“Sir, we’re in and making progress. The people on the other side have slowed down or have given up. I’m not sure, but they went from jackrabbits to turtles. We’re installing the virus now with only token resistance. We will be done in no time.”
“Sergeant, do you have to pee?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Go. You’ve earned it. Everyone takes a turn to the toilet.”
Zhurov had to go as well, but he would wait until everyone else had gone. For the first time since they began the attack, Lt. Zhurov smiled. General Fedin still smiled.
Ten minutes later, the sergeant announced it was done. The UK’s power grid was down and unlikely to come back up any time soon. The men cheered.
Zhurov said, “Shut down, grab your drive, and let’s go home.
Survival is for the Prepared
J ack and company arrived at Paul’s house in the late evening. Same as last week, they would stay the night and head to their homes in the morning. Once again, Nikki was waiting for Robin with a big, warm, welcoming smile.
Robin jumped off her horse and hugged Nikki in a long embrace. She thanked Nikki for her help. Then she hugged Paul and apologized for the loss of a horse. “The horse is a great loss, but who did you lose?” he said.
“We were able to save my son and husband. Pat, my husband’s friend, sacrificed himself to save my husband, Mark.”
He nodded his head and said, “It sounds like he was a good man, it’s a great loss.”
“One of your men was shot in the leg at the same time, Mark the engineer.”
Mark nodded and said he’d be fine. He did require help to get off his horse, however. Jason and Ralph helped him down and got him inside and onto a comfortable chair.
Robin made the introductions for everyone who hadn’t met Mark and Jay yet. Nikki said, “You’re all welcome in my little home. Robin has been a dream guest and a very good student.” She reached out and tussled Jay’s hair and said, “You look like you can chop some wood! That’s a very handy skill.”
Jay gave a half smile and looked at the ground but didn’t say a word. Robin said Jay was shy and he turned red, still speechless.
Mark said, “I don’t know how to thank you all for everything you’ve done for us. Nikki for giving my wife a place to live and the rest of you for rescuing us.”
Paul said, “You can start by telling me everything about the group that held you. But save it for later. We can all get fed and settled in first.”
Mark agreed and said, “It doesn’t matter much anymore, most of the group is dead now, a few got away though.”
Diane added, “The leader is still alive. I just missed him.”
The group went inside and filled Paul in on all the details of the mission. They saved Elbe for last. Nikki stood and asked Robin if she and her family would like a tour of the property. She held out her hand to Robin, indicating it was more than a request. The rest of the conversation was for the main group. Nikki would catch up on the details later.
When they were outside and out of earshot, Paul said, “Ok. What is everyone’s impression of the Elbe gang?”
Jack said, “I think we need to go back and impress upon them the danger coming our way. They’re thinking about today instead of tomorrow and when tomorrow comes, they’ll die.”
Mark said, “Exactly my thoughts. I don’t think they’re entirely bad, just hungry. They need an education.”
“Ok. I’ll get with Eatonville and Morton again. In five days, we’ll show up in overwhelming force and convince them to change their ways, for their own good.”
“One more thing,” Paul said. “I have bad news that came in while you were away.” He paused as everyone took a breath. “The UK was hit hard yesterday. They were hit with radiation and lost their power. Nobody is sure how. Everyone thought they were prepared for such attacks, but both still happened.”
“A lot of our information was coming from the UK, so that source is going to dry up, at least most of it will.”
Jason said, “Did we get any more information on suspects?”
“Nobody could pinpoint the location of the power grid hackers. They were very good at hiding themselves. Nobody was caught deploying whatever they’re using for the radiation attacks. We’re still in the dark.”
∆ ∆ ∆
In the morning they were all fed a hearty breakfast and made their way home. Paul gave Mark a pair of crutches to get around on. He and Larry escorted Mark home via horseback. Robin and her family left with Nikki.
Jack, Diane, and Ralph made it home to see Brandon skinning a deer out front. Basha and Mercedes greeted Jack with paws on belly and tongues flying to face and hands. “Hello girls, I missed you too!”
“That’s a nice buck, Brandon! You must have been up early,” Ralph said.
“Yep. I was up and bored, so I grabbed my bow and took a walk. This big guy damn near walked on top of me.”
“That’s awesome,” Jack said. “You did a great job with the bars too. Nobody is getting through those windows.”
As they were talking, Basha and Mercedes started barking and ran towards the gate. Ralph and Jack followed to see a ranger on horseback. He stopped as the dogs approached.
“It’s ok girls, heel!”
Ralph whispered to Jack, “The deer.”
“No worries, it’s every man for himself now.”
“Hello John, good to see you!”
“Hello Jack, I see you’ve added to your clan again,” John said with a smile.
“Yes, this is my old friend, Ralph. His son, Brandon is here too. Ralph, this is John.”
