“Tell them about how you showed us the purchase of this place was possible.”
“It was no big deal. I simply suggested we get everyone together who was serious about the project and form a corporation with a board of directors. It was the legal commitment from each of us. We formulated rules that specified our obligations and our responsibilities. Once we had the document composed into a legal record, each of us submitted a credit report to the board of directors.
“At that point, we had the power to swing the deal, over and above what any single individual could do. We decided as a group that there wouldn’t be any freeloaders in our community. We added only those people who we felt had the credentials to contribute to the group. It took over a year to get everyone signed on the dotted line.
“All of us committed a certain portion of our assets to the corporation, guaranteeing those expenditures the board of directors determined necessary. With that commitment to a legal contract among all of us, the deal was sealed.”
“Do you mind telling us how much you paid for the land?”
Harlan wasn’t shy about asking, but the question made Roger wince.
“No, we don’t mind. It’s irrelevant now anyway. The bank that held our loan no longer exists. It’s our land and we have a legal set of papers to prove it. We paid a million dollars for what we have here on paper, and we’ve invested over two-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars on the improvements. Our total out-of-pocket split between all of us has come to about four-hundred-thousand dollars, give or take a few thousand, on paper of course, but in actual cash, most of us have spent about fifty-thousand each.”
That was impressive information. There was a lot more to see, but Roger and Harlan needed to get going. After the group fed them, they climbed into their gyro-copter, started the motor and took off toward Avalon. It was time to get back to see how the battle preparations were coming along.
Their trip had been productive and Dr. Dan, the new governor of California, would be pleased to hear the news.
Chapter 21
The Battle
Mike watched the second hand on his watch sweep toward the exact moment the battle would begin. He maneuvered his dune buggy toward the front of his troops waiting to embark. He was looking through his binoculars at the large slaver camp. He didn’t see any movement, so he motioned for the others to come closer.
“We’ll head in that direction. Can you see that draw over there below that stand of trees?”
They all nodded.
“Once we get there, we’ll cut to the right. That should bring us right on top of them. Don’t stop for any reason. If a buggy is disabled, one of us will pick you up. Just leave it behind. We’ll go in shooting. We’ll cut straight through them and then retreat back this way. We want to piss them off enough that they’ll go for the chase. This is the return direction we’ll take.”
He pointed to the entrenched troops hiding in waiting.
“Try to avoid these boulders. It won’t be easy. Good luck.”
They started their engines and Mike’s machine lurched forward. Once he hit the open field, he would cut right and head for the enemy campfires.
The slavers didn’t notice the dune buggies coming until the first shots rang out. The large group quickly came alive, as if someone had swatted a hornet’s nest with a stick. Shots were returned. A cloud of dust rose from the ground. The valley began to fill with thick smoke from the hundreds of firing weapons.
Mike and his people were headed straight at the large group of motorcyclists who had their machines parked adjacent to tents and other shelters. There were at least fifty campfires burning. The dune buggies swung around and headed in the opposite direction with their throttles wide open.
Slavers jumped on their bikes and charged after them. The thugs didn’t realize they were being led back to the bivouac area were Randy and his people waited. Mike hoped nobody would get trigger-happy and fire before the bikers got into the trap. The men on dune buggies were swinging left. Once the trap was sprung Mike and his people swung to cut off any retreat by the slavers.
When Mike and the dune buggies reached Randy’s people, they stopped and waited. The slavers were confident these interlopers would be easy pickings, so they just kept coming. The dust was unbelievable. Mike took out his binoculars and watched hundreds of dirt bikers coming his way.
“Hold your fire… Not yet… Not yet…”
Suddenly, a large explosion rang out and a large group of motorcyclists, dirt and rocks flew through the air. The tank was above them near the hospital and had fired on the approaching bikers. Mike winced. It was too soon. The machine guns from Randy’s group opened fire and the mortar shells exploded all around them. Mike yelled for the dune buggies to follow him, and they headed toward the right of the oncoming motorcycles. They set up a line of fire at the bottom of the hill which was far enough away from the main ambush to prevent the retreat of those already in the trap.
In the distance, Mike could see more motorcycles coming toward them, fast. The slavers didn’t know their pals were in an inescapable trap. Several of the bikers tried to get away but were cut down by rifle and machine gun fire.
Mike dispatched one of the dune buggies to tell the others to bring the tank down so the big gun could be concentrated on the slavers’ camp. The dune buggy took off, throwing dirt and rocks from behind its wheels. Mike and his people pressed the attack and it looked like many of the slavers were throwing their hands up in the air in surrender. The firing continued from Bone Breaker’s troops and many of those who were attempting to surrender went down in a hail of bullets.
Slasher saw what was happening and realized early on his people were being slaughtered and there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it. The gunfire was withering. Several times he heard bullets fly past his head. It sounded like an insanely mad bee racing away into nothingness for a split second. His first reaction was to race away toward freedom. Get away from here and to safety, to save himself. But he realized he would be seen, and that would tarnish his image forever. Even cutthroats had an honor code.
