Minus America (Book 3): Rebel Cause

by Isherwood, E. E.

  “Guys? Where are you?” she asked, turning on her little wrist light.

  “Over here,” Peter replied from not far away. “We can’t see anything.”

  Her small flashlight helped her pick a way through the debris on the floor of the abandoned building, but she turned if off when they met up. “I know. Let’s stay here until we know what’s going on.”

  “Where are the dogs?” Audrey asked with concern.

  She sighed with disappointment. “I couldn’t get them to come down from the roof. They’re running around in circles.”

  “Maybe they’re scared,” Audrey added. “We should go get them.”

  “No,” she said sternly, “we have to stay here. If those things find us, it’s all over.”

  A metallic clang resonated from the far side of the warehouse floor, like someone had taken a big sheet of aluminum and pushed it over. After the noise settled, the distinctive fan-blade sound came from the enclosed airspace above them. She reached over and found the shoulders of the teens and guided them down. “Stay low,” she whispered. A second later, the drone turned on a small red laser light that swept back and forth across the room.

  Tabby looked up the steps to the dim light coming through the doorway thirty feet above. There were drones on the roof and drones inside. If they were going to escape, it had to be by getting outside the warehouse, or below it.

  “Look for a sewer lid,” she suggested. They’d used the same method to escape from the buildings in Chicago, so she hoped their luck would hold with a second escape. It bummed her out to leave the dogs, but they still hadn’t come down the steps. In fact, as she looked back up, the barking became noticeable.

  What are you crazy dogs doing up there?

  A second ripping noise came from across the warehouse, and a car-sized hole opened in the wall, as if a section had been torn out. The airborne drone remained in the rafters above them, but two of the horse-drones appeared in the new gap. They had red lights too, and the beams seemed to be part of their search mechanism.

  “Come on, crawl this way,” she advised. There were no obvious sewer lids by the steps, but she was forced to turn on the flashlight when they got away from the stairway. She used her T-shirt fabric to block most of the beam, leaving only enough to see the floor ahead. It seemed like she was playing it safe, but she’d not even gone ten feet when the red beam appeared on the hand holding the light.

  A female computer voice spoke from above. “Warning: This area is off limits by order of the Illinois State Police. Please confirm name and social security number to improve chance of rescue.”

  Her stomach turned to iron. “Back,” she hissed anxiously at the two teens behind her. They turned around in half a second, but the light split into three beams, one for each of them.

  The drone spoke again. Its voice wasn’t encouraging. “Warning: Avoidance is not advised. Your safety is our primary concern. Please stand by for security intercept.”

  The clops of the horse feet echoed from several places inside the dark warehouse. She believed the sounds kept getting closer, but it wasn’t until one of them turned on a spotlight that she realized where it was.

  “Ow!” she cried out. The source of the light was almost in her face.

  “Security inquiry: Please state your name and social security number. This is a non-human restricted zone.”

  “Non-human?” she replied.

  “Correct. Human inhabitants are confined to local headquarters. This area is off limits. The penalty for repeated noncompliance is termination.”

  “That’s harsh,” Peter jibed. He had his shotgun at the ready, as if looking for the proper target. However, the horse-machines had guns bigger than anything short of a tank. Vinny and Gus hadn’t been able to fight off one horse. Now, there were two. Their shotguns would be useless against them.

  More lights came on as the two horse-robots closed the distance. The big canons weren’t exposed on top of their framework, but she knew they were there. It was enough to keep her from doing what she really wanted, which was running like hell.

  A drone floated about ten feet above the scene, providing a small cone of natural light. “New directive: Please state the nature of your presence here inside this facility. How did you survive the National Reboot?”

  “National Reboot?” she asked.

  “Affirmative. This area was inside the reboot footprint. Please explain how you avoided detection and termination.”

  Peter laughed. “Yeah, because we want to help you improve your operation. If you expect us to answer that honestly, you’re pretty stupid.”

