he was holding an automatic pistol. On the left was a man dressed in a blue tank top, with a gold rope chain that looked an inch thick. In his hand was what looked like a single shot shotgun that had been sawed off.

"What chew want," one mouthed off.

"Just moving down the road," Nathan replied. He had his rifle gripped in both hands but not pointed at the three. The three each had their rifles aimed at the ground as they studied Nathan.

"Put yo gun on the ground and we let you walk away, boy," Bare Chest popped off.

"I'm sorry I can't do that," Nathan said, slowly reaching up and uncovering his badge. The three saw the badge and got a little nervous. "I'm just moving down the road. Let us pa.s.s in peace and you can continue to work on your car," Nathan told them.

The trio shared glances with one another and then Bare Chest looked back at Nathan. "Guess you didn't hear. Put yo gun down. The first we gonna shoot is the kids," he said, showing off his gold grill.

"The dog will kill one of you and I'll kill the other two," Nathan told them, taking some of the confidence out of them. To prove the point, Ares bared his teeth, letting out a low growl.

"Yo, you keep Cujo in check or I'll crank the gat on im," Tank Top said, shuffling his feet.

"Then I suggest you let us pa.s.s and continue to work on your car," Nathan said casually, bracing his feet. He could see Bare Chest tensing his muscles. Seeing Bare Chest starting to raise his arm, Nathan dropped down as he swung his M-4 up, squeezing the trigger before the cross hairs settled on his chest. The three bullets slammed into Bare Chest's shoulder as he squeezed the trigger on the automatic, filling the quiet with a loud boom compared to the long cough of the suppressed M-4. Continuing his swing, Nathan observed T-Shirt raising the pump shotgun up. Nathan rested the cross hairs on T-Shirt, squeezing the trigger as Nathan dropped down, rolling to his left then coming up on his knees.

The three bullets. .h.i.t T-Shirt in the low center chest mere inches apart. T-Shirt dropped the shotgun and grabbed his stomach, trying to scream. Nathan never noticed as he swung back across the two and aimed at Tank Top, who was staring at his two buddies writhing on the ground and bleeding everywhere. He turned to look at Nathan and saw the gun aimed at his head. Tank Top could see Nathan's eye staring back at him through the scope.

"Drop it and you might get to live today," Nathan said. Tank Top let the sawed-off shotgun drop from his numb fingers until it hit the ground with a thud. "Two steps forward and kneel down and spread em. I'm sure you know the routine. I still have lots of bullets so don't get cute," Nathan said in a cold, casual tone. The man did what he was told and Nathan stood up, keeping his rifle aimed at the three.

He risked a quick glance over his shoulder to see Amanda and John both with pistols out and aimed at the ground. "We will talk about this," Nathan said, turning back around and walking over to the three men, kicking their weapons away. Pulling out some zip ties, he tied up Tank Top and stood up, then pulled the MK-23 and shot the other two in the head, silencing the moans.

"Yo, you the po-po! You can't just drop a cap on someone! You acting like a gangster with that gat!" Tank Top yelled.

"Shut it or I'll just smoke your a.s.s now," Nathan said, aiming, and Tank Top shut up. Kneeling down, Nathan went through their pockets and pulled out wads of cash and bags of different drugs, throwing it all in a pile. When he leaned over Tank Top to empty out his pockets, out of curiosity he looked at the chain around his neck. "Holy s.h.i.t, this is real!" Nathan shouted, pulling the chain off. "This thing has to be over a pound and a half and worth over thirty grand," he said, holding it up.

"It cost thirty seven G's," Tank Top informed him.

"And you wore it?" Nathan shouted at him, flabbergasted.

"What the h.e.l.l else was I gonna do with it?" he popped off.

"Well you just gave it to me, so thank you," Nathan said, putting it in a small pouch on the front of his tote bag.

"You jackin' my bling!" Tank Top shouted.

