The Unexpected Has Happened

by Michael Buckley

  David’s group followed the new group of Americans to their camp. They arrived in the camp and no one was there waiting for them. David asked where all their people were. They said it was only the four of them. When Jerry was teaching them how to use the AK 47 David kept is mouth shut. He did not want to go into details, and tell Jerry that he knew the AK 47 well and he has used it to take peoples lives away from them. David fought in Afghanistan and he trained in Panama for jungle warfare, France for French commando training. The truth was David had trained in many combat scenarios and he had killed more than he ever wanted to admit to.

  When assigned to a quick response task force in Kabul, he responded to a call that the local hotel had come under attack. His task force responded with four mrap vehicles with 50mm machine guns mounted on top. The Taliban had attacked the building; they started at the bottom floor working their way to the top. Once they reached the top they would take RPG-7 rocket propelled grenade launchers and PPK machine guns and try to terrorize the city.

  David’s task force assigned the mission to stop them before they reached the top floor. David had no idea why America was back in Afghanistan they left in 2014 and he was back there in 2020 flushing the Taliban out of a hotel. That would be when he decided after serving for ten years in the army he had had enough.

  When his task force entered, the building there was no resistance. They started to clear the rooms on the bottom floor one room at a time. They set up guards to make sure no one could enter the hotel, and the Afghanistan police blocked off all the roads going to and leaving the hotel. They cleared the few civilians out of the rooms and had them leave the hotel. They were accompanied by a squad of Afghani army people, they were there as support to David’s task force and for translators. Everything was going ok until they started clearing the second floor and that is when David’s nightmares began.

  He was clearing a room when he saw an AK 47 rifle’s muffle point out from behind a desk in the room. He opened up with three round bursts from his m-4 rifle killing a small girl who was no more that eight years old. That was three years ago and he still has constant nightmares and there is not a night that goes by that he does not see that little girls face in his dreams. He wakes up to a cold sweat and shivers every night, he cannot shake the nightmare it is always there to haunt his nights. He left the Army as a platoon Sgt, E-7 SFC.

  He has a scar where a 7.62x39 mm round tore part of his thigh away, he has no limp when he walks but at times, he has pain where the bullet tore a chunk of his thigh away. He has a bronze star with a V for valor and a purple heart. The Bronze star was when he rescued a fire team that was pinned down when their Humvee broke down. They came under attack by the Taliban.

  One of the fire team members shot dead and the other three would not live much longer. David saw the Taliban’s location and crashed his Humvee into it killing one of them and then getting out and rushing their location with his m-4 he killed the remaining four people. This allowed for the three remaining members of the fire team to live to see another day. David has not talked to anyone about Afghanistan and he knows one day he will have to, he is not ready for that day to come yet.

  Back at the camp of the group of four people, who leader was Bryant. The men discussed everything that has happened and what would their next plan be. David told Bryant about camp 100 A and asked him if he knew about the people there. He knew some people were in that area but he never went back to check, there was too much happening around his camp. The Chinese had made patrols and they knew some people were out there but they did not find them yet.

  This caused Bryant to keep a low profile. During the attack on the two Chinese at the house they seized two RPG-7 rocket propelled grenade launchers. David wanted Bryant to send two of his people back to camp 100 A in the morning with one RPG-7 and ammo for it, along with four AK-47 rifles and ammo. He wanted the two people to stay at camp 100 A and help out there. Bryant and the other person could go with him, George and Jerry.

  He told Bryant they had to check one of the big areas near a city and get more people if they want to have a chance. They had no chance with five people. They would leave in the morning and head towards the city, with any luck they would find Americans along the way. They would make a gurney with the parachute string and branches they found at the house and use it to carry the extra weapons and ammo they acquired.

  They had enough food and water for a few days, from what they acquired at the house. The four people had some food and water at their camp to add to their supply.

  The following day they parted their ways and David’s group of five now headed towards the first city they would come to. Three hours into their walk they ran into a group of Americans, seven in all. They had two women and five men armed with only one AK-47.

  We set down and took a break so we could talk and pass new information between us. The new group had just escaped from a camp in the city. It’s a four-hour walk from where they were now. Thirty people from their group ran like hell to escape, and twenty-three gunned down.

  David asked their leader Sam how many were at their camp. Sam told him that he had no way of telling. His guess there had to be at least 10,000 maybe more. The camp was huge. A death camp would be a better name for it. “Sam how many people did the Chinese have guarding the camp” David asked. Maybe 500 soldiers or there about Sam said. David knew there was no way in hell they could attack a force that large.

  They would stay away from the camp and use their efforts to neutralize a smaller force of Chinese. With any luck, they would pick up a few more Americans. They needed to set up a camp far enough from the city where they would not be found by the Chinese. They start guerilla warfare tactics. The Chinese were too large to hit head on, so they would antagonize and bust up the soldiers' morale.

  The Chinese had a mix of civilian and military, the civilians trained by the military. He was sure most were ex military, they both used the same tactics while fighting. They were going to have three groups once their attacks would start, two for attacking and one for support. To cover the other two groups if the Chinese moved in on them. Now they needed to find more people and try to set up a camp before they could have small guerilla warfare types of attacks.

