by N. C. Reed
Roland thought about that. He thought about a lot of things. What if the armory was deserted? Even if the equipment was gone, the place would make a good permanent home. There was room there for everyone, and there would probably be sufficient room to grow at least some food. The area would be protected by good fencing, and the facilities would be a great boon to them.
But they would still be in the city, where lawlessness ruled. They would be confined to the facility for the most part. No freedom of movement to amount to anything. He ran all of this through his mind, thinking furiously.
“Which way would we go from here to get to this armory?” he finally asked. Jesse grinned, and pointed.
“Turn right up here.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
They sat, looking at the grounds. The place was larger than Roland had imagined, until he remembered that this would be the State Headquarters. Signs around the area had told them that both the Army and Air Guard called these grounds home.
“Well, it’s intact, anyway,” Jesse offered from the passenger seat.
“So, it is,” Roland agreed. Looks imposing, too. Larger than I had thought.”
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Jesse asked.
“Depends on what you’re thinking, now don’t it?” Roland smirked slightly. “But if you’re thinking this just might be a good place to hole up, then yeah, I am.”
“We’re gonna have to see if anyone’s home, I guess,” Jesse sighed.
“Yep,” Roland nodded, and put the Humvee into gear.
“We going now?” Jesse asked.
“No better time,” Roland affirmed. “its broad daylight, we’re in an official Army vehicle, and we’re pretty much desperate.”
“Well, when you put it that way,” Jesse nodded, checking his rifle.
“Don’t bother,” Roland told him. “We’re here to talk, if anyone’s home. If no one is, and we can get in, we’re heading straight back to get the kids.”
“No harm in being prepared,” Jesse observed.
Roland eased the Humvee up the drive, slow but steady. He didn’t want anyone thinking he was being aggressive. This place would have the ordinance to split their Humvee in half, and leave nothing but a burnt husk, if that.
“There’s a soldier on the gate,” Jesse informed him, looking through binoculars at their destination. “He’s armed. Looks like he’s on the radio, too.”
“Well, it’s not empty, but it seems like they’re on the ball, whoever is here. I’m assuming if they’re still bothering with uniforms their discipline is intact.” Roland tried to sound hopeful.
“Works for me,” Jesse agreed. “He’s definitely on the radio. I suggest we stop well short of the gate and walk up there.”
“I’ll walk up there, you stay with the truck,” Roland shook his head. “I’m not going to carry my rifle, so you cover me. Something happens to me, you beat it.”
“I’m not leaving you behind, Ro’,” Jesse said quietly.
“Something happens to me, you’re all those kids have, Jesse,” Roland said firmly. “That means you git. Understand?”
“I understand,” Jesse nodded. “I just don’t like it.”
“Since it means I’m probably dead, I don’t much like it either,” Roland chuckled darkly. “I still want it to happen that way. Okay?”
“You’re the Sarge,” Jesse nodded. “I’ll do it however you want, Ro’.”
“Good.”
Roland stopped when he gauged he was still one hundred feet or so from the gate. The soldier manning the gate was not very animated, which Roland took to mean he was calm, and professional. It might also mean that this place hadn’t had any trouble, at least lately. That was a guess, though. He stepped carefully out of the vehicle, hands clear. The guard watched him, but didn’t challenge him. Hopefully another good sign.
Roland walked slowly but deliberately to within twenty feet of the gate, stopping before the soldier ordered him to.
“Help you, friend?” the soldier asked calmly.
“I hope so,” Roland replied, keeping his voice conversational. “I need help, if you can spare it. I’m responsible for nearly thirty children who have been left alone. Their parents are either deceased, or have abandoned them. I’m trying to find a way to get them to a place of safety.”
“Sounds like a rough time,” the guard commented.
“You said a mouthful, brother,” Roland nodded. “I need a truck to carry supplies for them, and fuel. I’ve got a working school bus for transport, but it can’t carry enough supplies for all of them. Not for a substantial time, at least. I need to find something better. Preferably something heavy that can ram its way through a roadblock, or smash a technical if needed.”
“Captain’s on his way,” the guard replied. “Don’t know that we can help you, but he will.”
“I’m mighty appreciative,” Roland nodded. “I haven’t heard much news of late. Anything you can tell me about the situation? Local or regional, hell national if you guys have heard anything.”
“Things are a mess all over,” the guard confirmed. “Coms are down most of the time, though we get some use once in a while. Brass are trying to hold things together, but there’s no support for anyone anymore. Most of the riots have stopped from sheer hunger and lack of anyone to participate.”
“I assume you know that there’s armed gangs running lose all over the city, right?”
“Yeah, afraid I’ve met at least one of them,” Roland nodded. “Not overly friendly. Or talkative for that matter. They generally just start shooting as soon as they see you.”
“That’s about the size of it,” the guard nodded. “Things are pretty bad here, and just as bad nearly everywhere else. Now that the cities have been pretty much used up, a lot of the larger gangs are moving into more rural areas.”
“I’m assuming that the casualty count is pretty high,” Roland fished.
