By the Dawn's Early Light

by David Kershner

  The uniform took her aback, but she replied, “Yeah, that’s Mr. Bloom. He’s supposed to be here, but I have no idea why he’s wearing that outfit though.”

  Gregg pulled the beat up farm truck into the drive and shut off the engine. Sam was the first one out of the vehicle.

  “I had no idea you were in the service. Neatly pressed, boards in the right place, and Chief Petty Officer to boot too,” she said as she approached.

  He didn’t return her gaze. He looked ashen and slowly sat down on the front step.

  “Carlton?! What is it? Where’s Aunt Jenny?” Samantha asked mortified.

  He didn’t answer.

  After receiving no response from her aunt’s caregiver, Sam bypassed him on the porch and flew into the house calling her name.

  “Aunt Jenny!” she screamed as she searched room after room.

  “She didn’t make it,” he said in an almost imperceptible whisper.

  “Oh no!” Emily gasped as she covered her mouth.

  Gregg and his wife took in the man’s demoralized state for a few moments before Em asked compassionately, “What happened?”

  “I had just finished pressing my uniform and the house went dark. I saw the lights in the sky this morning. I knew what it was, but I didn’t want to believe it. I promised Miss Jenny I’d let her see me in my uniform on the anniversary of her late husband’s passing. He was Navy too. I do it every year. I finished getting dressed with a flashlight and got in the car, but it didn’t start, nobody’s would. All of the porch lights, street lights... everything was out. The whole town was pitch-black in the blink of an eye.”

  “So how did you get here?” Gregg asked.

  “Had to walk. Wasn’t anything else I could do,” the man replied. “By the time I made it halfway I remembered Miss Jenny’s medical file. She had a pacemaker put in a few years back. Her heart wasn’t strong enough.”

  Samantha exited the house with tears streaming down her face.

  Emily ascended the front steps and wrapped her in a comforting embrace. “I’m so sorry, Sam.”

  Gregg gave the three a few minutes to at least try and reconcile themselves with their new reality before attempting to coerce his wife back in the truck. We need move this show along, he thought. Man, that was inconsiderate. He didn’t know what else to do or say, so he just waited patiently.

  “Miss Jenny was the sweetest lady I ever knew,” Carlton stated without prompting. Then he stood up and replaced Emily in the consoling. “Sam, I’m so sorry. There’s wasn’t anything that could be done.”

  “She went peacefully, right?” she replied. “I mean, this was because of her heart wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I doubt she even woke up. If she did, it was quick.”

  Sam released herself from Carlton’s hug and wiped her tears. “You guys should go. It’ll take me a few minutes to collect myself. If Carlton doesn’t have any place to be, he can help me.”

  “Chief?” Gregg asked trying to seek confirmation.

  “It’s alright. I don’t have a wife and kids waiting at home. I’ll give her a hand,” he responded. “Where are ya’ll going, if you don’t mind my asking.”

  “We’re getting the hell out of Dodge is where we are headed,” Emily’s husband answered flatly.

  Carlton looked longingly at the three as if desperate to tag along. He knew what was coming, whether he wanted to admit the full breadth of it right then and there or not.

  Gregg surveyed the women’s faces. There didn’t appear to be any dissent. “Do you have a skillset we can use?”

  “I was a Corpsman for a little over a decade. Will that help?”

  “Hell yeah it will!” he answered enthusiastically.

  His wife immediately shot him the look of temperance. The one she often flashed when he was being inconsiderate.

  Recognizing her disapproving glare, he changed his tact to a more subdued, “I mean, yes, we could probably use that experience. Emily and I will go get her parents. We should be back by sundown. While we’re gone, and Sam I’m sorry for having to say it like this, but go through the whole place top to bottom, out buildings too. Find any boxes, bins, and containers to put the food and anything else in. When we leave tomorrow morning, I don’t think we’ll be headed this way again. Once we return, I’ll unload those three then take Carlton to his place for whatever he needs. Come on, Em.”