  Sam told David the city where they would attack would be Naples, their camp that they escaped was at Golden gate and they would stay away from that area for now. As the talks continued David had everyone lye flat on the ground, they could hear people walking through the woods. The group had three people with bows it appeared they were hunting. They were American and David stood up to get their attention. The three people were men in their twenties. David told them to join in on their talks.

  The men had avoided capture by the Chinese and they used the waterways to avoid capture. They had set up a camp with 100 people and they were out looking for something to help feed their camp. Turns out the Chinese could not be everywhere at one time and they had missed a few areas. The riots in Port Royal during 2019 left the rich area of Naples, a battered community of burnt down houses. In which many houses bulldozed down to the ground. He said, at one time it was a Beautiful area, with multi million dollar homes, now it looked like a graveyard.

  They found four large houses that had a lot of damage from the fires, they fixed them up somewhat and their people were living in the houses. The most desirable area, had now become a hell hole that even the Chinese if they saw it, would turn away thinking no one could live there.

  Sam said what was nice is they found houses that had working generators and they had electric. The Chinese did not send out any patrols to their area so lights during the night did not draw attention. They found an old marina where they left their boats and the owners left once the Chinese came. The underground gas tanks filled, and a backup generator that worked. They had a few cars and trucks they drove around where their houses were, but they could not drive them to the city, to many Chinese doing patrols.

  The main concentration and the military headquarter
s for that area was thirty miles away in Ft Myers. Everything controlled from there. They had set up smaller command centers in Naples, they received all their orders from Ft Myers. If you want to break the camel's back that is the area to hit. David said they first had to hit the smaller areas that would draw attention from the main headquarters in Ft Myers. They would send people to investigate, and when they did, they could ambush them.

  David asked Sam about the camp in Golden Gate, Sam told David there were at least 500 guards and maybe more. They put all the people they captured in that camp. The problem he saw with taking that camp is the high risk they would have of killing Americans who were caught in the crossfire. David wanted to know if Sam could get more people. Sam told him there was a chance to get a few more hundred at best.

  Sam had family who lived in Everglades city. He would put the word out for them to round up 200 people or everyone they could get and to head to Port Royal.

  David knew the waterways did not connect everywhere. It was important for them to have the use of the roads if they were to be successful. They would take one small piece of pie at a time until they had the whole pie. His plan was to run small attacks against the Chinese, force them to commit their task force and quick response units. Once they're sent, they would be ambushed and killed.

  Sam brought everyone in boats to a pickup area where they had vehicles. They could drive and not be spotted by the Chinese in an area the Chinese did not run patrols. Sam went on to say that there weapons supply was short, only one third of the people had weapons. David went on to say that, once they started their attacks they would take the weapons and anything else they needed from the dead Chinese. They would take over grocery stores and department stores from the Chinese along with gas stations.

  David wanted a meeting for tomorrow after all the people arrived from the Everglades. He told Sam to have everyone bring all the weapons and ammo they had to the meeting.

  Morning came and the meetings begin. They had a head count, from Everglades city they brought 250 men who had weapons, some just a knife or a bow, others hunting rifles and some with AK 47s. Everyone owned weapons, but when the Chinese came many had to flee their homes and forced to leave their weapons behind.

  The group from Port Royal, had 100 people, thirty were woman and children. Ten of the men were too old to fight. The count was 60 men and 250 from Everglades City. They had 310 men, plus David’s group. They had 200 rifles and 15 RPG-7 and ammo for everything.

  Priority one David had Jerry take 100 men to camp 100 A. Loaded with weapons and three, RPG-7. The task he had for them was to kill the guards at their old camp and free the 2000 people in the camp. The people once they were free whoever was healthy enough to fight would join their battle to regain Naples and Ft Myers. Sam’s men with boats would bring the people to the wood line where they met Sam in the beginning. Then they would hide the boats and start their journey to camp 100 A the men he would send with the boats would be from the 100 men that Jerry would take with him.

  That left David with a little more than 200 men for his attacks. The Chinese had blocked communications to other states. They had no way of knowing what was happing in other states such as NY, TX and Georgia.

  The plan David had was two parts and with any luck the people with Jerry would rescue the people in their old camp. That way he could use the people in his two-part plan. So for now they would have 150 people head over to golden gate where the main prison camp was located. Bryant would take twenty–five men and David would take twenty-five men that would make up two attack forces. The remaining 100 men would be under Sam’s control to surround the camp and to secure the area in case other troops came for backup of the Prison. Sam was to keep the incoming forces off their backs.

  Fifty rifles used for the two attack forces and that left only forty for Sam’s 100 people. David told Sam after they killed the Chinese, acquire more weapons, that is all they can do. Ten rifles put aside for his second plan in which the remaining fifty people would take the ten rifles and try to take over a grocery store so they would have food back in Port Royal. They would have to kill Chinese to get more weapons.