  One of the horses pushed up against her arm, seemingly wanting her to go somewhere. The floating machine offered a clue. “Advisory: Please stand against wall for positive identification.”

  As they walked the short way, mechanical squeaks and shuffles came from the framework of the robot horses. Though they were behind her, she figured out the sounds were caused when the chain guns came out of their backs. When she got up against the wall, the two robots had their guns at the ready.

  “We want to talk to our parents!” Audrey shouted in outrage. “You can’t do this to us!”

  Peter looked at Audrey and caught on. “Yeah, we’re just kids. You can’t hurt us. It’s against Geneva’s convention, or whatever it’s called. That thing about war. We learned about it in school. Look it up, assholes!”

  “Warning. By order of the Governor of Zone 21, you have been found guilty of trespassing, property destruction, security interference, impersonating new citizens, and willfully avoiding the National Reboot. How do you plead?”

  Tabby stood up straight, ready to go for her pistol. “If you mean we willfully avoided getting killed, then we’re guilty as charged. Who wouldn’t—”

  The machine cut in, “Sentence will be delivered immediately.”

  Both horse-drones braced their feet.

  She knew what came next…

  CHAPTER 20

  Minot Air Force Base, ND

  “What are all those aircraft?” Emily whispered from close by. The four of them had snuck across a field, so they could scout what they were facing at the base. The dark gave them cover, but he worried about infrared sensors. However, if they were able to drive a car across the lonely state without being spotted, he thought they simply weren’t looking for strangers.

  “They sure make it easy to see them, don’t they?” he replied. “It’s like they don’t even know a war’s going on.” The long runway was designed for the heaviest and biggest aircraft in the United States’ arsenal. He guessed it was every bit of three miles long. In a wartime scenario, the base would have all its lights off and the valuable aircraft would be spread out or stowed away in hangars. The neat rows of fighter jets suggested it wasn’t a fluke they weren’t detected. Whoever was running the base apparently had no fear of being attacked.

  Meechum slid over to him. “I count fifty jets, twenty of the big transports, and at least seventy-five private jets. There’s likely more in the hangars, but the doors are closed.”

  He privately thought of how much damage he could inflict if he could steal a fully-loaded fighter. It would only take one strafing run along the row of parked planes to destroy a good part of the air fleet. The Imperial Japanese Navy did the same thing to the USA back at Pearl Harbor. It was almost a textbook example of what not to do. He was wary about underestimating a military opponent, no matter how inept they seemed at face value, so he continued his observations.

  “And you should know,” Meechum continued, “most of those planes aren’t ours.”

  At first, he thought his eyes had played a trick on him, or Meechum was wrong. The Air Force C-5 Galaxies were right in front of him, obvious to all. However, as he looked behind the first of the four-engine transport jets, there were similar cargo haulers from other nations. A big Antonov Condor sat in the line, as did a Chinese Y-20 Chubby Girl. Twenty of the largest transport aircraft in the world were lined up as one juic
y honeypot.

  “You’re right. Many of the heavies are from other nations. The fighters aren’t all ours, either,” he added. “I recognize the Russian and Chinese airframes, but there’re some on the end I’ve never seen before.” He reflected on what it all meant. Were they there to protect the nuclear arsenal of the United States, or were they there to capture it? If the call had gone out asking other countries to help, any of the planes could have flown over the North Pole and landed in North Dakota within twenty-four hours of the attack. Why they were Russian and Chinese, rather than allies like Great Britain or Germany, he couldn’t say.

  “What the hell are those?” Kyla pointed to smaller objects moving at the edge of the airstrip, a bit outside the ambiance provided by the powerful spotlights on the tarmac. They were on the near side of the pavement, walking in the tall, reedy grass.

  Ted watched for a full minute, content to study the new threat before making a call about what to do. The problem was, he wasn’t sure what they were. At first glance, they looked like a couple of people walking in the grass while holding a mailbox high over their heads, post and all.