  As Gregg made his way toward Juan’s truck, he added as an afterthought, “Oh, and make sure there is room to park this thing in the garage. Once we load and pack it, I don’t want to leave it in the driveway with all of their belongings in it if we don’t have to.”

  Gregg then turned to address Carlton specifically, “How far do you live from here?”

  “Couple miles,” he responded.

  “Do you have much in the way of gear you need to bring?”

  “Nah, maybe a few bags of what not.”

  “Okay, good. Once I drop of those three, be ready to go. Come on Em, Let’s go get your parents.”

  * * *

  Emily’s mother, Sonja, could barely believe her eyes when she glanced through the kitchen window. Before her she saw her daughter and her daughter’s husband coming up the front walk hand in hand.

  “My Lord! Emmitt, wake up! Emily and Gregg are here!”

  Without the use of his car, electricity, or his phone, Emmitt Calhoun’s original intent was to start reading one of the hundreds of books he had bought and set aside, swearing he was going to read it when he purchased it. He’d only made in through the first couples of chapters before he slid gracefully into his second favorite hobby, napping.

  “How did they get here?” he managed to ask groggily, but still sound somewhat enthusiastic.

  Emmitt exited the darkened family room to see his wife wrapped in the loving embrace of their daughter.

  As he approached, his son-in-law stepped forward and offered a handshake, “How are you, Mr. Calhoun?”

  “Cut the crap, son,” the man thundered angrily. “What the hell do you think you’re doing stepping foot in my house!”

  Gregg slowly retracted his hand and took a step back not knowing if his father-in-law was joking or if he was truly angry enough to try and take a swing at him.

  Emily quickly left her mother’s arms and stepped in front of her father. “He came of his own accord to get you two out of here before all of these people start coming unhinged!” his daughter retorted. “Gregg has apologized to me for his repeated lies and I’m the only one he needed to apologize to.”

  “Em, I –,” Emmitt started to say before she cut him off.

  “Daddy, momma, I love you, and I’m telling you this with all of the love in my heart. We have exactly two hours to pack up anything you feel is of value and get it in that truck. There are sixty thousand people in this city and as soon as they figure out that the power isn’t coming back on and that there’s no rule of law, quiet college professors and pacifist lawyers are going to wind up dead in the street.”

  “How could you possibly know that, sweetie,” her mother asked resolutely, but calmly.

  “Because I told the terrorists how to do it, Mrs. Calhoun,” Gregg answered. Then he turned to his father-in-law. “Sir, I understand that she told you I don’t owe you an apology, but if it’s all the same, I am sorry for not having trusted your daughter about my job description in the Army. Believe me when I say that she is telling you the truth now. We need to get the two of you loaded and back to a safe house on the outskirts of town by sundown.”

  “This is absurd!” her father thundered. “I’ve known these people forty years! Why wouldn’t Springfield be as good as any other place?”

  “Sir, if I may. You’re a defense lawyer. I imagine you got some clients off of some pretty serious charges over the years. Murder, rape, burglary, attempted this or that, right?”

  Emmitt contemplated the comment, but eventually nodded his agreement to the statement.

  “None of those people are
in jail because of your efforts. Now look at those same defendants in a world where there is no law, courts, judges, or police. What do you think they’d do in that scenario?”

  He was dumbfounded. It took him more than several seconds to even process.

  “I... I just –,”

  Gregg had had enough and wasn’t going to debate the matter. He cut the man to the quick and said, “Sir, let me put it another way. If the two of you don’t move your collective asses with some real purpose, I’m going to leave you here. And let me be even more frank. If I do leave you here, in a couple of days, after you’ve been bludgeoned half to death and watched your wife get gang raped right in front of you by one of your former clients, your last thought will be that you should have listened to your daughter and son-in-law.”

  “We’ve spent over forty years in this house. We can’t possibly fit it all in that truck,” Sonja said a little agitated after hearing Gregg’s prediction.

