Vigilante: The Way West: New Beginnings in a Post-Apocalyptic World

by Cliff Deane

  “Thank you, sir,” the young man said as his lips traced a fading smile; as Levi looked down at his handsome, youthful face, he saw the life force fade from his eyes. The young trooper had given his last full measure.

  Levi realized that speaking with the Doctors was not possible at this time, and led his mates back outside where dozens of men lay dead or wounded. Levi could not force himself to look away from each man’s forehead, and the number it held.

  “My number, sir, what is my number?” were the cries of the wounded. Levi always responded with, “Two, son, you are a two.”

  He would, forever after, hate the number three.

  Susan Levins ran up to Levi and asked, “You sent for me, sir?”

  “Yes Susan, were your birds injured?”

  “No, sir, the helipads are always placed a reasonable distance from personnel, and ammo trains.”

  “Well, that’s the best news I’ve had today. All right, get your Hueys cranked up and ready to transport wounded to Polk. I hate to do it, but I’ll have to Shanghai a Nurse, and a couple of Corpsmen to help on the Polk end of things.

  Take as many Maintenance Crew as you can get into the Cobra Gunner’s positions and they can get the generators fired up, turn on the heat, and prepare to receive lots of wounded. Copy?”

  “Yes, sir,” was all she said as she turned to run back to her helos. The next 24 hours were going to be a bitch.

  Levi turned to his XO and the Sergeant Major; he said, “Gus, get with Penn and find volunteers to help get those wounded who have been stabilized ready for transport.

  Brad, get an area cleared so the Hueys can land close enough to quickly load the wounded.

  Damn it, we have to find more Doctors. OH, GUS,” shouted Levi, “GET DARREN AND HIS NURSE ON THE FIRST CHOPPER.”

  “ROGER,” shouted Gus over his shoulder, already forty feet away. Now standing alone amidst the chaos of hundreds of troopers and civilians alike, all running about like ants in a disturbed nest, on their individual missions, Levi felt pride in this small grouping of humanity. Even in this moment of terrible loss, coupled with such immense sadness, Levi knew they would overcome any setbacks, and from them would come a great nation.

  Levi returned to the M-TOC and directed the radioman to contact the folks at Polk.

  He informed them of the attack, and of the plans to begin moving the large numbers of injured to Polk. He ordered the LRRP to hold fast and assist wherever possible.

  The dead would be interred near Lt Costello, where they would forever rest among their warrior brothers at a place named Fiddler’s Green.

  ***

  Chapter 9

  Bayne Jones Army Community Hospital

  21 October 0825

  Hospital, Ft. Polk

  The first choppers departed the Road at 0825 and carried those who would treat and care for the injured upon their arrival at Polk. The second round of flights carried the most grievously wounded, who had been stabilized and cleared for the flight. Finally, all remaining wounded, and dead would be transported to the Fort Polk Hospital.

  Personnel already at Polk had turned the hospital and refueling facilities into virtual hives of activity. Generators were fueled and cranked up; heat flowed to warm the hospital confines, lights and equipment began to hum. Beds were stripped and remade from in-house supplies.

  Aircraft refueling stations were quickly cleaned, manned and readied to minimize turn-around time.

  Those first choppers arrived at Polk at 1015 hours; the personnel were disembarked by 1017, and the early bird arrived back at the Convoy Aid Station at 1200 hours; thus, beginning an arrival and departure interim of roughly ten-minute intervals; many lives were saved that day. The entire contingent of dead and wounded, to include medical staff arrived at Polk by 1700 hours.

  Levi and Gus left Colonel Mike Guyardo and the Sergeant Major in charge of the Convoy and caught the last chopper to Polk.

  As the helo arrived at Polk, Gus looked to Levi and said, “Oh, crap, brother we have screwed up royally!”

  Levi became instantly alert and said, “What?!?”

  “Levi, we didn’t send any kitchen personnel. These guys have gotta’ be starving.”

