The Longest Winter
Chapter 24
The snow began to fall more steadily as Ralph put the cb microphone down and finished his hamburger. He wiped his greasy hands on his dirty overalls and popped open his glove compartment. He pulled out a small set of keys before heading toward the back of his van. He opened the back doors, peeking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t being watched.
He unlocked a large green box and pulled out his camo colored AR-15. It was the cheap standard model that he had painted himself. He gave it a quick maintenance check before sliding in a clip filled with ammo as well as placing a spare into his front pocket. He closed the van doors and got back into his driver seat, placing the gun down on the garbage filled floor. Hunter, his trusty German shepherd, sat panting in the passenger seat.
“Tonight’s the night, boy!” Ralph said excitedly as he started the van and headed toward the sheriff’s cabin. “We’re going to get those fluffies, one way or another.”
He drove passed a well hidden Deputy Tanner.
“Well isn’t that strange.” The deputy said quietly to himself. “Ralph Donner headed out of town, coincidentally towards the sheriff’s cabin.” Tanner shook his head in disbelief. Could they be working together? Maybe the sheriff was undercover trying to set up an ambush? Neither option made much sense to the young deputy. He decided to find out for himself.
He slowly pulled out from beside the old trailer he was hiding in the shadow of. He got out on the road and could still see Ralph’s taillights up ahead. He carefully kept his distance while watching the van. Sure enough it slowed down near the cabin’s driveway, looking for a place to park discreetly. Tanner shut off his headlights and parked the cruiser on the side of the road. He grabbed the Remington 870 tactical police shotgun from between the front seats. It was fully loaded with extra ammo in the mounted holster on the side.
He took a deep breath and tried to slow his heartbeat down. He had seen action before while posted in Iraq as a soldier, but not while serving as deputy in the small town. His real concern was that he might have a showdown with his boss, a man he once trusted and considered a friend. He reported in to the police station, but there was no backup available. He said he was just going to take a look, but he knew it would be more than that.
He stepped out of his cruiser, holding the shotgun as he quickly jogged down the side of the road, hugging the brush so as to stay out of sight.
He was barely able to keep Ralph in his sights as he followed the exterminator down the cabin driveway.
Meanwhile, the Creiger brothers slowly snuck up on the cabin from behind through the woods. Bill was armed with his scoped Mossberg Patriot .308 while Bobby had his trusty Glock 9mm. They positioned themselves behind a large oak tree stump behind the cabin. Bobby took a peek over the stump and scoped out the area. The cabin was dark except for a small light coming from a desk in front of the window.
“If we play our cards right, the sheriff will stay asleep upstairs while we sneak in and nab the fluffies.” Bobby explained. “I’ll bet he’s been drinking and is sound asleep.”
“What if he ain’t?” Bill whispered nervously.
“Then we’ll wait him out.” Bobby replied. “We just gotta lay low and wait for the right moment.” He grabbed the small radio from his belt and whispered into it, hoping to reach Ralph before he did something stupid and blew there cover.”
“Come in, big caiman.” He said, hoping to boost the exterminator’s confidence.
“Big caiman here!” Ralph whispered excitedly in response.
“We’ve got the back covered.” Bobby explained. “We need you to sit tight and cover the front. Do you see any activity?”
“No, it’s dark.” Ralph replied quietly.
“Good. Stay there and keep a lookout.” Bobby commanded. “I’m going to sneak in and nab the fluffies while he’s sleeping.”
“10-4.” Buck replied.
Bobby quickly took off his boots.
“What the hell are you doing?” Bill whispered, confused.
“This’ll make me quiet as a mouse.” Bobby explained. He then holstered his glock and snuck up to the cabin on all fours like a cautious, red-headed chimp.
He was surprisingly calm as he approached the cabin, peeking through the corner of the back window as he held his breath. The desk light did little to illuminate the room. Bobby waited for his eyes to adjust before finally being able to see that the downstairs room was clear. He carefully took out his pocket knife and wedged it under the window, using the leverage to slowly lift the it as he also pushed from the top.
Luckily for him the window wasn’t locked and slid up easily with little noise. He carefully crawled inside through the window and crouched down in the shadows inside. He peered up the stairs in front of him along the right wall of the cabin for any signs of life. It was oddly quiet.
He looked around the room for any signs of the fluffies. While his eyes weren’t much help, his nose picked up the smell of feces coming from under the closet door on his right at the bottom of the stairs. He put his ear to the door and heard tiny peeping noises. Jackpot.
He slowly turned the closet door handle and pulled the door open. It let out a slight creak. He checked up the stairs again but saw nothing. He slowly pulled a tiny keychain flashlight out of his breast pocket and shined it around the closet as he carefully stepped inside.
He discovered a plastic container containing three foals, and an adult fluffy shivering in the corner. It squinted as he shined the flashlight in its face. He grabbed the container and stuffed it inside his coveralls. He then went to grab the fluffy as it cowered in the corner.