  “They look like giraffes, don’t they?” Kyla finally asked.

  “Yes!” he said excitedly, but also at a whisper. The giraffes loped through the grass with about a hundred yards between the two. As they kept watching, a third appeared another hundred yards behind. “Whatever they are, they’re walking in a loop around the runway.”

  “Guards?” Emily asked.

  “Sentries,” Meechum added. “And that’s not all. Look over there.” She led Ted’s eyes to a distant section of the airport, next to one of the giant hangars. There was a large space between the cargo planes and the next row of fighter jets, which allowed him to see the lighted area behind them. Four military tanks sat in a perfect line.

  He sighed, still unsure what was going on. Were they the good guys or the bad guys? Ted wasn’t up to snuff on every tank in the world, but he figured the Marine ground-pounder would know. “Can you make out who those tanks belong to?”

  She squinted as if trying hard to make the ID, but she gave up and glanced over at him. “I want to say they’re M1s, but they have some sort of mesh camo on their upper hulls. If they’re American, they’re configured in a new way.”

  He chewed on his lip, working out what to do next. They couldn’t go forward, that was obvious, but they needed to get inside.

  “Meechum, can you tell me which building we need for the computer coding we’re going to do?”

  She studied the base for a few seconds. “Not from here, but I’m sure once we get in, I’ll recognize it.” She hesitated before going on. “If we get separated, or I don’t make it, the building is labeled as Maintenance and Parts.”

  Kyla scooted closer to him. “Uncle Ted, do you think this is a good idea? Just the four of us against an army?”

  What could he do? The President of the United States needed to disarm the nuclear arsenal. Who else had the ability to do it? He immediately thought of where he might send Kyla so she was out of danger, but unless he was willing to tie her to a chair, she would never allow him to get away with it. Her mom would probably rip his head off if she knew where he’d taken her, but there was no obvious place where she’d be safe. Therefore, logically, he figured the safest place was with him.

  “Let’s retreat for tonight. We’ll study the base operations tomorrow, in the light, to see if patterns emerge. Some of us have to find a way inside.” He didn’t beat her over the head with the word ‘some,’ but he’d laid the groundwork for having her wait outside the base while he went in.

  I can’t afford any losses.

  The Stinky Place

  Deogee was as happy as she’d been since leaving the Bad Place. She’d found her new friend Biscuit and together, they’d taken off after the scent trail left by the young female human who’d befriended her. Today, they’d been reunited.

  “Biscuit! Stop running!” Deogee cried out for her friend as the black dog ran circles around the two-legged Tabby. Biscuit was overly excited, and she wanted her to settle so they could both cash in on the lovins from her new human friend.

  She looked across the river to see the hot flames ravaging the tall rocks standing there, but she didn’t stare for long. Fire had burned her back at the Bad Place, and she wanted nothing to do with it ever again. However, she kept one ear on the crackling noise coming from across the river to ensure it wasn’t getting closer. If it did, she was going to warn her humans.

  “This is hilarious!” Biscuit barked at her with relentless running. “I’m making myself sick to my stomach going in circles!”

  Deogee loved having Biscuit around, but it was a lot like what she imagined if she had pups. The black lab was always playing, always getting into trouble. “Then stop running!”

  Their conversations were never quiet. She knew humans didn’t like her loud voice, but she wanted to control Biscuit for them.

  Deogee managed to nip at her flank, but she got away.

  “Faster! Faster! Faster!” Biscuit insisted as her spiral loop got tighter around Tabby’s feet.

  All at once, Deogee halted. A new odor was on the air, even more odd than the smelly place below them. Tabby kept using the word warehouse, whatever that meant. A few seconds later, a whirring sound caught her attention.

  Must warn her!

  Deogee ran by and nudged one of Tabby’s two, long paws. “We have to leave!”

  Her human waved at her. “Not now, girl.” Instead of running for safety, Tabby continued talking with complicated words Deogee didn’t understand.

