by Paul Greci
Brush grows thick right up against the back side of the mound, which is steeper than the front side—so steep it’s like the wall of a building that’s made of brush. Then right in the middle of the wall the brush starts to move, but it’s moving in a very unnatural way, like a small section of the backside is detaching and swinging open.
“Hey,” I say as I watch a person emerge from what turns out to be a real doorway.
He freezes, like he’s surprised, and then he walks toward us.
“We’re from Simon Lake,” I say. “No one came to get us after the earthquake.”
He tells us his name is Sam.
We are all talking at once, asking Sam about the roads, the buildings, and what kind of damage there is. We all can’t wait to get back to Fairbanks to see if our parents are okay, to see how they weathered the earthquake.
But when Sam finally responds, what he tells us changes everything.
CHAPTER 55
SAM SCRATCHES HIS BEARD WITH one hand. “Canadian helicopters?” He shakes his head. “That can’t be. They would’ve been fired upon the second they crossed into enemy airspace.”
“I know my birds,” Derrick says. “They had a red emblem on the side. A maple leaf.”
“They were flying high, right?” Sam asks as he shifts his weight from one leg to another. “Is it possible that the red emblem you saw was a star?”
I replay it in my mind and say, “Yeah. It could have been a star.”
Derrick nods. “It’s a possibility.”
Brooke pulls out her cell phone and powers it up. “What about this?”
The red screen pops up with the bear outlined faintly in brown.
“Turn that off now,” Sam says calmly. “It’s one of the ways the Russians are monitoring people. They’re blocking all normal cell and web-based communication, but they have tracking capabilities.”
Brooke turns her phone off.
Sam reaches toward Brooke, his palm open. “Please give me the phone.”
“Why?” Brooke asks.
“It’s still a potential security risk,” Sam responds.
“Will I get it back?” Brooke asks.
Sam shakes his head. “That phone could get us all killed. I will take it from you if I have to, but I’d prefer that you just give it to me.”
Brooke hands Sam the phone. He sets it on the ground, picks up a fist-sized rock, and smashes it several times. “Hopefully they haven’t pinpointed our location.”
Brooke’s face is scrunched up and I see one tear escape her eye.
“It’s okay,” I say. “I mean, we had no clue that your phone could be putting us in danger.”
“I know,” Brooke says. “It’s just that my dad gave it to me and I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. If you had something from your dad right now, wouldn’t you want to keep it?”
I nod and so do Shannon and Derrick.
Sam says, “I’m sorry I had to do that, but now we need to move on. You all look hungry. Why don’t you come inside, and I’ll explain a little more in detail what we’re up against and what you missed.” He starts walking, and we all follow. At the camouflaged doorway, he turns and says, “I can understand why you’re confused. You saw things—like helicopters and jets—and your brains made connections that made sense to you.” He gestures for us to go inside.
At the doorway, Derrick says, “So … the Russians invaded Alaska while we were at camp?” He shakes his head. “I hope my dad is okay. He flies helicopters for the army.”
Once we’re all inside, Sam closes the door and turns on a lantern that’s hanging from the ceiling.
“What is this place?” Shannon asks.
“There are things I definitely want to tell you,” Sam says. “And there are things I can’t tell you because you’d put a lot of people in danger if you told anyone else. Say, if you were captured and questioned by the Russians.” He raises his eyebrows. “You weren’t the company I was expecting.”
Brooke and Derrick start talking at the same time, and then they both stop and wait for each other, and I say, “Let’s let Sam tell us what he can. Then we can ask questions. What do people think?”
“That’s a good place to start,” Shannon says.
Brooke nods her approval.
Derrick looks at Sam and says, “Can we have something to eat while you talk? Last time we ate was two days ago. And it wasn’t much. We’ve been on starvation rations for about a week.”
“One thing I’ve got out here is plenty of food,” Sam says. He hands out packages of crackers and cheese. “This will get you started.”
Derrick says, “I was expecting military rations.”
“I’m not exactly military,” Sam says. “At least not in the way most people think of the military.”
I rip open the package of crackers and cheese, take one of each, and put them into my mouth. I chew and swallow. And before I know it I’ve inhaled the whole package and Sam motions for me to grab another.
We all eat as Sam talks.
