Six Feet From Hell: Unity: 6FFH Book #5 by Joseph Coley Read Free Book Online Page B

military days, one that was yelled when an NCO walked into the room, or when a group of soldiers got a little out of hand with their mouths.
    Joe continued on the table, as the citizens looked on silenced. “Captain White is not of your concern. I’m the one that took him in, and I will be the one to look after him. I’m going to take him out on a couple missions. If he does well, then I will keep him, if not then we will have him executed. It’s as simple as that. I want to make outposts in Richlands and Bluefield if we have more unwanted guests, and I want to get the folks from Hazard.”
    “We didn’t have many unwanted guests until ya’ll showed up! We minded our own business and kept the Mountain Men and the Snake Handlers outta here by our damn selves. Not that we ain’t grateful for the rifles and whatnot, but it seems trouble is followin’ you boys around quite a bit.” Another voice from the crowd rose above the others. The man had the gall to question the motives of Joe and his team, all the while grasping the M4 that Joe had brought to him.
    Joe pointed a finger and started to respond when he realized that he had no idea who the Mountain Men or the Snake Handlers were. He had an idea, but was afraid to voice it now. The Snake Handlers were most likely the followers of the Church of God With Signs Following, a sect in the area that was notorious for handling venomous snakes and drinking strychnine. They believed that if your faith were strong enough then the poison from the bite or other source would not harm you. There had been many members of the church that had died of snakebites and other poisonings. In the days when the law meant something, it was perfectly legal in the state of West Virginia.
    The “Mountain Men” as near as Joe could tell would most likely be some of the infamous Wrong Turn types that had been so stereotypical years ago. The film had been a horror movie that turned the typecast West Virginian into the starved, crazy, inbred cannibal. Not that there wasn’t some of the crazy inbred hicks in the backwoods and mountains of West Virginia, from what Joe had seen. God knows there was some basis to the stereotype.
    The people were obviously more concerned with the immediate threat as opposed to the possible threat. There was still no indication that Wyatt was going to make a run on Tazewell, but there would be no way to convince the populace of the danger of him attacking. Thinking quickly, Joe came up with a scheme to take care of both of his problems.
    “The Mountain Men and the Snake Handlers are a big part of why I want to make these outposts. If we have a few people on either end of the county, it’ll give us a heads up on anything that might be coming our way. I’d love to extend the wall out here in town as well. The big issue is that we don’t have enough people for what I have planned. I’m not asking for any of you to do this, but if you would like to help then you are more than welcome to.
    “I want to go get our friends in Hazard and I want them to come here to help, not to hinder. I would like them to make this place more secure as well. I want to make a more stable life than we already have. We should never settle for just living right now, we need to succeed as well. We need food, water, safety and shelter. Everything we do after that should be to increase our quality of living.” Joe raised his arms to the people and gave them what they wanted.
    “Because this is our town and I’ll be damned if anyone is gonna take it from us!”
    An uneasy stillness greeted Joe as he fired off his last line. Great, he thought, now I’m a politician, lying to get what I want. “If you want to continue your current jobs, then, please do so. If you would like to volunteer for missions outside the wall, speak with Larry or myself. If you would like to be trained in some of the combat operations, let me know as well. We will be teaching house clearing, explosives, communications,