“It’s another slaughter, boss! They have better weapons than we do, and our boys are getting grounded into hamburger.”
The slaver lieutenant spoke in short breaths. Bone Breaker needed to go up to the front and see for himself. This was irritating for the slaver leader, to say the least. Every time he had the opportunity to fight these farmers, they cut his people to pieces. Bone Breaker kick started the big Harley and headed for the thick of the battle. Several people followed him. He arrived at the base of the hill. He looked up toward what appeared to be the main battle group that was firing down on his people.
He took out his binoculars and peered through them. The man to his left crumpled when a .50 caliber bullet tore into his head. Another one went down—then another.
Eric looked at his spotter.
“I see a big man that just showed up. I think he’s the slaver leader. Do you see him there on the blue Harley? He’s at the base of that hill, at the twelve o’clock position. Right next to the last one we picked off.”
“I see him.”
“Take the shot!”
Just as Eric was about to squeeze the trigger, the side of the slaver leader’s head exploded into a pile of shredded tissue and bone. He slammed forward with a surprised look on half of his face. Bone Breaker fell forward onto the handlebars of his motorcycle as another bullet went through his side. Another one went through his neck. He flinched momentarily and fell onto the ground.
Bone Breaker was dead.
“Was that you?”
“No, it was him. Go left to your nine o’clock. See the guy wearing the red bandanna. He still has a rifle at his shoulder.”
Tim shifted the scope to his left and saw the man. He had a wide smile on his face.
“He appears to be pleased with his work.”
“He sure does. We need to find out who that guy is.”
Eric called over a so
ldier named Chester Black.
“Look through Tim’s scope over in that direction.”
The man positioned himself properly.
“What am I looking at?”
“Can you see the guy down there with a rifle to his shoulder? The guy with the red bandanna? He’s over there at a about the nine o’clock position.”
“Yes, I see him.”
“Remember him! I want you to go and point him out to the admiral. Tell him that he is the guy that just shot and killed the slaver leader. Think you can do that?”
“I sure can, Sergeant.”
“Then do it.”
Chester scrambled down the grade to Mike, who was directing fire at the slavers.
“Sir, can you see that man over there with the red bandanna on his head? He’s holding a rifle up to his shoulder.”
Mike shifted his gaze from the action toward the man.
“I see him. What about it?”
“He just shot and killed the slaver leader.”
Eric’s brother, Lieutenant Chris Bell, was directing fire at the slavers with a number of riflemen at his position. As he was saying something to one of his sailors, the man turned to answer him, and a bullet tore through the lieutenant’s throat spraying blood all over the young sailor’s face and chest. Chris slumped over, and his eyes dilated. He was dead instantly. The blood soon stopped spurting and merely bubbled out of the wound.
Dr. Dan was at the top of the hill watching the raging battle with binoculars. A bullet hit his binoculars, knocking them to the ground as a projectile tore into his chest and pierced his heart. He went down in a crumpled pile, dead before he hit the ground.
Another casualty happened at nearly the same time; Sam was shot in the shoulder and in the leg. His leg bone stuck out of his pant leg. Sam watched the life blood flow out of his wounds, and he knew at that moment he would die. An artery was severed. He knew enough about fatal wounds to know the pain would soon stop. He thought about Dana, his true love. He saw her face, she was saying something to him, but he couldn’t hear her words. She was so beautiful, so alive…and then her face began to fade. He felt lightheaded, like a leaf blowing in a soft breeze, and everything went dim, and then turned black. Sam Wolchak was dead.
Slasher found a white rag and tied it to the barrel of his rifle. He raised it above his head and waved it back and forth. A bullet hit the rifle and nearly sliced it in half. He continued, waving the flag. The firing continued, Mike stood up and faced the men behind and off to one side and began waving his arms over his head. The firing stopped, and Mike watched Slasher walk toward him with his white flag held high. There were four men with him.
The slight breeze stopped; thick smoke hovered over everything. Mike watched the slavers come forward, struggling up the steep hill. He said to his men,
“Whatever I say…go along with it.”
As the red bandanna man approached with his four sidekicks, he saw that fifty to a hundred rifles were aimed at them. One of those was Eric Bell’s.
When they came to within six feet of Mike he said,
“The name’s Slasher. My real name is Alvin Cobb. I killed Bone Breaker because it was time for his reign of terror to end. I am a man of peace. I believe we can all live in harmony and help each other build a new world together. We all need the same things; food, security, and the ability to trade our goods for yours without having to reach for a gun."
He extended his hand as a gesture to emphasize his words. Mike accepted it and the two men shook.
“Take your people and leave this place. Do you know the town of Fitch?”
“I do.”
“Then, come to Fitch in two weeks and we can talk. Come unarmed or you’ll be shot as you approach the town. Is that understood?”
