Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2021 15:41:34 +0000 (GMT) From: Peter Brown Subject: Last of the Line - Chapter 130 Last of the Line by badboi666 =============================================================================== If sex with boys isn't your thing, go away. If, as is much more likely, you've come to this site precisely to get your rocks off reading about sex with 14-year-olds then make yourself comfortable - you're in the right place. Don't leave, however, without doing this: Donate to Nifty - these buggers may do it for love but they still have to eat. http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html NOTE to the reader: "Peter Brown" aka badboi666 is, as you might guess, not in the first flush of youth: indeed he is well into the you'll-die-if-you-get-this-fucking-thing age cohort. If he gets a nasty cough and a temperature he will post a synopsis of what is still to come. Then, if he snuffs it, you can at least have some idea of what befell Dab in the end. The good news is that he has had his first Pfizer shot. =============================================================================== Chapter 130 "Quick, Rose, what's happened?" I said, "are they all right?" "I don't know. Two nights ago I heard guns - it must have been about 4 or 5 in the morning. We haven't heard guns in Lairg for years, so it sounded like trouble. Since Rob died I've been on my own, though Hamish or one of the other two look in on me most days, and I don't have a gun so I just stayed in bed and didn't put a light on until it was light enough to get up and see what was happening." "What did you see, Rose?" said Billy gently - we hadn't known that Rob had died, and this wasn't the time to express condolences. "Nothing, Billy, it all seemed normal. It wasn't until the middle of the forenoon that news began to spread. Jillies had arrived from God knows where and had killed one of the villagers who tried to stop them stealing something - chickens probably. No-one had seen anything, but we'd all heard the shooting. Hamish came down to see I was all right - they weren't sure they'd heard shots, but Jack had said they should make sure. It's just as well they did. Hamish rushed back up and the three of them were back here in no time. Ralphie had been out in the fields doing something and they had roped him in. Hamish and Jack had guns but there wasn't time for the boy to go back to get one. 'Boy' - I must stop calling him that - he must be all of 35 now - but he's always been 'the boy' to me. Rob didn't approve, and nor did I at first, but they all seemed to be happy, and what they got up to was none of our business. Sorry, Dab, I'm blethering. The three of them went to where old Andrew had been killed and I haven't seen them since - that was 24 hours ago. There was gunfire off and on in the afternoon, but nothing since. What will you do?" "Go and find them," I said, "we're armed so any sensible jilly will run off when they're up against two men who know the land who have big noisy guns. Just in case there's trouble, or if anyone's hurt why don't you put a kettle on and boil lots of water. Just in case." Rose became business-like and started to prepare for what might be needed. There was another shot. Billy and I went off cautiously towards the house where the jillies had committed murder - it was at the other end of the village. I noticed faces looking out at us, and one window was opened slightly. "Good to see you, Dab, Billy. I think there were four of them. Old Andrew's dead, but I don't think anyone else was there." I thanked her - she was always one of the best-informed of the old women in the village: it was funny how quickly being an old busybody was transformed into being a useful source of intelligence. We hadn't gone 200 metres beyond her house when we were joined by a boy of about 16, complete with rifle. "Can I join you ... Dab, isn't it?" "We need all we can get," I said, "and you are?" "Iain." "Come on then Iain, stick by me." The three of us moved carefully along the road, Iain and I on one side and Billy on the other. We got close to Andrew's croft and saw his body sprawled where he'd been killed. "Bastards," hissed Iain, "I'll kill the fuckers." "Did he live alone?" "Aye, his wife died years back." In the jillies' shoes I'd have gone into the house and made damn sure the only way to get me out was by winning a firefight. Luckily Andrew had been killed at the end of his croft and between there and the house was a barn. The three of us sheltered behind the barn. "If they're in there keeping watch we're dead meat unless we can approach from three different directions, and we can't do that until it starts to get dark. So we're here for five hours. We might as well get in the barn and wait there." The barn wasn't locked, and we were able to get through a gap without opening the door more than a crack - we had to be silent. That was when we found Ralphie. He was unconscious, but still just about breathing. His shirt was bloody. There was no sign of the other two. I knelt beside him and tried to see where he'd been hit, but there was too much blood and I didn't want to risk making him lose any more. "Iain, who is there who can deal with this kind of thing?" "Mrs Rankin. She's