  “We’re gonna pack five outfits for each season. Gardening clothes only for you, Momma. Daddy, while we’re upstairs packing, you need to grab all of your hunting gear,” Emily answered. She turned back to her mother and continued, “You get two suitcases a piece, that’s it. Forget about things like your hairdryer and curling iron. Anything you have to plug in isn’t coming.”

  Em was really on a roll now and quickly switched to her husband. “Gregg, after his hunting closet is emptied, you boys need to go and empty the wall safe of any documents, jewelry, and hard currency. And don’t let him lie to you either. I know he has little silver bars stashed all over this house, not just in the study. Daddy, in the meantime give him the combination to the gun locker down in the basement. Anything of value needs to be loaded. We’ll meet in the kitchen in one hour to review.”

  Her father was standing there blankly staring at the wall. He couldn’t move. This was all just too much for him to try and process all at once.

  “Emmitt!” Emily barked at him.

  “Huh? What?” he answered snapping out of his catatonic state.

  “The faster you come to grips with the fact that the electricity isn’t coming back, the sooner we’re outta here.”

  When he still didn’t seem to be fully with it, she went to his go-to weakness. “All of your bank accounts have a zero balance. I’m sorry, but that’s the way of it. Grab the stuff that can be used, easily repaired, or traded in order to survive without power. Now move it! We don’t have a lot of time!”

  “Heirlooms… picture albums,” he stammered.

  Emily sighed deeply and made a show of hanging her head. To her surprise, Gregg offered a compromise.

  “How about we empty that old steamer trunk in the guest bedroom? Keep only the warmest blankets in there and use them as packing material. Wrap some of your more precious memories in those. Fair?”

  After a moment of contemplation, Sonja replied, “I guess that’ll have to do. Emmitt, get to work, dear.”

  Chapter 6

  The three vehicle convoy went through the concrete chicane without difficulty and approached the manned guardhouse. Josh and Sarkes quickly changes seats while the man casually began to visually inspect the undercarriage and the truck.

  The Defense Supply Center of Columbus (DSCC) was one of three inventory control points for the United States Defense Logistics Agency. In short, if service men and women were being deployed, the Center was the place that was going to ship equipment. It didn’t matter if it was as large as the Armored Brigade Combat Teams or a unit as small as Gregg’s former Special Operation team, if someone needed gear; it was being funneled through an Agency operation. During WWII, DSCC became the largest military installation in the world. By the end of the war, it was housing munitions and making considerable contributions to the war effort due to its proximity to three major rail lines. It wasn’t advertised, but it also eventually housed German POW’s.

  Without looking up at the driver, the guard raised his hand and said, “Manifest, please.”

  Sarkes looked down at the man and handed him his phone.

  The former President had been blissfully unaware until that morning that his personal cell had been swapped out by Secret Service. The one he handed out the window was a replica with some distinct advantages. Least of which was the fact that it was hardened and connected to a secure high altitude orbit military communications satellite.

  The guard stared at it and then looked up at Sarkes.

  “What the hell is –,” the Corporal started to say and then stopped himself when he recognized the driver smiling back at him. The man immediately went to attention, shifted the cell to his left hand, and saluted. “Sorry, Mr. President. We weren’t notified to expect VIP’s.”

  Having some fun with the role, Sarkes replied, “I’m on ‘black op’. This never happened and I was never here.”

  “Sir?” he asked questioningly.

  Unseen by the man’s distracted gaze at the President, Capt. Rayna and Lieutenant Stokes approached quickly from the right.

  “Stand at ease, Corporal,” Hoplite barked as he neared. “We don’t have a manifest,” he said in a normal voice after he shocked him with the command. “However, what we do have is a direct line to the SecDef and ‘Gardener’,” the Captain continued and referenced the President by his Secret Service codename. “As you can see, we have ‘Ironside’ with us. So, either take that at face value or call the current POTUS. You decide, but make it quick ‘cause we are in a bit of a hurry.”

  The guard looked at the Captain and Lieutenant bars on their covers and then up at Sarkes. His decision was made for him when an ancient Willy’s Jeep approached at speed. Two civilians hopped out and walked directly toward the security structure.