“Come on up to the cottage, you can see everyone else.”
They moved to the cottage and Jack was right, John said nothing about the deer. John asked to speak with Jack in private and they went inside and sat.
John filled Jack in on the park situation and why the rangers left. “It’s going to get ugly,” John said. “Feel free to hunt the park as you please. But be careful, there are armed campers and they’re claiming – and defending - land.”
“That’s good information to have, thanks John. I’ve got a lot of news for you as well.” Jack filled him in on the UK situation and they talked about the hard winter ahead. “Thousands will die this winter, tens of thousands. Cold and hunger will claim most, people killing each other will take the rest,” Jack said.
He continued, “That’s probably why the terrorists have left us alone the past few months. They’re going to let the winter do a lot of the dirty work. Whatever they have planned for spring or summer, it’s not going to be good.”
“Lingchi,” John said. “Death by a thousand cuts. You said that to me a few months ago.”
“Yes, I remember. I didn’t know it had a name.” Jack smiled despite the serious conversation.
Jack’s eyes widened, and he raised his eyebrows, “I have an idea. It just occurred to me you live in Elbe.” He filled John in on the happenings there. “We were just going to march in and tell them why they need to change their ways. But you can butter them up first. They know you and will trust you.”
“I can do that, Jack. I know most of them are good people and it surprises me a little they’d act that way. When do I expect you?”
“We’ll be there in four days, call it 2 pm. Don’t tell them who is coming, just say ‘friends.’ They may not be too happy to see us at first.”
“That’s understandable,” John said with a smile.
John said his farewells and was on his way home. Jack would send a message to Paul later about the revised plan. In sales, John’s mission would be the pre-sale. He’ll get them warmed up for the high-ticket item.
“Brandon, you’ve done a good job on that deer. Have you ever tanned a hide?” John asked.
“Nope, I haven’t even thought about it.”
“Well, you need to start thinking about it. Summer is almost over and you’re going to need warm clothes. I’ve got a book on it in my offi…your room. Give
it a read, we start your lessons tomorrow.” Jack gave him a wink and went to the shed.
He came back out a minute later with some rope.
“We can hang that guy on the oak tree over there,” Jack pointed to a large oak with a large branch shooting almost straight out. He found a large rock and tied the rope around it, then slung it over the branch. Together, Jack and Brandon got the deer hung.
“Basha, Mercedes…guard.” He pointed to the deer and the dogs took up positions near the hanging carcass. “It’s safe to go inside now. Nothing is getting your prize. I’ll give the girls a break later.”
Jack said, “Have you ever made pemmican, Brandon?”
Brandon smiled and said, “Nope. If you have any more strange questions, the answer is still no. I find them and take them to a butcher.”
“You’ve got a lot to learn, young man, if you want to survive this. Lucky for you, I’m a good teacher.”
∆ ∆ ∆
Ranger John made sure everyone knew to meet at the rest stop for the meetup with his friends. He had his local rangers here to help keep the peace. John didn’t think the Elbe crowd would attack, but he wanted to be sure.
At just before 2 pm, the locals started grumbling. The three groups arrived at the same time, as they planned. John reassured them and asked them to stay quiet and listen to what these people had to say.
Between the three groups, there were about forty armed men and women on horseback. The Elbe locals didn’t have much choice in the matter.
Paul started and said, “Good afternoon, my name is Paul Peterson and I know you aren’t happy with us and you can leave if you want. But I hope you stay and listen to our message. We’re here to help you. I want you to hear these words first: if you leave now, you will die this winter.”
His words had the desired affect, the crowd quieted down. He had their attention.
“What you’ve been doing at the bridge is useless and dangerous. You’ll never get enough food to feed yourselves over the winter. Worse, you’re going to waylay the wrong person, or people, and get yourselves killed.”
“I’ve got news for you, we’re on our own now. The power isn’t coming on anytime soon. Nobody is stocking the grocery stores. I know you haven’t heard, but the UK was attacked last week. You need to be thinking long-term or you’re going to die.”
“Wasting your time on the bridge is stupid. Instead of the days you spent grabbing tokens of food, you could have been out hunting and fishing. You could have been getting your homes ready for winter. You’ve lost a lot of time, but it’s not too late.”
“The people you see with me today are just a small fraction of our numbers. We’re everywhere and we’re all connected. We want to help people survive and if that means taking out a few troublemakers, so be it.”
“You all have a choice today and I implore you to choose wisely. You can accept our help and live through the winter, or you can try to make it on your own and die. If you continue to harass and steal from travelers, we will be back and stop you permanently. So, who’s with us?”
As Paul expected and hoped, every hand in the crowd was raised. “Good,” he said. “Now I’ll let my number two take over. You’ve met.”