  Deogee worked through how to warn her pack. She gathered all her anxiety and fear into a ball and let it out as a long growl.

  Biscuit finally stopped when she heard the call to order. The lab got into fight-or-flight mode, dropping her tail, bending her ears, and paying attention. Deogee was pleased. The humans came to attention, too.

  Tabby’s scent changed immediately. She oozed worry as the unnatural noise came closer. It was the same sound made by that white floating box that showed up when she got burned.

  The humans got the message; they ran for the door back into the stinky warehouse. However, before she could follow like she wanted, Biscuit resumed running in circles. This time, it wasn’t for fun.

  “Come!” the human Tabby cried out. A deep instinct told her to respond to the female pack leader, but she was responsible for her friend Biscuit.

  Deogee barked repeatedly, hoping Tabby would understand. “I can’t come yet!”

  Biscuit ran in more circles, as if she was broken. “It’s too much! The smells. The orange across the water. Something’s coming!”

  “Deogee, come!” Tabby shrieked from inside the doorway.

  “I want to,” she barked back.

  Biscuit’s claws tapped on the hard roof as she ran all around with the crazies. Deogee was torn. She’d been given a direct order. Save her friend or follow the alpha? After fruitlessly yelling at the lab, she turned to the door, but Tabby was gone.

  They always disappear.

  Her focus went back to Biscuit, and for several long minutes, she chased the other dog, knowing it was the only way to stop her. It wasn’t as easy as running on grass, and it took much longer than it should have. The smaller dog was able to cut corners sharper than she could, and in the end, she only managed to stop the insane pup because she ran out of gas.

  They both panted with relief.

  “Are you better?” she asked Biscuit.

  “Where did the female go?” the black lab asked, apparently oblivious to the last few minutes. “And what’s making those sounds downstairs?”

  It was difficult to understand the world of humans. They lived in strange houses with many things that weren’t a bowl of food or a warm bed. They also went from place to place in little houses with black wheels. Those were made from material she couldn’t chew through, and they carried horrible smells.

  Below, at that very m
oment, one of their strange objects was making the same sound as those ugly machines. Even from so far away, she smelled the scents from all three of the humans. They were in fear for their lives.

  “Come on, we have to help them!” she ordered.

  Biscuit didn’t complain. She followed.

  Deogee went down the stairs and jumped into a battle blur to help. The rattle of a noisy black tube destroyed the lower part of the steps, nearly hurting Biscuit. The humans had noisy sticks, too. They caused such intense roars over and over. Still, Deogee bit into an enemy’s metal leg. The big, disgusting animal threatened her alpha.

  Biscuit offered moral support as she barked behind her. “Kill it! Get it! Tear it in half!”

  Deogee wished she could yell for her friend to grab onto the second monster, instead of Biscuit running around being her usual chatterbox self. However, she couldn’t let go of the first beast to get the words out. One of her teeth cracked under the weight of holding on, but she wasn’t giving up. Not while Tabby was afraid of the two monsters.

  She thought she was doing good until a wall collapsed, and a new sound turned on. It was immediately painful, as if Biscuit was barking right in her ear.

  A new human machine approached. It had strange, elongated feet that dragged it close to Tabby. It was huge, maybe ten Deogees in height. It was unlike anything she’d ever imagined in her puppy dreams.

  The new sound from the odd machine kept ramping up, but she still hung on to the smaller metal animal with her teeth.

  Must protect the Tabby.

  Deogee hadn’t realized the noise could get louder, but soon it became painful. Her eyes vibrated in their sockets and she greatly wanted to put her paws over her ears. Still, she refused to let go and run.

  Her human alpha exploded with the smell of fear, like she was about to be left alone at home for the day. Tabby was next to the giant machine, waving her upper paws and yelling at it, “Wait!”

  In a flash, the painful sound got in her head, and everything went black, like Deogee had her eyes closed.