  “That’ll be all. Thank you, Corporal. You must be Stokes and Rayna. We’ve been expecting you.”

  The man entered the guardhouse and quietly shut the door. Still not believing what he was seeing, he decided to sneak a peek out from behind the closed miniblinds. The guard quickly stopped his prying when Lieutenant Stokes withdrew his sidearm and pointed it at the window.

  Josh moved back into the driver seat and the three vehicles followed the Jeep to a remote warehouse not associated with the rest of the main buildings. The passenger got out, unlocked, and raised a large door. Once open, he motioned for the lead vehicle to drive inside.

  As he neared the civilian, the man said, “Pull up to the red line.”

  Once the third vehicle was beyond the opening, the Willy’s entered and the two pulled the overhead down. By the time the men made their way down to the trucks, all of the passengers from the deuces were standing there waiting for them.

  Underneath the filtered lighting working its way in from the skylights above, the driver of the Jeep addressed them collectively.

  “Okay, gentlemen. What are we into? I received a very frantic phone call from the SecDef telling me to give you whatever you need. And if I’m not mistaken, I’m sure I heard the President screaming at people in the background.”

  “What have you got that works?” Lt. Stokes asked. “Oh, and thanks for the trucks you guys sent to Rickenbacker. I really appreciated it.”

  “I’m still waiting for those to be returned, Lieutenant.”

  “Well, one of ‘em is a burned out twenty ton paperweight and the others won’t start. The bridging equipment works though.”

  “Seriously, you blew up my truck? Whadidcha do, use it for target practice?” the man said incredulously.

  “Actually, a terrorist detonated himself with a suicide vest underneath it. Damn near killed a half dozen men,” Rayna quickly answered. “They’re in a burn unit right now and probably won’t make it because of this morning’s festivities.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” the man stated and paused. “What can we do for you?”

  “Well, that depends on what the SecDef had to say?” Josh asked.

  The DSCC administrator gave a wry smile and answered, “I believe I am quoting him accurately, ‘I
f it starts and they have a driver and need it, they take it. If it fires and you’ve got ammo for it, it’s theirs. Anything else they need, give it to them’.”

  “Excellent. These guys each have their own wish lists, but I’m curious as to whether or not you have some eight inch howitzer shells? High explosive (HE), rocket assist, or anti-personnel, whatever’s laying around” Josh stated.

  “Where’d you get a Howitzer!” Hoplite interjected surprised at the request.

  Smiling, he answered. “Motts Military Museum in south Columbus has an 203mm M110A2 self-propelled howitzer. That’s a Vietnam era weapon so it’ll probably still work after this morning. Our Sheriff trained on it before they decommissioned the hardware. If they have some shells, we can set that thing up twenty miles away and fire at will. They’ll never know what hit them.”

  “Sounds like you boys are about to step in it pretty good, but you have a problem,” the man stated. “The young Lieutenant here just said that the M1070 HET’s (Heavy Equipment Transporters) we sent to Rickenbacker were toast. You’ll have to either swap out all of the electronics to get one running or you’ll have to drive the M110 wherever you need it under its own power. We don’t have anything here that works that can pull it. It’s a twenty eight ton piece of hardware, son, and that deuce has a rated towing capacity of about five tons.”

  “We’ve got the fuel and we can move it at will if necessary. The question is, do you have the shells? Oh, and we’ll take replacement electronics for the HET’s, just in case,” Josh replied with a smile.

  * * *

  Darkness was starting to creep its way into the mountains of West Virginia when Dallas came around the bend and saw the eighteen-wheeler on the side of the road.

  “Might as well see if he needs a lift too,” Brent said.

  The trio had attempted to ‘ride the rails’ to Wytheville, Virginia on the patchwork of railroad lines, but they were seemingly thwarted everywhere they turned. The EMP had stopped the diesel locomotives all up and down the eastern seaboard. The narrow rail network cutting its way through the Appalachian Mountains wasn’t an enviable place to make a U-turn.