a nurse." "Run and get her. Tell her it's a gunshot wound and he's unconscious and has bled a lot. That must have been the shot we heard. Quick." When he'd gone Billy and I squatted down beside Ralphie. I held his hand, but there was no response. It didn't look good. I remembered when Lessing had been peppered at school. Then there had been an ambulance and a hospital; not any more. If he lived long enough for Mrs Rankin to get to him and do what she could it would be touch and go whether an infection would do for him. And where were Jack and Hamish? Did they know he'd been shot? There must have been a good reason for leaving him behind if they'd all been together. Just then another shot ... then a few seconds later several more ... then silence. Billy and I looked at each other. The shots had been very close. I hoped Iain and Mrs Rankin hadn't got to us yet. The barn door was yanked open and Jack threw himself in. "Dab! What are you doing here? Is he OK?" "He's still alive and Mrs Rankin is on the way." Jack laughed. "Only just arrived and you're in charge already. You know about Andrew?" I nodded, "Rose told us." "Bastards shot him in cold blood -he didn't even have a weapon. There's four of them - no, there were four: I got one of them a moment ago." "Where's Hamish?" asked Billy. "Other side of the croft. Not directly opposite in case we shot each other. He's no more than 200 yards from the house. He'll fire if he sees movement, just like I did." "What's the plan?" I asked, "presumably you and Hamish have worked something out." "Just as it's almost dark he'll start firing single shots every minute or so - enough to keep them looking that way to try to see him. He'll be behind the wall firing in the air, so they'll never have a target. Then I creep up and bung one of these in." "Where on earth did you find them?" I hadn't expected to see hand grenades when we set out two hours earlier. Jack grinned. "Lots of ex-military types have offered to equip us peasants up her, Dab. You'd be surprised what we have hidden away. No, I'm just kidding. We bought a dozen of these a few years back from one of the villagers' sons who'd been in the army before ... deciding his people needed defending more than the army needed him - let's put it that way. Now you two are here you'd better have one each. You know how it works, I suppose." There was a noise outside and Jack stiffened. "Iain," I said. He and a woman in her 50s squeezed in. I pointed to Ralphie and she knelt beside him. It took her only a few moments to look up. "He won't last much longer. He's lost a lot of blood and the only way to stop it is pressure. Did none of you think of that?" She got a cloth pad from her bag and pressed it against the wound. "Here, press hard and keep pressing," she said, "you won't do him any harm." I did what she told me while she got some stuff from her bag. "Did any of you see what happened? When was it?" Jack said that it had been a single shot and he had half-carried, half-dragged Ralphie into the barn. "It was about 100 yards, and I'd say half an hour ago. Will he make it?" "Listen," she said softly. "He's lost far too much blood to stand much of a chance. Before everything changed he'd have been all right if we'd been able to get him to a hospital. I'm his best hope and ... look, he's unconscious, he can't feel a thing. Even if we can get him through the next two hours that wound is going to get infected and he'll likely die from that. And if he does he'll die in a lot of pain. Jack, what do you want me to do? Let him die peacefully now, or make him die in agony in a week or two?" Jack didn't hesitate. He bent forward and gently kissed Ralphie. "'Bye Ralphie." He stood up and nodded to Mrs Rankin. She put the bandage back in her bag and got out a hypodermic. Billy and Iain and I had said nothing. Mrs Rankin waited a couple of minutes until there was no pulse. She stood up. "That was the right thing, Jack. It doesn't get any easier though." She turned to me. "You're Dab, aren't you, up at Inverthrum." I nodded. "Well, you should be proud of these men. They've kept us safe here for many a long year, and now poor Ralphie's gone. Will you bury him with Andrew - that would be right?" I smiled sadly. "Why not wait until we know how many more there will be. Jack got one of them just before you and Iain got here and he says there are three more." It was Iain who told me that none of the jillies would get buried, though he didn't explain why not - not then. Mrs Rankin gathered her bag. "Let's hope none of you needs me. Where's Hamish?" "At the other side of the croft making sure they keep their heads down," said Jack. "Will I tell Rose he's OK - she'll be worried?" "Please do," I said, "and would you let her know that we plan to get them out when it gets dark, so she's not to worry if none of us are back for several hours." "Aye, she'll be worried at the shooting," and she went quietly back to the village. Jack said that he would creep round to tell Hamish what had happened. "Tell him there's five of us armed now," I said, "and think about whether that changes your plan." "Stay in here then. There's no point in letting them know that reinforcements have arrived. They can't see anything of what goes on in here." When