Slasher nodded and walked back down the hill. There were about fifty men and another eighty or so women waiting for him at the bottom of the hill. Slasher said something to the group. As he spoke to them, he turned and looked back at the soldiers above them at the top of the hill. The slavers lifted Bone Breaker’s body onto the back of a pickup truck, and they all left the area.
◆◆◆
Dana walked toward Mike with a faraway look in her eyes. In the midst of the fog of the battle, Mike was unaware that his friend and right-hand man had been killed. As she reached him, her chin fell to her chest and the sobs flowed from her lips. She was saying something, but Mike couldn’t understand her. He reached out and brought her to his chest. He simply held her there close as she cried. She was shaking and sobbing. Mike didn’t know what to do, so he simply held her as he saw Linda Sienna walking toward him. He waited to hear what she had to say.
“It’s Sam…Mike…He’s dead.”
Linda reached over and held onto Dana.
“Daniel Croft is dead too.”
This was the moment Mike took his eyes away from Linda and looked up to the sky. He tried to suppress the tears, but they sprang from his eyes and ran down both sides of his soot blackened face, leaving skin colored lines down to his chin. In a moment, he composed himself and walked up to the top of the hill. His chest was undulating as he tried to suppress the sadness and grief that was bursting at his insides. He motioned for everyone to gather around.
As he waited for the group to gather, he gave Randy new directions.
“Put enough riflemen on guard to make sure there isn’t a sneak attack from down below. You and your men did a great job today. Thank you from all of us.”
The soldiers walked to their posts to guard the rest of them from an attack.
Mike turned to the rest of the people who had gathered around him. He looked at them for a while before speaking. He was clenching his fists as he stood there. He looked each of them in the eyes. He wanted them to take his words personally and with all the sincerity he felt in that moment. Some sat on the yellow grass and some stood. Everyone waited quietly. He spoke finally, slowly and loud enough for them all to hear his words.
“Today…”
He was suddenly seized with emotion and had to stop to compose himself. When he was able, he cleared his throat and began speaking again.
“…I believe we have reached a turning point in the existence we all share with one another from this day forward, until each of our lives ends. Today, we brought an end to the slaver gang’s terror. It ended because each and every one of you had the courage and personal resolve to stand fast.”
A roar went up from the large group. It took several minutes for the noise to calm down.
Mike began again.
“We lost some wonderful and gallant people here today, including two of my best friends. They may not have known you by name, but they were your friends too. I’ve never known any finer people in my life. They gave up their lives for you and for me. With any of us who believe we can rebuild America to her former glory, to a country built on the principles of honor, honesty, and integrity. These great men will be missed, but they will never be forgotten. I know I will never forget.”
He paused, searching for words and realizing there was no rush to make his point.
“Freedom isn’t cheap. It’s a constant series of sacrifices. It’s unfortunate that the world we once knew turned into a place where the evil preyed on the weak. We, as a nation, allowed our moral values to be undermined and to be replaced with depraved ideas, promoted by degenerate people.
“Today, we didn’t end evil, we stopped a portion of it. We lost some great Americans doing that. If we revere them for their sacrifices, let’s aspire to be as they were. Unselfish men, forgiving men, brave men, who believed that we can all live in peace and harmony. But never forget what happened here. Never let your guard down against those who would seek to torture others for their own gain.”
Mike turned and walked away from the quiet crowd.
Chapter 22
Forgiveness
Feelings were mixed among the Avalon and Fitch groups about forgiving those slavers who participated in rape, slavery, kidnapping
, robbery, cannibalism, and murder. The conversations became quite heated. There appeared to be two main views.
One group thought the men should be forgiven.
“Nobody’s perfect. We, as a society, must live and let live. Let’s put these terrible things behind us. People make mistakes and react differently during times of terrible stress such as the war and the plague. Sometimes people do terrible things they wouldn’t do normally. Enough of this violence! If we forgive now and wipe the slate clean, whatever happens from this point forward will result in punishments that fit the crimes.”
The other group wanted blood.
“You can forgive them and let bygones be bygones, if that’s what you want to do. But if I catch any of them—from this point forward—I’ll kill them—like the rabid dogs they are. There will be no forgiveness from me. My forgiveness will come from the barrel of my gun. I won’t hesitate to kill any of them!”
Neither side was able to convince the other to conform to their views. The arguments were beginning to split the group and people began to leave Fitch and Avalon because of it. There were people who lost all their families and friends to these despicable people. It was creating a dilemma for Admiral Michael Reynolds.
The bickering, coupled with the grief of having lost two of his best friends, was taking its toll and had him in a morass of indecision. In reality, he too wanted to see the criminals hanged, but kept that opinion to himself. He had to set an example. He could almost hear Doctor Dan telling him that was what he had to do.
◆◆◆
The time finally came to bury Dr. Daniel Crowley, physician, husband and the late Governor of California. He and Sam Wolchak would be laid to rest in the old cemetery behind the Avalon main structure near where Eli Cameron, the original founder of Avalon, was buried along with Slim Rankin. It was appropriate they be here with the others who built and loved this place.
Avalon- The Construction Page 21