  “Oh, crap, you’re right. As soon as we arrive, we’ll send back for half the Mess Crew. Hell’s bells, maybe we can find some canned meats or something to put in their stomachs. Damn it, Gus, we have to do better.”

  “I know, boss, I know, but lives were saved today, and no one will starve until we can get some food and cooks onsite.”

  “Yeah, but still, it’s our job to think of this kind of shit.”

  The chopper touched down, and the Co-Pilot jumped out to open Levi’s door.

  “What the hell?” said Levi. “Gus, do I smell a cookout?”

  “Oh, hell yes,” laughed Gus, “Maybe you and I need to retire, ‘cause our troopers have got this. Holy crap, c’mon, let’s go see what’s cooking.”

  Together they trotted to the line of grills which had been set up in the hospital yard.

  Levi saw Staff Sergeant Penn who was coming to meet them; he asked, “Where, my young friend, did all this stuff come from?”

  Penn was smiling from ear to ear as he said, “Well, sir, a couple of us figured this might be a good idea, and since we also knew that all Companies had their own grills, which you can see are the typical fifty-five-gallon drums cut in half and set up on welded metal struts with heavy wire fencing.

  So, we sent details to pick up a dozen, along with any charcoal and condiments that might still be there. Anyway, while they were on their mission, a couple of us went into the bowels of the hospital and found an abundant supply of canned goods. Some of the guys wanted to use the spam, but I vetoed that in favor of the five hundred canned hams. We found cans of corn, beans, everything we need for a cookout to last until everyone has their fill, and our Cooks get on site. Danged shame, though that we couldn’t have ribs and burgers, but we’ll have that resolved in a couple of days.”

  Come on, sirs, let’s get you a plate.”

  Levi and Gus looked at each other and as one, said, “Officer material.”

  They did, however, decline a plate until every other member of the command had been fed. Once the last troopers were fed, the two leaders got into line and waited to be served. Those in line wanted Levi and Gus to go first, but they declined.

  Without Levi and Gus realizing it, every trooper who witnessed their leaders refusing to go ahead of the men gained, even more, respect for their leaders who would not eat until every man in the command had gone first. A major topic of conversation among the troopers was the respect the two leaders demonstrated for the troopers by not jumping line. Little things, you just can’t forget the little things.

  As Levi and Gus walked into the Hospital Restaurant to find a seat they were met with cheers and shouts of, please, come eat with us.

  Levi was forced to raise his hand for silence, before saying, “Thank you, today, we have been dealt a horrible blow that will take months to recover, and for that, I ask your forgiveness; as your Commander, I am responsible for this tragedy.”

  The troopers gathered seemed to rise as one and surrounded both Levi and Gus. Their shouts told Levi that they would never hold him responsible for such an act of sabotage. Cries of Levi’s Legion filled the cafeteria.

  At this point it was all Levi could do to maintain his composure amid this show of respect, but he did, for he knew his troops could never see their commanders lose control. Gus jumped in with, “We thank you for asking us to sit with you, but as you see, there are only two of us. Please know that we are here with all of you, but right now we must find a place for two so that we can begin the planning phase which starts tomorrow. Ooh Rah?”

  The walls shook from the answering Ooh Rahs!

  Following their meal, Levi and Gus made their way to the Hospital Surgery and found Dr. Faith Monroe to still be in surgery; her husband, Dr. Tom Monroe was resting in the Doctor’s sleeping quar
ters, along with one-half of the Surgery Team.

  They were, however, able to locate Darren Murtaugh who had been placed in charge of tending to non-emergency medical care.

  “Darren,” said his father, Colonel Gus Murtaugh.

  Darren turned at the sound of his name and rushed to greet Gus with a hug. “Hi, Dad it’s terrific to see you, but, as you can see, I’m kinda busy here.”

  “I know, son, and as much as I would like for this to be a social call, it’s not; that will have to wait, “replied Gus, as Darren shook hands with Levi. “Right now, we need to know when we’ll be able to speak with Dr. Tom. Does he have a scheduled time to be awakened?”