he had gone Billy and I laid Ralphie's body gently on the ground. His eyes were already closed. "Poor bastard," murmured Billy. "He was going to teach me about the machine guns," said Iain sadly, "he was ... " and he could get no further. I put my arm round him. "It's OK to cry when your friend dies. Is he the first?" Iain nodded, his face buried on my shoulder. I looked over at Billy - he too was in tears. After a few minutes Iain wiped his eyes. "Thanks, Dab. What shall we do now?" "Nothing until Jack gets back. Then he can tell us what he wants - he's in charge, after all." "I like Jack - I like - liked - all of them, Hamish specially. He and Jack ... " He went red. "It's all right, Iain, so are we," said Billy, and he hugged me, "we've loved each other since we were your age." Iain's eyes widened. "And nobody minds?" "Nobody who's important, no," I said, "and we don't care what anybody else thinks. Why? Do you have anyone special?" Iain laughed. "I'm not telling." An inveterate blusher like me could detect the hint of a return of Iain's. I wondered if Ralphie had been instructing him in other, less military, matters. If so, his grief was more understandable. "Tell us what it's been like here. We've not been up for years," I said. "You mean trouble?" I nodded. "There hasn't been any until this. Well, nobody got shot until Andrew. We've had a few men causing trouble - outsiders - but they were driven off and nobody got hurt apart from a few bruises. He chuckled. "The polis gave them what for." "Are there many guns in Lairg?" "Och aye. All the men had shotguns anyway and since I was wee a lot more have appeared. We've got three machine guns - they'll be yours now, I expect." "Why?" "Well, they're up at your house. Jack's had them locked away. `Just in case,' he says." "You said Ralphie was going to teach you to use one - does that mean you want to be part of protecting the village?" "You bet, Dab! Can you teach me?" I shook my head. "I don't know myself, but when Jack teaches Billy and me I'll get him to teach you as well." Iain's eyes shone. I heard Jack say 'it's me' before he came quietly in. "Hamish is gutted about Ralphie." "We all are, Jack, but we all know why," I said. "Yeah, but Hamish loved Ralphie and he wasn't here to hold his hand and whisper good-bye and grieve. When we bury them Hamish must be at Ralphie's head, Dab, it's important." I nodded, and hugged him. Iain watched this strange new man who knew everybody and hugged everybody. Billy saw this and moved to hug the boy. We were a strange quartet, hugging while Ralphie lay dead in front of us. Jack was the first to break apart. "I needed that, Dab." I nodded - we all needed comfort but the jillies still had to be dealt with, and we all knew that the aim was to have three more dead jillies. "The plan stays the same, but instead of just one person firing to distract them we'll now have three. Billy and Iain, I want you to creep round and position yourselves about 50 yards either side of Hamish - he and I have agreed this, so he'll be expecting you. When he starts to fire you, Billy, fire about 20 seconds later and you, Iain, 20 seconds after that. Stick to the same pattern and wait for Hamish to fire first. We want all of the jillies to be at that side of the house trying to see the three people firing at them. Don't let them see you, so there's no need to fire at the house. Let Hamish decide if he wants to change the plan. Three or four minutes after they start you and I Dab, will crawl from the other side. I'll chuck a grenade or two in, and you give me covering fire. You three - once the grenade goes off you can start firing at the windows. If any of them get out, kill them. There aren't going to be any survivors. Questions?" The three of us shook our heads. I could see Iain growing up before my eyes. Jack, my very first rescue waif, was his hero. I wondered where that might lead, but I pushed the thought to the back of my mind. "Well then, we wait. It's now quarter to one. It's going to rain soon so it will start to get dark early. You two will move at ten to three. Hamish is going to start firing when he thinks it's time, probably before half past three. We want it twilight, not completely dark - that way the jillies will be able to see to try to fire back." He looked down at Ralphie. "This is for you, my friend." ***** "Off you go," said Jack, "and wait for Hamish to start things off. All three of you meet Dab and me back in here. Leave the jillies where they are." "Aye," said Iain, "we know about those buggers." When Billy and Iain had gone I asked Jack what was special about the jillies. "You don't know, do you?" he said. "No, should I? There hasn't been any jillies trouble at home, so we're lucky, I suppose. What fid Iain mean?" "We've never had dead jillies either, but the polis, as Iain calls the local cops, told us what happened - or what somebody who knows somebody who saw it says happened - when some jillies were killed further south - Perth, I think. They strung the bodies up from tress and left them to rot, just like hundreds of years ago." "Did it work?" He shrugged. "Who knows? It may never have happened, but everybody believes it, so that's what will happen to these buggers. Primitive, just like everything else