“Looks like they were attacked. Whoever it was had some fairly superior firepower. Most of the town was either destroyed or set on fire. A lot of people died. It was a real bloodbath on both sides.”
“What are we talking about in terms of numbers?”
“Maybe eighty dead and a lot of walking wounded.”
“Eighty? Jesus. Do we know who attacked them?”
“We found some of the bodies with Kentucky driver’s licenses and other ID on them. It appears to be the rogue group we heard about earlier.”
“How many survived?” Webber asked.
“Maybe thirty or so. Most of them are wounded but they did manage to hold them off. They kept their medical supplies and food. I guess it was kind of a standoff when it was all over.”
“Are the rest safe?”
“I don’t know for sure. They couldn’t put up much of a fight as it is now, that’s for sure,” Captain Miller said.
“Get some troops and firepower together. Have them ready to go in one hour. I want to get our people back there to protect them if it isn’t already too late.”
“Sir, we have already started that process. Sorry. I know we should have waited for your orders but...”
“No need to apologize for thinking. Good work. Take as many planes as you need and get some real firepower. I want to knock those bastards out once and for all.”
“Yes sir,” Captain Miller said, saluting.
Within the hour, six planes were loaded with troops in full battle gear. The list included a Multipurpose Missile Launcher, TOW missiles, 81mm Extended Range Mortars and Predator short range assault weapons. A team of four sniper groups with M82A1Ms accompanied the group. Four more planes would be sent in eight hours to retrieve anyone that wanted to leave the area and come to Colorado Springs. The flight to Pennsylvania was totally uneventful and most of the troops nodded off from time to time. A couple were playing cards near the back of one of the DC-3s.
The six planes landed on the landing strip that had been hacked out earlier. As soon as one plane would land, it would unload the troops and taxi to an open area. A few minutes later the process would be repeated until all the planes were down.
A perimeter guard was quickly established to take care of the planes. No one was there to meet them which worried Captain Miller. His first thought was that they may be too late and that the marauders had returned.
He headed the men into town with two point guards out front and two watching the rear of the column. The point man held up a fist and they all came to a stop and dropped to one knee. He motioned that he could see movement below. Miller crept forward and looked into the valley.
“Are those the friendlies?” the point man asked.
“I’m not sure. The rifles look like M-16s and I don’t know how many of our people had the 16s.”
They were startled by the sound of another airplane. It was coming in from the south. It circled once and landed further down in the valley.
“What the hell?” Miller said, trying to spot the plane with his binoculars.
“Looked like an older Cessna,” the guard said.
“I know none of the people down there had access to a plane. Where the hell did it go?”
“Looks like it landed on that road just down there,” he said pointing to a strip of asphalt.
“I think we’re too late,” Miller said.
“I know we are,” the other man said, pointing to a spot in the middle of the town.
A make shift pole with three men hanging from it was near the town square.
“Get the snipers up here. We are going to take these bastards out once and for all,” Captain Miller said through clinched teeth.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
North Alaska
At almost the exact same time that Captain Miller was giving his command for the snipers back in Pennsylvania, Captain Okeli and Captain Edwards were flying over Banks Island, Alaska, only a few hundred miles from the North Pole.
Colonel Webber had decided that they simply had to find out what was really going on further north. He asked for volunteers and many came forward but Okeli and Edwards had been stationed in Alaska at one time so he picked them.
They had refueled at a small airstrip called Inuvik in the extreme Northwest Territory of Canada. The temperature was colder here than any place they had stopped so far but it was not what they had expected. The thermometer at the airport was hovering around -24 degrees Celsius.
“What is that in Fahrenheit?” Okeli asked.
“Hell I don’t know. About -12, I think. I know 32 Fahrenheit is the same thing as 0 Celsius and 100 Celsius is boiling or 212 Fahrenheit. Something about multiplying by 9/5ths after you add 40. Hell, I don’t remember all that stuff.”
“Well, whatever it is, I expected it to be a lot colder.”
“Yeah, I think that is why we see so much ice flow. It should be solid right now and it isn’t. Look at all the lakes we have flown over. Most are way above normal and spilling over. This is obviously where all the water is coming from. The ice cap is slowly melting,” Edwards said.
“Then what happens?” Captain Okeli asked.
“The salinity of the salt water will change and that could trigger other weather changes.”
“What weather changes? So far the weather has been pretty much the same every day.”
“That doesn’t mean it will stay that way over the long haul,” Edwards replied.
“So do we go on?” Okeli asked.
“I’ve been looking at the map. A place called Paulatuk has a single landing strip. We can set down there, refuel and then head back. It is as far as I am willing to go. I’m not about to try to fly over the North Pole. I don’t need to see Santa Claus that badly.”
“Boy, am I glad to hear that. I have no desire to see the North Pole from the air.”
“Me either. We have established that the cap is shrinking and that it is warmer than it should be for this time of year. It’s pretty apparent that the ozone layer has been affected and that is causing the water to rise. I would imagine much of the West Coast is under water by now,” Edwards told him.