“You’d assume right,” the guard nodded as a Humvee pulled up to his post. “That’ll be the Captain. Might be he can help, I dunno.”
“Thanks.” Roland watched as a short, almost pudgy man exited the vehicle, walking to the gate. The man had a no-nonsense look about him.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” the man demanded gruffly.
“My name is Roland Stang, sir,” Roland came to attention. “I have a group of twenty-eight children that have been left without parents. I’m working to get them to a place of safety, try to provide a decent place for them to live.”
“I need a heavy truck, and some fuel, in order to do that. I was hoping you might be able to help me, or point me in the right direction to look for what I need.”
“How’d you come to have all these children, Stang?” the Captain asked.
“Just luck of the draw, I guess, Captain,” Roland shrugged helplessly. He’d asked himself that same question more than once after all. “Someone had to do it.”
“You Army?”
“I was,” Roland replied truthfully. “Last man left in my platoon. Most of the other guys left. To look after their families, I guess. I waited, but nothing was happening. So, I finally left, too.”
“Deserted?” the Captain’s voice was contemptuous.
“They deserted me, really,” Roland shrugged again. “I got tired of sitting in the barracks alone when things were falling apart all around us. So, I decided to try and do something about it. I admit that at the time I didn’t know what I was getting into.”
The Captain lost some of the starchiness at such direct answer. He sighed heavily.
“Well, at least you’re honest. And still trying. Not many are, anymore.” He looked at the guard, and nodded.
“Come on inside. We’ll see if we can help you. You can bring your Humvee inside if you want. We won’t take it from you, got plenty of our own.” Roland grinned and turned to motion for Jesse to bring the vehicle in.
“You armed?” the Captain asked.
“Yes, sir,” Roland replied.
“Be stupid if you weren’t,” the Captain nodded. “You can keep ‘em, just don’t shoot anybody.”
“Thank you, sir,” Roland nodded again.
-
Roland followed the Captain’s Hummer to an office building, and he and Jesse exited their vehicle when the Captain got out of his.
“I’m Captain Jason Thomas, Headquarters Company for the 278th.” He shook hands with Roland and Jesse. “There’s not many men here, either, Stang. Just the few who wanted to stick, and some of their family members. That’s why we’re taking security precautions. Well, that and the supply dumps,” he added. “What’s your situation?”
“I have twenty-eight kids, ranging from four years to nineteen years, sir,” Roland recited. “They have no one to care for them, and nowhere to go. My goal is to get them somewhere secure, with access to water, and some semblance of safety. I have a bus to transport them in, but very little room to move supplies. And very little fuel,” he added. Thomas nodded his understanding.
“Things like that are getting hard to come by, that’s for sure.” Thomas considered for a moment.
“I’d invite you to come here, but we’re short of water, and everything else, too. They would still be hungry. Do you have anywhere in mind to go?”
“I hope I can find a rural school building for them,” Roland replied. “A place with room enough to spare, and with a fence, at least, to provide some added security. And books for them to learn from. It’s a lot to figure out, sir,” he admitted.
“I can imagine. What are you doing for food?”
“Well, we found a warehouse foods supplier. One of those companies that ship to grocery stores. It’s abandoned, and still reasonably well stocked. We took some of that food to feed the kids with for now. My long term goal is to find a place where we can grow our own food, supplementing that with wild game. That’s my hope, anyway.”
“A whole warehouse, huh?” Thomas’ eyes lit up at that. “Maybe we can work something out. You willing to share that food?”
“Of course,” Roland blinked, surprised he hadn’t thought of that. “We could never carry it all, even if we had a truck. Which we don’t.”
“Would a deuce-and-a-half work?” Thomas asked, his brow furrowing in thought. “Or even two? I could give you two, and fill all your tanks for you. Might even scratch up some Jerry cans, but I can’t promise that. Does that sound like a plan you can get behind? We’re running short on food stuffs ourselves. We’ve got plenty of MREs of course, and some field kitchen packs, but with the civilians here we need something better than that.”
“Sir, that is absolutely a plan I can get behind,” Roland agreed at once. “One hundred percent. With those trucks, I can hopefully scavenge some clothing and shoes for the children, and haul the supplies we need to set up shop somewhere until we can start producing food on our own.”
“I might can spare some manpower for a day or so to help with that, too. It’d be worth it to lay our hands on a good supply of food,” Thomas said. “Let’s see what we can come up with, huh?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I can’t believe how lucky we’ve been the last two days. In just forty-eight hours, we’ve gone from hopeless to hopeful.
Captain Thomas has been great. He told us to go ahead and bring the kids to the base for the time being, since we had our own food, and had provided a place for him to get more palatable food for their own children and civilians. Their doctor even checked all the kids over for me. They had their first real bath in weeks, scrubbed clean and treated for any skin problems, while the medic showed Maria how to prevent problems like that in the future.
A convoy of trucks journeyed to the warehouse foods place yesterday, with myself and Deena along as guides. The place was stripped bare in just a few hours by eager and willing hands from the Armory. Two of those trucks, loaded evenly with everything Deena could think of and that was on the ever-present list in her hands, are ours. Enough to keep us going for maybe three months, or even more.