these days, Dab. Don't for God's sake try to stop them." "I wouldn't be so daft, Jack. Dead Jillies have no feelings and if rotting corpses make people feel safe why should I be bothered? Iain sounded keen to be involved." "Aye, and it's not surprising. Have you not picked up the signs - it's not like you?" I smiled. "Iain and Ralphie?" "Aye. Nothing more than lustful teenage fun as far as Hamish and I know, but there was a lot of hero worship there. Love - no. Not yet anyway. But you remember what being 16 was like. Dead Ralphie will soon be his ex-lover Ralphie." I smiled again. "You're the one not picking things up now, Jack. That boy can't take his eyes off you. Whether it's your cock or your generalship I can't tell, but I'd guess a big dose of both." "Ah." We were quiet for several minutes digesting what each of us had said. "Come on, " said Jack at last, "time to earn out crust." ***** I had been familiar with Jack's cock for most of his life, but his generalship was new to me. Every aspect of the plan had worked perfectly. The others had fired only six shots when Iain, who had just fired his second, stood up and fired a third straight into a window. The scream was enough to encourage him to risk a third in the same window, hoping perhaps to hit a second jilly going to help the first. "Get down, you idiot!" was yelled loud enough for Jack and me to hear it from 300 years away. "Come on," he hissed, "they're all going to be round that side. We rushed forward as quietly as we could, crouching low. When we got to the side of the building there was a door. "I'll chuck a grenade in the window. As soon as it goes off we both go in and you go straight on while I go upstairs. From the first bang count six seconds then chuck a grenade towards that side. For God's sake keep your eyes tight shut and your ears covered. OK?" I nodded. "Then we burst into where they are and fire hard and fast. They're probably upstairs, but they may not be that bright. If one of them's dead and another one injured the other two won't be at their best." A rich life lived to the full had not prepared me for the terrifying sound of a grenade going off about thirty feet from me. We were crouched low covering out ears but it still made my head ring. "Now!" said Jack. One, two ... the dust was incredible ("just keep running") ... four, five ... grenade in my hand ... six, pin out ... open a door and chuck shut door cover ears another fucking great explosion and another one half a second later above me three shots no sign of anything in my room apart from smoke another two shots OK Dab all clear. The most frightening and the most exhilarating 30 seconds of my life. "Come up - it's safe." As I went up, feeling my way through the smoke, I hear him yell to the others. "All dead, thanks." ***** Jack and I got back to the barn first. We were both breathing hard. "Your first, Dab?" I nodded. "Me too." I was astonished. Little scared Jack, abandoned in an earlier battle by his brother, had turned into a skilled and ruthless leader. The other three came in. Hamish hugged Jack, then me. Billy stood somewhat dazed, but looking pleased. Iain was shining like a bronzed Roman god. He went up to Jack when Hamish released him. If there had been any doubt about cock or generalship there wasn't doubt any longer. That hug was special - you can always tell when the younger person in the hug can't help sobbing. Jack held him still for a long time and gradually the sobs eased. I said softly, "you wept when the man you worshipped was killed, and it's heart-warming to see you weep in the arms of the man you love." Iain nodded - and there was no trace of a blush. Hamish grinned. "You once said something about the water, Dab." I hoped it was the water: the idea that martial exploits might have unlocked Iain's emotions wasn't a comfortable one. "Tomorrow we bury Andrew and Ralphie," I said. "Hamish, is there a gravedigger in Lairg?" He shook his head. "We'll do it," said Hamish, "we'll start at dawn. Give us six hours, Dab." "Iain, will you go round and tell as many people as you can that we'll bury them at 2 o'clock. I expect the whole village will be there." Iain nodded. "We'll deal with the jillies afterwards," said Jack, "the village will want to know about that too." "I'll tell Old Gregor," said Iain. I must have looked surprised, for Iain explained. "The polis - him and young Gregor." The five of us brought Andrew's body into the barn and laid him beside Ralphie. We stood awkwardly for a moment, each of us uncertain what, if anything, to say. I realised it was up to me. "Tomorrow the village will grieve for both of you, but tonight, in private, we honour an innocent old man who had lived here all his life, and someone we all loved in our own way who we will all miss desperately. He died protecting Andrew. They will always be together." Jack's arm went round Iain. Hamish hugged them both. "We're three," I heard him whisper. =============================================================================== The story continues in Chapter 131 as Iain grows up and things get worse. Drop me a line at badboi666@btinternet.com - that is after you've dropped nifty a few quid. ===============================================================================