Jack pulled his horse up to the front and said, “Hello again. I’m glad you made the right choice. I’m Jack and I’ll be your point of contact. But you can go through Ranger John to get to me. The first thing you all need to be worried about is food. I want everyone who can hunt and fish to join my friend Jason at the gas station. You’ll be hunting and fishing for everyone. If you don’t all pull together, you aren’t going to make it.” A few people started for the gas station. “Not yet, hear me out.”
“Ok, if you’re a carpenter or can build things, meet my friend Mark at Scaleburgers. He’s an engineer and will help you prepare your homes for the cold.”
“Green thumbs, I’d like you to meet Brett. You’ve got one shot at a late-season crop and he’s going to help you make it happen. Everyone left over, congratulations. You’re the labor force.”
“Everyone who pitches in will get food and have their homes prepared. If you slack off, you get nothing. Survival is for the prepared. If you aren’t working, you aren’t preparing.”
“Ok, that’s enough talking for me. Everybody get to your locations. Laborers get with Mark. Most of the work will be building.”
As people started moving, Jack saw the two kids who couldn’t stay out of trouble. They were going to the gas station with the hunters. He called them over to him. “What’s your names?”
“I’m Brad and that’s Jason.”
“Ok Brad and Jason. You two are my project. I told you you’d need a mentor and I think I have the perfect man for the job, if he’s willing. You already know him, Ranger John.”
The ranger smiled and said, “I’d be more than happy to take these men under my wing.”
“Very good,” Jack said. “I told them at our last meeting they were to remain unarmed until they proved themselves. So I’m sure they were joining Jason to hear about fishing. Right boys?”
They nodded with wide eyes and said, “Yes sir!” in unison.
“Good. John will decide when you can be trusted with firearms again. Until then, you’ve got a river and lake to fish from. I’m sure you’ll be able to use a boat. Get with Jason on that. Go!”
The boys ran off, happy to be out from under Diane’s gaze. She eyeballed them the entire time but didn’t say a word. Now that it was just John, Jack, and Diane in the immediate vicinity, John asked, “What did Paul mean ‘we’re everywhere?’”
“I guess the cat’s out of the bag, so I’ll let you both know a little more.”
John looked surprised and looked at Diane, “You didn’t know?”
“Nope. Nothing except meetings with his little group.” She looked at Jack from the corner of her eyes and with a sly grin.
“Ok,” Jack said. “Our group is a bunch of small groups. Ours in Ashford, you know. Morton, Eatonville, Packwood…those are just our local community. ‘Everywhere’ means statewide, nationwide, and international. We’ve got groups in Canada and the UK.”
“We’re all preppers and survivalists. I guess we’re all survivalists now. We’ve got people from all walks of life and as Paul said, we’re all connected. Satellites are still operating, and we use them to communicate. Let’s move across the street, shall we?”
Jack wanted to be sure they were away from prying ears.
Diane said, “So all this time you’ve been talking to people all over the world?”
“Not exactly. Paul does most of the talking outside our local group. We all have our expertise to help out. I helped code our communications, for instance. Paul is the money man, he takes care of logistics – like the horses. You know Mark the engineer, Jason the hunter. Nikki is Intelligence, etc.”
John said, “Wow. That’s a lot to take in. So besides preparing for emergencies, what do you do?”
Jack laughed and said, “All in good time, John. First things first. I talked to Paul and we’d like to recruit you. You’d be our man in Elbe, since there isn’t a formal group here. You being deputized now, that would be a help to our cause.”
Diane shot Jack a look. He knew that look. She wasn’t happy and he knew why.
“Don’t you worry, young lady. You’re in too, if that’s what you’d like.”
Her eyes sparkled and she grinned, “It’s about time, Jack…ass!”
John laughed and said, “I’d be honored. Do I get a secret decoder ring?”
“Jeez, everyone’s a comedian all of a sudden.” Jack laughed too.
The trio looked over at the gathering and John asked in a somber tone, “Do you think they’ll make it?”
Jack looked from group to group, “I think most will. Some people are going to try and slack off on the work, it’s inevitable. They won’t make it, unless they figure out how to survive on their own. But we’ll help all we can.”
∆ ∆ ∆
<
br /> After a long day in Elbe, Jack and Diane just wanted to get home and relax. They jumped off their horses in Ashford and walked home instead of going to Paul’s. Jason and Brett took care of the riderless horses.
Diane asked Jack, “Do you really think winter is going to be all that bad?”
He nodded his head and looked to the sky like he could see the snow falling already. “Worse,” was all he said. They walked in silence, each lost in thought. Jack thought about his own preparations, Diane thought how lucky she was to have Jack.
As they got to the cottage, the door opened and two dogs shot out to greet Jack and Diane. They returned the greeting with pets and hugs. Ralph asked, “How’d it go in Elbe?”
Aftermath of Disaster: Book 3 Summer's End Page 7