  “Oh, yeah,” said Darren, “let’s see, he’s been down for about thirty minutes, so he’s due to be awakened in another three and a half hours. At that time, he will freshen up and grab a bite to eat before returning to the Surgery a half-hour later. Please don’t wake him; he was dead on his feet; let him rest so he can get back to work.”

  Levi said, “No sweat, Darren, we wouldn’t even consider waking him after today’s disaster. Do you know when we’ll have a final count of the dead and wounded?”

  “Final count? No, sir, but as of ten minutes ago, we had forty-seven dead, five more number ones requiring surgery, and another thirty, or so, number twos. A lot of the twos don’t require deep surgery, just sewing up.”

  Gus looked at Darren and said, “Darren, I am so proud of you; I know that one day you will make a fine Doctor and Surgeon.”

  Darren felt humbled as he replied, “Thanks, Dad, that means a lot, but right now I really have to get back to work. Let’s get together for a meal once things settle down around here, okay?”

  “Roger that, son, just let me know,” and with that, Darren was off on his long list of tasks.

  The two ROA leaders found a conference room and sat down to figure out what the hell to do next.

  Gus said, “Boss, unless Steiner either hunkers down for the winter, or we slow him down, he’s lost to us for, at least for another year. I gotta’ tell ya, that’s a losing proposition for us. We have got to make like the boll weevil and find ourselves a home.”

  Levi agreed and between them came up with a couple of ideas.

  Gus said, “Okay, let’s consider sending out the Air Arm to find these assholes, then hit them as hard as we can from the air. Who knows, if we are really, and I mean really lucky, we might be able to kill Steiner and maybe even some of his staff; so, do we go for a day or night strike?”

  “Yeah,” agreed Levi, “that’s going to be a tough call, no matter when we make it. If we can catch them in bivouac, we might be able to pull it off, but if we can catch them in convoy and, in the open, I think we have a better shot at getting their Brain Trust. Of course, no matter how we go with this, we lose forever, the surprise of our air power, and we’ve shot our ace in the hole.”

  Gus added, “Boss, those guys have been going for just as long as we have. Hell, it’s late October now, I’ll bet they don’t keep going. Nope, they are going to have to find a place to hole up for the winter to rest and refit. They have to, Levi, I just feel it in my bones.”

  “It certainly sounds logical,” said Levi. “Come on, let’s look at some maps of the East Texas Gulf Coast. They’ll need a good supply of food and water, and East Texas certainly fills that bill better than the desert of West Texas. Yeah, I think you’re right, Gus, they have to hole up until around early February, in hopes of crossing the desert before it gets too hot; if it does get hot. My guess is they’ll take over some fishing villages along the coast.

  Gus, I agree absolutely, there’s just no way they can keep going at their current pace.

  Let’s reconstitute the LRRP and get them moving.”

  “Roger, that, I’ll get Bradley on it just as soon as we finish here. Ya know, I think I’d like to keep Staff Sergeant Penn here, what say we put Staff Sergeant Primm in charge of the LRRP. I was really impressed with the way Penn jumped right in to get things organized and running. Whada’ya think?”

  Gus liked that plan, and so a newly promoted Staff Sergeant Primm was selected to take the LRRP.

  We, the People

  21 October 1315

  M-TOC

  ROA Convoy

  The Road

  Acting President Adan Ramos, along with two civilian Councilmen were speaking with the Sergeant Major when Levi and Gus returned to the M-TOC.

  “Ah, here you are,” said a smiling Adan. “General Levins, I apologize for interrupting your busy day, but the two Councilman and I have come at the behest of nearly one hundred of our young ROA citizens.”

  “Yes, and what would these hundred young ROA citizens want from us?” asked a somewhat leery General Levins.

  Adam smiled again and announced, “Levi, they want to enlist. Oh, they know they won’t currently be able to train for combat roles, but these young folks feel that perhaps they could take some of the pressure off the Ammunition Handlers, and other such non-combat positions to fill in for those we lost today.