“Then let’s get to this Paulwhatever place and get our butts back home.”
“Sounds wonderful to me.”
They finished the preflight inspection and started the engines. Edwards taxied to the end of the runway and they went through their quick usual checklist before takeoff. Edwards shoved the throttles forward and the plane started to gain speed. Just as the rear wheel started to lift off the ground and the nose rotated to a level position, Edwards pulled back on the throttles and applied the brakes as hard as possible.
“What the hell?” Okeli asked, startled.
The plane slowed and the rear wheel bounced on the ground before finally coming to a stop.
“What the hell was that all about?”
Edwards pointed out the window. Standing casually at the edge of the runway was a large moose.
“Oh my God. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. That is the first animal I have seen alive since…”
“Tell me about it,” Captain Edwards interrupted.
“Is it real?”
“It’s real alright.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I’m not sure. I would love to somehow get it into the back of the plane but I doubt that will happen.”
“Do you think there are more?”
“Hell if I know but this one is a miracle in itself.”
“How did it survive?”
“I don’t have a clue. Maybe it wasn’t as severe up here. Maybe some of the animals survived.”
“I don’t know,” Okeli said, shaking his head, “It’s the first one we have seen.”
“Still, how much have we looked? I mean, if I hadn’t caught this one out the corner of my eye, we would have never known about it.”
“What do you think our chances of capturing it are?”
“Zero,” Edwards said.
“So we a
re definitely going to try then?”
“You bet your butt we are.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Pennsylvania
At Herminie, Captain Miller was watching intently as his sniper teams took up their positions. All four had inched down the hill, closer to the small town. The spotters were picking out targets. One by one they simply melted into the surroundings as if they were being swallowed. Before long, even he wasn’t exactly sure where they were.
“Everyone set?” he asked the Sargent crouched next to him.
“We’re ready.”
“Good. Team one will make their way to that position over there,” he said pointing.
“Team two over there,” he again pointed, “I’ll take the rest right down the road toward the town. We will wait until you are in position before we head in. If anyone opens up on us start firing. Don’t wait for a signal cause I’ll probably be curled up in a fetal position,” Miller said.
The Sargent laughed but stopped when he saw the Captain wasn’t laughing.
“Yes, sir,” he finally said.
It took almost an hour for the two teams to get into position. They moved slowly and cautiously as ordered. Finally when they were all ready, Miller started his team down the winding road toward the town.
“Get ready,” he said as they approached the last bend in the road before they would be exposed.
As they cleared the bend, he saw a group of armed men. They looked up and immediately brought their weapons up. Miller held up his hand for his men to stop.
“Who the hell are you?” one of the men yelled.
“US Military. We are here to check on the people of Herminie,” Miller said.
“US Military? Who are you trying to kid? There is no US anymore. You don’t have jurisdiction over us. I suggest you get your ass out of here before you get it shot up,” the man said, thrusting his weapon out in front of him.
“We just want to check on the people and take them back with us,” Miller said.
“Ain’t gonna’ happen. Seems they all left. Just got up and headed out. Craziest thing I ever saw,” he said and the men with him laughed.
“We are still going to check it out.”
“I don’t think so. This is our property now and you ain’t going to do nothing unless we say so.”
“Really? Are you willing to bet your life on that?”
“Don’t try to pull that bullshit on us. We ain’t afraid of no ragtag Army,” he said.
By now thirty more men had joined the group facing them. All were armed and looking trigger happy.
“Men, you really don’t want to get into a fight with us. We are coming in and you will not stop us. We will kill you all if necessary,” Miller said, letting the words hang in the air,
“Do you think we are stupid enough to just walk in like this? One shot is all it will take and you will be picking pieces of lead out of your asses for years. That is, those of you that live,” Miller said, evenly.
“Horseshit.”
“Yes, and you’re full of it. Go on, take a shot at us and see how long you live.”
Miller could see several men climbing on top of roofs and buildings. He wondered how many were going to die today. He waited.
“You have two minutes before we shoot your dumb asses. Now I suggest you turnaround and march you butts back up that hill,” the man said.
“Can’t do it. Won’t do it,” Captain Miller replied.
The man raised his rifle and immediately he was thrown back like a giant hand had grabbed him from behind. The man behind him was knocked back as well. They all froze for a second as they tried to figure out what happened. The roar of the M82 echoed through the valley. Just as quickly everyone scrambled and a deafening barrage of rifle fire filled the air. Shots were sprayed in all directions. Two of Miller's men went down as the rest raced for cover. The two teams began to lay down suppressing fire as Miller’s men moved back to the cover of the bend in the road. A full-fledged firefight was now raging.
Miller could see five dead in the streets and one man trying to crawl to safety. The reverberations of the sniper rifle ended his progress abruptly.
After a few minutes a lull seemed to take place. Miller checked on his two men. One was wounded and the other had taken a round in the throat. It had severed his artery.