Even better, one of the trucks has been fitted with a snow plow blade, courtesy of the Tennessee Department of Transportation. She’ll ram through a road block now, without question.
This morning three people from the Armory accompanied us on our quest for clothes and shoes. They need the same things we do, so it’s in their best interest, I guess, to help us while they help themselves. Maria is satisfied that we’ve got sufficient clothing and shoes and socks for the children for the immediate future. There are also several pairs of boots which we hope the smaller kids will grow into.
Deena and Terri found a small sewing center that was still standing, and managed to load up on some material, along with thread and needles and what not. They told me everything, but about all I know about sewing is I don’t know how. I can usually put a button back on, or sew up a tear in my uniform if I’m in the field, and that’s pretty much it.
Terri, it turns out, likes to knit. She has grabbed every bundle of yarn she can find, and is still looking. She’s promised to teach Deena, and some of the older girls how as well. I guess we’ll have blankets by winter. Well, afghans maybe. Afgans? How do I spell. . .never mind.
There’s a mechanic here, and he’s fine tuning the bus, and my Humvee. He should be done this evening. We’ll head out in the morning.
-
“Sergeant, I really appreciate whatever providence brought you our way,” Captain Thomas said as he reclined with Roland and Jesse outside. “The help you’ve given us may be just what keeps us going. I am genuinely sorry that we can’t offer you a place here with us.”
“I’d say you’ve helped us more than we’ve helped you, Captain,” Roland shrugged. “And while I can’t deny it would be nice to stay here as part of a larger group, I do understand. Your resources are limited, and adding our group to it would simply mean you would exhaust them sooner.”
“I really appreciate that,” Thomas scowled. “Cause I feel like a cast-iron sum-bitch for turning you away. I’d give anything to be able to do more for you. But you’ve seen how tight things are for us here. Without the food you found, we couldn’t have really maintained here more than another month. Whatever help we’ve given you pales in comparison to what you’ve given us. Hope.”
“The help you gave us, letting the kids bathe and get medical attention, was. . .well, more than I could have hoped for, sir,” Roland told him honestly. “One of the things I’ve worried about most, to be honest. Without access to medical care, almost any sickness will be harsh for us as a group.”
“I’m relieved we could do it,” Thomas admitted. “We’re actually set pretty well for medical issues. I wish we were better off in other areas, especially water. Right now, we’re dependent on the Cumberland for water, purifying it for drinking and cooking, and simply filtering it for bathing. If we didn’t have that portable water plant from when we were in Iraq, we’d be screwed. Still will be when it goes down for the count.”
“You should think about leaving here, sir,” Roland told him. “Find a place outside the city with a clean well, perhaps. Somewhere you can be sustainable. You have enough manpower to make that happen.”
“We have thought about it,” Thomas admitted. “And may do it yet. To be honest, I’m waiting to see what happens. I keep hoping some semblance of society will return, but with each passing day that becomes less and less likely. I think our societal breakdown may be a long-time correcting.”
“If ever,” Jesse nodded. “Do you have any idea of the casualties this has caused?”
“News reports are a thing of the past, I’m afraid,” Thomas shook his head. “We have contact with the Army on occasion, but if they know anything they aren’t sharing. The com situation is pretty bad at the moment. Folks may have working equipment, but no power. Or limited power through generators or solar cells, but neither of those are long term providers. And fuel is getting hard to come by in many places. We were just lucky. The fuel depot here is maintained because of
the equipment storage and maintenance shops, or we’d be up the creek. Our tanks were topped off right before the wheels came off, so we’re good for now.”
“Ideally, I’d like to find some form of civilian law enforcement still in play, and assist them in getting some order restored. We can loan a squad to them, and our firepower would let them do their jobs without fear of reprisal. Trouble is...”
“Trouble is, there aren’t many, if any, left,” Roland nodded. “They’re just like the rest of us, Captain. Looking after their own.”
“All too true, I’m afraid. And you can’t really blame them, either,” Thomas shrugged. “I mean, we’re all doing it. That’s all we have left, it seems like.”
“Is there any viable government left?” Roland asked.
“There’s what claims to be a central government,” Thomas raised his hands, palms up, “but I don’t recognize a single name they use. Not one. And no one with the Army that we talk to will ‘confirm or deny’ anything. Honestly, I think there’s a power struggle going on for what’s left, and no one wants to take sides.”
“Don’t see what difference it can make,” Jesse shrugged. “We’re too far gone for any kind of central government control, these days.”
“I’m afraid that’s truer than any of us wants to admit,” Thomas nodded his agreement. “If what’s left of the Federal Government can simply protect our shores, then I think that’s all we can hope for. Things in the interior will go back to how they used to be. Local and regional government. But right now, we don’t even have that in a lot of places.” He turned to Roland.
“I have no idea what you’re going to find outside the city, Roland,” he admitted. “We haven’t had any real news in weeks. If we had a HAM, maybe we could find out something, but we don’t. We can tune into what’s being said, sometimes, with a receiver one of my people rigged up, but we can’t ask anything. We just have to take what we get.”