  They think, and I pretty much agree that they can learn through OJT (On the Job Training) in the resupply effort ongoing at Fort Polk; if we can get them there, of course. Do you think we can make this happen? These young men and women are patriots who believe they can be of real help.”

  Levi looked to Gus, who said, “I’m ashamed we didn’t think of this resource sooner. I like it, Mr. President.”

  The Sergeant Major also approved of the idea but suggested that these volunteers not actually enlist, per se, but sign on as DoD (Dept. of Defense) Laborers. “I think they could be issued uniforms without any insignia; sir, this is a great idea, and we certainly want to encourage the participation of any, and all of our citizens.”

  Gus chimed in with, “We should form them into work gangs under the supervision of the appropriate NCOs. Sir, this is a great opportunity and a definite win/win for us.”

  Levi beamed at his staff and turned to Adan saying, “My friend, I cannot thank you enough for your offer, and we gratefully accept.

  Sergeant Major, what do you need from me?”

  “Just say, hop to it as you get out of the way.

  Mr. President,” added the Sergeant Major, “How quickly can I meet with these young Patriots? Say, how does that work for a unit name, The Young Patriots.”

  Levi interjected, “I love the name, but just how young are we talking, here?”

  Two minutes later the minimum age was set at sixteen.

  “Wait,” said Gus, before the meeting could break up. Mr. President, do you think we could get some volunteers for a Nurse’s Aide Corps? The Medicos at Polk desperately need help. They are pulling troops away from their regular missions to help out in the hospital.”

  President Adan Ramos assured Gus that he could fill the demand, and apologized for not thinking of it earlier.

  The acting President of The Republic of America smiled at Levi and said, “Levi, you know my title is only temporary until we find a new home; so please, call me Adan.”

  Levi asked for Adan to join him in a little aside and said, “Adan, nothing would please me more than to use your first name, and I will, in private, but you are the current President of our fledgling nation. Therefore, during public meetings, we will refer to you as Mr. President. We good?”

  Looking somewhat sheepishly at Levi, Adan agreed that he supposed it was important, but it was not a position he either wanted, or aspired, to hold.

  “I know, my friend, but our hold on this band of nomads is tenuous, at best. Oh, hell, I know everyone in the ROA is here because they believe in what we are trying to do, but familiarity breeds contempt. Personally, I would just like to be Levi to everyone, but that is not possible; damn, but I miss Ralph Bassett. He knew the importance of what we are trying to do. Yeah, he was the glue which kept everything up front and in perspective, but Adan, he is not here, and you and I now solely hold that mantles of leadership; like it or not, we got it. Personally, I can’t
think of anyone better suited for the job of President. So, suck it up sailor, we got work to do!”

  Adan laughed and agreed to do his best.

  Levi was actually in awe of Adan Ramos; how he held five-hundred civilians together, and functioning was far beyond a mere General’s ken.

  Together, they walked back to the group and began to put the plan into operation.

  “Gus,” said Levi, get with Ben to make sure the hospital has top priority on things like scrubs, and, well, whatever else they need, then lets you and I abandon ship to Major Page and the Sergeant Major. I want to get to Polk and visit with our wounded.

  Sergeant Major, we’ll see you at Polk in about nine days.”

  “Roger, sir, smiled Sergeant Major Bradley Cobb, “it’s good to know that by the time we get there, you’ll have the Golf Course open, and turn-down service with little chocolates on our pillows.”

  Everyone laughed as Levi added, “Piece of cake, Brad, right along with rainbows and Unicorns.”

  It took two days to get everyone signed up, in uniform, and on the way, by Huey, to Polk.

  During the past eighteen, or so months, the most virulent diseases had come and gone. The survivors were now hardier than for many prior generations. The weather was colder than average along the Gulf Coast, but not significantly so.

  There was, however, a scourge of mankind that had not just come and gone. It was forever nearby, especially during the winter months. The most prolific killer, throughout the history of man, waited patiently; as it always had.

  Until the mid-twentieth century, it had killed in the millions.

  The Bug

  23 October 0730

  Mercenary Convoy

  50 miles East of Beaumont, TX