“Huhuhu!” The little pony cried. “Pweez no hurt fwuf-“. Bobby clamped his hand around its mouth, resisting the urge to punch the creature for making noise.
“Shut up, or I’ll break your neck!” Bobby hissed quietly into the stallion’s ear. The animal quivered in his arms as it shit and pissed itself in fear. “Oh just wonderful.” Bobby cursed, doing everything he could to fight his desire to strangle the terrified pony. He tucked the animal under his arm and peeked out of the closet up the stairs. His heart stopped as he saw a tall shadow staring down at him from the top.
“Find everything that you’re looking for?” Sheriff Stone asked with a dark and graveled voice.
Bobby knew right then and there that the sheriff was sure to kill him if he didn’t act fast. He ducked back into the closet just before the sheriff fired off a shot from his Mossberg Maverick 88 12 Gauge Pump-Action Shotgun.
Bobby pulled out his glock and fired a warning shot towards the stairs. “Stay back, pig fucker!” He shouted. “I’ve got your precious fluffies in here!” He grabbed his radio and put it to his mouth. “I need backup! My cover is blown and I’m pinned down! He’s upstairs and armed! Aim for the second floor!” Bobby frantically commanded as another buckshot blew a hole through the closet wall. He shot through it twice, aiming higher up the stairs this time.
He heard the familiar sound of his brother’s rifle popping off a round. The .308 bullet made a veering cry as it ricocheted upstairs.
Meanwhile, Deputy Tanner had successfully snuck up behind Ralph, who was taking aim with his AR-15 as shots began to ring out from the cabin. “Freeze!” Tanner said while aiming at Ralph’s fat target of a back.
The obese exterminator spun around and fired off a round in a panic, hitting Tanner in the arm. Tanner aimed for the AR-15 and blew it out of Ralphs hands, taking a couple fingers off with it. “I said freeze, you fat piece of garbage!” Tanner cursed as he felt blood begin to soak his left sleeve.
Ralph fell to his knees, crying in pain as he looked at what remained of his hands. “Look what you did to me you son of a bitch!” He screamed at Tanner.
Tanner responded by bashing the exterminator in the head with the butt of his shotgun, knocking him out cold. The deputy then tore off his uniform sleeve and used it as a crude bandage over his arm wound. Luckily it hadn’t hit the bone and only tore off a small chunk of flesh. It still hurt like hell, but at least he could still fight.
The deputy ducked behind a nearby tree and peeked around at the cabin. He could still hear gunshots. If only he knew where the sheriff was, he could provide backup. But it was too dark to tell. He decided to take a chance and headed towards the cabin and take cover behind the sheriff’s Bronco. He peeked over the hood and heard another gunshot go off. He was able to see a flash from upstairs. He figured that must be the sheriff. He tried to work up the courage to charge the front door, but he had no idea what was on the other side.
Meanwhile, Ruth had parked the Jeep in front of the deputy’s cruiser.
“Something is definitely up.” Thomas said as he climbed out of the Jeep. He looked through the windows of the police car and nodded. “The shotgun is gone too. This is serious.”
Ruth opened the back of the Jeep to let Honey and Angel out of the back. “Do you smell them?” She asked hopefully.
Honey sniffed the area around them before shaking her head. “No smew babies.”
That was when they heard gunfire. Angel whined and stood close to Thomas as he pulled out his revolver. “Sounds like trouble. Tim could be in danger.”
Ruth grabbed her rifle from the Jeep and started walking down the driveway, keeping close to the side to avoid being seen. Thomas caught up with her and grabbed her shoulder.
“Don’t try and stop me.” Ruth whispered harshly.
“I won’t.” Said Tom. “But I’ll take point.” He stepped in front of her and crouched down low before slowly continuing forward. They slowly moved up towards the cabin as more gunshots rang out into the night. Soon they could see a man leaning against the front tire of the sheriff’s Bronco. Tom held up his fist as a sign to stop. They stayed low and quiet as he pulled out a small flashlight. He pointed it at the Deputy, clicking it on and off.
Up at the Bronco, Tim noticed the light trying to get his attention. He watched as it signaled him in morse code.
T-O-M
It was Dr. Tom, the veterinarian! Tanner wasn’t sure how he knew, but he didn’t put it passed that old badger to come to his aid as backup. The deputy fumbled to pull out his own flashlight and signaled back.
V-E-T
Thomas replied, smiling as he realized that the deputy had already figured it out.
Y-E-S
He put the flashlight away and nodded at Ruth. “Stay close and quiet. We still don’t know what we’re dealing with.” He warned. Ruth nodded and gripped her Rifle tight.
They quickly and silently slid up next to the Bronco behind the deputy.
“What are you doing here?” He asked quietly as Thomas removed his makeshift bandage and replaced it with a clean gauze wrap from Ruth’s First aid kit.
“Same as you.” Thomas said through his teeth as he held a sewing needle in his mouth. He had used it to stitch the wound closed before dousing it in alcohol. His eyes met with Tim’s. “To come deal with the sheriff.”