Nathan looked down at him. "Hey, you and your buddies tried to kill me. I think a little compensation is in order," he said, motioning the kids over. "Pick up their weapons, John, and Amanda, you get the money and put it in your bag," he said, moving over to the other two where he found their chains were real as well. "d.a.m.n, being a banger here must pay off," Nathan said, taking the chains off and throwing them in his tote bag.

Walking over to Tank Top, he pulled him up and walked him to the side of the road and zip tied him to a metal fence post. "You can use that post to cut the strap and leave. It should only take about twenty minutes. If I see you again I'll kill you, so I suggest you wait till we are out of sight," Nathan said and walked away.

He went over to John and grabbed the pistol. Seeing it was a piece of junk 9mm, Nathan took out the clip and the round in the chamber and handed them to John. Then he took the pistol apart and threw the pieces into the woods. He grabbed the sawed-off shotgun and broke it open to find it was a 20-gauge. Throwing the sh.e.l.l, he popped the hinge pin and threw the barrel into the woods on his left and the trigger to the right.

He took the pump shotgun and looked it over. It was an 870 tactical with extended magazine tube and a five-sh.e.l.l holder on the side. Looking at the sh.e.l.ls and seeing buck shot, he nodded with approval. "Let's go," he said, walking off. John and Amanda followed him Tank Top grumbling and grousing behind them.

Working the slide, Nathan emptied the shotgun then put in six rounds and handed the gun to John. "Don't play with it. I'll show both of you how to work it tonight," he said, handing him the other sh.e.l.ls. They rounded a curve about a mile away from the abandoned car and Nathan stopped and looked around.

"There," he said, pointing a hundred yards away at the tree line. He led the two a ways back from the road. "Let's eat," Nathan said, dropping his pack.

Looking back the way they had come, Amanda whispered, "Are you crazy? They could have friends."

"Oh I know they do and they're close," he said, kneeling down.

"Well let's go," she whispered, still not dropping her pack.

"No, I don't want them catching us in town or worse, going to get more friends. We will know by the time lunch is finished how they will play. If they are bent on revenge they'll be here soon. If not, they will bed down and wait," Nathan said.

"There could be a bunch of them," John said nervously.

"No, we would've heard them and Ares would've smelled them," Nathan said.

"He didn't smell those three," Amanda pointed out.

"The wind was behind us," Nathan said, reaching into his pack and pulling out the cooked rabbit. "I want both of you to stay right here and eat. Give Ares some. He's staying here with you. I will be right in front of you watching the road. You'll be able to see me. We leave in thirty minutes," he said, getting up. "If you hear gun shots just stay down till dark. If you see anyone but me coming, let Ares say hi." He headed back to the road.

Amanda and John looked at each other and sat down. Putting the meal between them, they slowly ate. Ares would shove his head over, reminding them to give him some. Amanda dropped his pack and pulled out his bowl as John handed her a bottle of water. She filled Ares' bowl as they sat there in silence, afraid someone could hear them swallowing.

Squirrels scampered through the trees, but they ignored them. Suddenly Ares turned his head, letting out a low growl. Amanda put her hand on him. "Quiet, Ares," she whispered. Seeing John moving to lie down on the ground, Amanda did the same, pulling Ares down with her.

Nathan was just inside the tree line behind an oak tree. He waited about thirty minutes till he heard running feet coming at him. Bringing the rifle to his shoulder, Nathan aimed down the road. A few seconds later he saw three men trotting toward him with Tank Top in the lead. He was now carrying a bolt action rifle. The one closest to Nathan was carrying an AK with a forward grip, and the guy on the far side was carrying a shotgun.

Pulling his rifle tight into his shoulder, Nathan sighted on AK first since he posed the biggest danger. When they were fifty yards from him, Nathan squeezed the trigger, hitting AK in the chest and dropping him. Swinging to Tank Top, Nathan squeezed the trigger just as Tank Top turned to look at AK. The three rounds. .h.i.t him in the left chest and he crumpled, dropping his rifle. Shotgun dove to the ground as Nathan swung his aim to him. Shotgun rolled, trying to aim his weapon just as Nathan squeezed the trigger, hitting the asphalt where Shotgun had been a split second before. Lifting his aim, Nathan squeezed again, hitting Shotgun in the left side above the hip.