“Bring up the Predators,” Miller ordered.
Seconds later three men armed with Predator missiles were taking aim at the locations directed by the Captain.
“I saw at least a half dozen duck into that building. Put a round through the front door,” he said, pointing to where he wanted it to go.
The man nodded his head and took aim. The whoosh of the rocket was the only sound as the missile raced on its deadly track to the front door of the building. It slammed into the building and exploded, blowing out all the windows and lifting a huge section of roof off the building. Two of the walls caved in and smoke billowed out of the structure. No one was going to come out of there alive.
“The movie theater,” Miller directed the next man.
Once again the missile streaked to its target bringing a reign of death to anyone inside. In between, Miller could hear the harsh bark of the sniper’s weapon. The two teams were making their way down the hill using overlapping firing positions. The ka..thump sound of a grenade launcher went off and crashed through a store front window. A man was flung out like a rag doll, crumpling in the street. The rev of an aircraft cut through the air and Miller knew someone was making a run for it.
“Get that plane. I don’t want it to get away,” he yelled to one of his men.
The soldier settled the missile launcher on his shoulder and looked towards the direction of the sound of the plane. He could hear the power being applied and in a few seconds it started to rise over the tree line. He aimed, fired and waited. The thin filament trailed out behind the streaking missile, cutting the distance at an astounding rate.
The plane banked but the missile was locked on and no amount of maneuvering was going to change the end result. The explosion as the missile smashed into the side of the Cessna rumbled like thunder across the valley. Bits and pieces of metal, rubber and body parts plummeted to the earth.
Immediately the crescendo of small arms fire increased from the hostile forces in the center of town and then it became astonishingly still.
“What are they up to?” Miller said more to himself than anyone. A white flag on a pole was being waved from one of the buildings. After a few seconds a line of women filed out along with three men with M-1s pointed at them.
“What the hell are they doing?”
“Hostages?” the Sargent ask.
“Looks like it,” Miller said and stood up.
He walked toward the town, his H & K set on automatic.
“Stop right there,” one of the men yelled.
“What’s the deal?” Miller yelled back.
“We are leaving. We are taking the women with us as hostages. If anyone tries to stop us, we will kill them all.”
“Oh give me a break. Do you really think it is going to work that way? Are you really that stupid? What you are going to do is lay down your weapons and come out from hiding behind women.”
“You shit head. You think we won’t kill them. You willing to bet their lives on that soldier boy?” he said.
“As a matter of fact I am. One shot. Just one shot and the three of you are dead. I give you my word on that.”
“Bullshit. You won’t take that kind of risk.”
“Ah hell, I guess you’re right,” he said and took his helmet off.
Three M82 almost simultaneously spewed out the deadly projectiles. All three men were dead before they even realized what had happen. The bullets tore into their bodies at over 850 meters per second causing massive tearing of the tissue and bone. The women screamed. One ran and others fell to the ground crying.
In the blink of an eye the hostage standoff had ended. Miller’s men moved into the to
wn and immediately started a house by house search. They found several injured men in various parts of the town and brought them all to a central location for transportation back to Colorado.
“Who are you?” one of the women asked.
“We are from Colorado. Colorado Springs more precisely.”
“Oh. Colonel Webber’s men. We didn’t think anyone would come to help us. They killed all the men. Hung some of them but most they just took out to the ditch along the road and shot.”
“Are you and the others alright?” Miller asked.
“Most of us will survive...again. Some of the prettier girls were assaulted but the older ones like me, they passed over.”
“Are you all willing to fly back to Colorado with us?” Miller asked.
“Sure. I doubt anyone wants to stay here any longer. It is safe there isn’t it?” she suddenly asked.
“Yes. We have plenty of defenses at Colorado Springs. You will be safe there.”
“I’ll talk to the other girls but I don’t think it will be a problem,” she said and turned to gather the others.
“Sir,” Sargent Lewis said, coming up from rounding up the wounded prisoners, “You wanted to talk to some of them when we got them all together?”
“Oh, yes. I sure do.”
“We have them in the school building. Six are critical and I don’t think they will make it. Another ten are pretty banged up but the doc is working on them. The rest are shot or have shrapnel wounds but will live.”
Captain Miller took out his semi-automatic and racked a cartridge into the chamber.
Miller looked down on the man sitting in the chair. He had a sneer on his face. He looked to be around thirty but it was hard to tell with all the dirt and grime on his face and clothes. He hadn’t shaved in sometime and he reeked of stale tobacco. His teeth were yellow. A large bandage was tied around his leg and right shoulder. He seemed relaxed and unafraid.
Miller had seen these types before. Tough guys on the outside but once you started to work on them, they broke every time. Miller walked around behind the man and smacked him in the head with the barrel of his pistol. The man’s head snapped forward and he reached up to grab his head.
THE END - Book I - Of THE EVENT SERIES Page 37