  The camp in Golden gate surrounded by chain link fence, with concertina wire on the top of the fence. David’s plan was to knock out one of the guard towers with a RPG-7 and wait for the re-action force and then ambush them. Sam’s men would take pop shots through the fence at guards inside the camp to antagonize them. He would also watch for any support troops sent from their headquarters in Ft Myers.

  David and the men were in position he put the RPG on top of his shoulder, made sure no one standing behind him. He aimed for the tower and sent the rocket “HE round” into the tower blowing it to pieces and setting off a huge fireball. Now it was time to wait for the Chinese reaction, Sam’s men were popping the guards off inside the camp one by one. Total chaos ensued inside the camp. Seconds later a task force of ten men drove through the gate. David used the opportunity to kill the two guards at the gate after the two task force vehicles left. He had the two attack forces of twenty-five men enter the camp and shoot the hell out of it, then leave. They were too small to hang around and fight, just a quick attack and leave. Sam’s men cut the task force of Chinese down as soon as they exited their vehicles.

  David’s men and Sam’s were picking up any weapons and ammo from the dead Chinese they could find. They recovered ten weapons from the Chinese task force and another twenty from inside the camp. Two more RPG rocket launchers and ammo from the prison camp, added to their supply.

  Sam’s men had 70 rifles now and they would need everyone of them…When the task force they sent outside was shot up. They sent a company size unit outside of 100 or more men, armed with machine guns and RPG-7’s. David and Sam’s men found the best cover they could find. The next thing that happened was a thunderous sound of machinegun fire going off and RPG’s hitting their targets. David waited for the Chinese to clear the fence and his two attack units opened up on them from the back. Sam positioned his men to the side to avoid crossfire and they lit the Chinese up. Soon they were all cut down and dead.

  Fifteen of Sam’s men were tore to pieces with the RPG’s and machinegun fire. David did not lose any of his people. They gathered all the weapons and ammo and the excess they threw in the back of an SUV from their attack force. There was no time to pick up Sam’s dead they had to leave immediately.

  They headed for the woods. To get as far away from the camp as they could, before re-enforcements came. They had taken 110 AK-47 rifles, ten PPK machineguns and fifteen RPG-7 launchers. And communications equipment, to include radios. They found maps and documents that they took as well.

  They commandeered vehicles to get them to where their boats were waiting. So they could get back to Port Royal. Any Chinese that saw them became dead men. Vehicles were not hard to find, when the Chinese took over many were abandoned on the side of the road. They had a few guys with them who could break into anything and hot wire them to run.

  They will try driving the vehicles and find out soon enough how many Chinese will try to stop them. What surprised everyone was the lack of support for the prison camp, maybe it was just taking time for them to get to the camp. He will leave five armed men to stay behind to see if any support arrives, five hours, he will tell them to head back to Port Royal if there is no activity.

  David is starting to notice something that can mean only one thing, “rebellion! He thinks it’s through out America.” The resistance is more than the Chinese had bargained for, and now they are having a hard time taking care of all the pockets of resistance. It is costing them people, there are not enough Chinese to resupply their prison camps from what David has observed.

  They made it to the boats with no trouble from the Chinese, now they will head back to Port Royal and find out how the second part of his plan panned out with getting food.

  David arrived at Port Royal to find another ten Ak-47 rifles, the other force he sent to get food, had no lost of th
eir people and two SUV trucks full of food. They killed the Chinese ten-man task force in an ambush. And there were no other Chinese who responded. It was a lot easier then they thought it would be.

  David would wait the five hours for his five man team to head back, and give their report before he decided what his next plan would be. His men were hungry and everyone ate well for a change.

  Silence would soon be broken. One of Jerry’s men, came running back, he said they need re-enforcement or everyone would die. The Chinese sent ten trucks of re-enforcements to the prison camp after they found out they were in a camp just outside the prison. The men pinned down, and taking heavy fire. “They need help now! David told the 150 men to get all the vehicles they can find, and load up, we are going to help Jerry. We have to take the road, there is no time to take boats and stay off the main roads. Jerry’s people will be dead before they got there.”

  He told everyone to make sure all the RPG-7 launchers and ammo were loaded up. They had a hell of a fight waiting for them. Jerry’s man said they had started to kill their prisoners in the camp.

  David’s people were on their way and they drove as fast as the vehicles would go. Jerry’s man went with David in the lead vehicles to give directions and to guide him so they did not run smack into the Chinese when they got there.

  Now David knew why no re-enforcements for the Main prison camp. They were all sent to the Camp he escaped from, where Jerry and Scott were now. He will save them all or die trying. They were getting close to the area and Jerry’s man told him they could stop in an area not far from the camp. Make their attack through the woods. It would be a lot safer for everyone.

  David showed the people who would be using the machinegun and RPG how to load and unload and to clear a jam. They made a slow advance through the woods towards the prison camp. He would have his people to shoot so their bullets did not go in to Jerry’s or the prison camp. They did not need to kill their own people. The machineguns would use grazing fire, shoot below the knees, if someone was lying down they would be hit and if they were standing it would knock them to the ground.