Shotgun let out a scream as Nathan moved up and shot him in the chest. Dropping his magazine, Nathan rammed in another, listening to the others whimper. Getting tired of it, Nathan flipped to single and shot both in the head. He stood there quietly for about ten minutes, listening. Nathan then stood up, picked up his magazine and walked back to the kids. Again he saw them both holding their pistols. They were pointed in a safe direction but held at the ready just like he'd showed them.

He didn't want them to try to get into gun play yet. He wanted them to think Run' and not fight till they were more prepared. But he'd talk to them about it at another time. "Get your stuff on," Nathan said, grabbing his pack and tote bag.

"We saved you some," John said, holding out the wrapper.

"Bring it," Nathan said, watching Amanda put on Ares' pack. John picked up the shotgun. "Let's go, and stay close," Nathan said. Moving slowly out to the road, Amanda and John saw the three bodies. John felt sick looking at the two that Nathan had shot in the head.

Nathan walked over to the AK and picked it up. It had a folding stock and a nice tactical scope with a fibergla.s.s stock and fore grip. He saw AK had a range bag slung across his shoulder. Pulling it off and trying not to get much blood on it, Nathan opened it up to see four more magazines and ammo. Seeing shotgun sh.e.l.ls, he reached in and pulled out a sling that had fifteen buckshot rounds in the pockets. Dropping it back in, he looked at AK's gold necklaces covered in blood and sighed.

Pulling money out of AK's pockets, Nathan moved to the shotgun. It was a nice Benelli, but better for duck hunting than fighting a battle. Taking the sh.e.l.ls from the gun and the man's pocket, Nathan threw them in the AK's tote bag. It seemed Shotgun was the poor one of the group, having only drugs in his pockets. Nathan grabbed his bling and saw it was real. "Not too poor," Nathan said, throwing it in with the other bling. "Let's go," he said.

"What about that gun," John said, pointing at Tank Top's rifle. "I hunted with one just like that. You can hit someone real far away."

"Yes you can, but it only has the bullets in it. No extras. It's not worth carrying something that heavy that we can't use but a few times. And remember, it's not sighted in for us," Nathan said, leading them away. He handed John the tote bag. "Here is your bag." Nathan reached in and pulled out the sling and clipped it to the shotgun. Then he grabbed the magazines and walked over to Amanda. "Put these in your bag and keep this slung. Don't put your hand on the trigger or the grip. Don't worry, it's not loaded, but I don't want people to think you can't cut loose," Nathan said, handing the AK over.

"When do I get a machine gun?" John asked.

"It's not a machine gun," Nathan said. "If Amanda could shoot the shotgun I would've given it to her. But it would set her on her little a.s.s if she did. You can handle it," Nathan said. All geared up, they started off to town.

Little did they know that if they'd gone just half a mile past the stripped car and down a small dirt road a few hundred yard into the woods, they would've found a large stash of food, weapons, ammo, cash, a working truck, and a mountain of other useful supplies. The supplies would just sit there wasting away as the world slowly sank into chaos.

It was noon as they stepped literally from the woods right at the edge of town. "What town is this?" Amanda asked.

"This is what's left of the base. Saks is up ahead," Nathan said. As they walked on he saw two HUMVEEs driving away from them with soldiers standing behind machine guns. Nathan looked down to make sure his badge was uncovered. "John, get right behind me and keep the shotgun on your shoulder. Amanda, don't let go of my hand unless I let go," he said, and they moved closer.

Nathan stopped abruptly, just about giving both of them heart attacks. Reaching in his tote bag, he pulled out the ten-foot leash for Areas. He handed the leash to Amanda as he clipped it to Ares' collar. "Hold it tight," he said and led them on.

Almost panting, Amanda felt like her heart was beating a million miles an hours as she held Nathan's hand in one hand and held onto Ares' leash in a death grip with the other. Everywhere she looked she saw military trucks like they had on TV. There were men and women running around, all carrying really big guns, yelling and jumping in trucks. A few looked at their small group but they didn't pay much attention to them. She looked up at Nathan, who was just looking straight ahead.

Looking closely at his eyes behind his sungla.s.ses, Amanda saw they were moving everywhere but his head stayed pointed straight ahead. Her head snapped forward and she copied what he was doing. It took them an hour to walk out of the area, having to stop a few times to let trucks drive past them down the road. The road they were on ended ahead at a stop sign at a T-intersection, and directly across the road was a field with hundreds of people walking around with a lot of tents put up.

Now accustomed to the quietness of the new world, the sounds of activity were making her nervous. Amanda could see men, women, and kids moving everywhere; she didn't know what they were doing but they all had panicked looks on their faces. When they came to the stop sign two pickup trucks loaded with people drove by. She noticed they weren't Army trucks but regular old ones. Nathan just about ran her over when he turned left onto the road in front of the camp of people. A man ran over and began walking backwards in front of them.

"Please give me some food," he begged.

"None to spare, sir, and if you ask again I will be forced to detain you," Nathan barked at the man. The man's shoulders slumped and he wandered off toward the camp.

Staying on the road, Nathan was keeping a pace Amanda wasn't used to and her legs were starting to get tired. She tripped once as Nathan turned off the road they were on and moved into a subdivision. "We can rest just a little further ahead, okay?" he said softly, looking down at her.

All she could do was smile up at him. Her mouth was so dry she couldn't talk. Fear was racking her body and all she wanted to do was hide. She saw Nathan's hand reach across her to her drinking tube and put it in her mouth. Amanda gripped it with her teeth and started to suck down water.

"Slow down, not too fast," Nathan murmured. She raised her head to look around; there were still people around the houses, but nothing like the numbers they'd seen at the camp and the old military base.

Seeing Amanda wasn't drinking anymore, Nathan reached back over and took the tube from her mouth and clipped it back to her pack. "Thank you," she whispered and he squeezed her hand.

"Someone's following us," John told them in a low voice. Amanda almost took off running hearing that.

"How far back?" Nathan asked.

"I'm not good with distance but they are by that house with the four men sitting on the porch," John said.

"Eighty yards," Nathan said and Amanda just looked up at him in awe. "Tell me if they get closer than that. Can you tell if they have a rifle?" he asked.

"They don't have a rifle, but I don't know about a pistol. I'm scared to use my binoculars," John said in a quivering voice.

"Good man, that's thinking. It would draw attention to us," Nathan said. "There's a food mart up ahead. We will take a break in the parking lot," Nathan told them in a low voice.

"Bulls.h.i.t! We are leaving!" Amanda shot back in her regular voice.

Nathan looked down at her in shock at her response.

"I agree with Amanda. Let's get the h.e.l.l out of here," John whispered loudly. Still looking at Amanda, Nathan could tell she was terrified.

"Okay, we will continue, but let's slow down a bit," he said, easing the pace.

Amanda nodded and tilted her head up at him. "Okay, but if you stop I'll meet you at the rally point," she said matter-of-factly. "Something's wrong here," she said, turning her head to look straight ahead.

Nathan smiled, glad she could feel it. He had no idea what was going on here but he didn't like it. "The person is getting closer, half the distance so forty yards ... and it's a girl," John whispered.

"What does she look like?" Nathan asked.

"She's a little taller than Amanda but filled out really well with pretty tanned skin. She has blue shorts, red tight shirt, hiking boots, long black hair, no jewelry, and a large black backpack like mine," John whispered back, making Nathan chuckle.

"She's a hottie, huh?" Nathan asked.

"How do you know? You haven't even seen her," John said, amazed that Nathan could tell just from his description.

"John, you told me everything but her eye color," Nathan said, trying not to laugh.

"She has on sungla.s.ses so I couldn't see," John admitted. "I snuck a quick peek with my binoculars."

Unable to control himself, Nathan stared to laugh. "Just watch her and make sure no one is following her," he said.

"Haven't spotted anyone yet," John reported.