“I’m going to paint with a broad brush,” Sam says. “I’m in a part of the government that deals with all types of extreme emergencies. We’ve planned for a Russian invasion of Alaska for a long time but didn’t plan on some of the particulars encompassing this one.” Sam takes a breath. “We’ve got a vast defensive missile system at Fort Greely. Secretly, we converted a number of those missiles to be offensive with nuclear capabilities. In a combination of actual physical infiltration and hacking, the Russians have gained control of our nuclear missiles at Fort Greely and have them locked and loaded on targets in the Lower Forty-Eight—New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Denver, Atlanta, Chicago … You get the idea?”
I feel my stomach go raw, like someone is dripping battery acid down my throat.
Shannon says, “So what’s the extent of the invasion in Alaska?”
“There’s a large and growing military presence. Many people are still living in their houses, but more and more homes are being appropriated for Russian troop housing—especially around Fairbanks and Anchorage. There’s evidence of people being rounded up and held captive. And from the limited intelligence we’ve gathered, more roundups will occur as the Russians bring more of their forces into the state.” Sam opens a bottle of apple juice. “You all don’t mind drinking from the bottle, do you?”
Derrick takes the bottle and glugs some juice, then passes it to Brooke. Then he asks, “So, what is your job?”
Sam looks at each one of us, then folds his hands in his lap. “I’m in charge of getting the missiles back under United States control. If we can do that, we can retake the rest of Alaska.”
I almost spit out the juice in my mouth but manage to swallow it, and then say, “This is nuts.” I remember Theo’s words during one of our runs when he was talking about a new coach who acted like he was an expert but later was fired for having falsified his resume: Never blindly follow anyone. “How do we know you’re legit?” I ask.
Before Sam can answer, Shannon adds, “You must have some type of ID.”
“We’ll need more than that,” Derrick says. “IDs can be faked. And how would we know if it was a fake? We’re not experts on that kind of stuff.”
“Just because you’ve got some high-tech camp,” Brooke adds, “doesn’t mean anything. I just want to get out of here and see if my parents are okay.”
“Please don’t try to go anywhere right now,” Sam responds. “If it’ll help, I can show you proof of what’s happening. Some of the images are classified so I’ll need your word to keep what you see to yourselves.”
Before anyone replies, Sam opens a drawer and pulls out a tablet.
“Is that an iPad?” Derrick asks.
“It looks like one,” Sam says, “but it’s much more sophisticated.” Sam spreads his palm and puts it on the screen. “It will only open with full hand recognition.”
The screen lights up. Sam taps on an icon and an image fills the screen. “This is a magnified satellite im
age. Recognize this place?” Sam holds the screen face-out toward the four of us.
I see a large green space with people scattered throughout.
“Those are soccer fields in Fairbanks,” Shannon responds. “I live a few blocks from them.”
Sam taps another icon. “Here’s what they look like now.”
I swallow once and take in the new image. In the center of the green space there are large gray tents, and surrounding the tents are lots of people. On the perimeter of the field soldiers dressed in gray complete the picture.
“That looks like the real deal,” Derrick says.
“I used to watch my older sisters play there,” Brooke says.
“Who are all those people?” I ask.
“The Russians are using large, fenced spaces as detention areas,” Sam replies. He taps his screen and an image of my high school football field appears.
“That’s my school,” I say. The image has the same basic setup as the soccer fields, with tents in the center and soldiers on the perimeter.
“That’s all I can show you,” Sam says as he puts his palm on the tablet and it goes blank. “Now, I need to ask you some questions about how you all got here.”
We tell Sam about our wait at Simon Lake after the earthquake that killed everyone but us. And how we walked in this direction, hoping to get to Talkeetna.
He stands and walks a few steps to a wall with a huge map of Alaska. He finds Simon Lake and Talkeetna and then points out our current location. “You were doing a good job. You’d covered about ninety miles and still had about seventy-five to go. The epicenter of that quake must’ve been close to Simon Lake, which is very remote. But it was a strong enough quake that there was some highway damage. Although it didn’t cause major damage in heavily populated areas, it provided a distraction that the Russians took advantage of while our government was focused on assessing impacts and preparing for aftershocks.”
When Derrick tells Sam about seeing the green thing getting lowered in the trees, Sam says, “You could see it? That’s not good. Of course, we never expected people to approach this location from the direction you all did. We deliberately picked the most inhospitable, brush-and-swamp-infested country to keep people from stumbling into our installation.”
“Josh even lost his shoe.” Brooke points down at the stuff sack surrounding my foot.
“You walked in that?” Sam shakes his head.
We tell Sam about the bear spray, the EpiPen, the tiny amount of food we had to cover the distance we did, and the bear, moose, and wolf encounters we survived. We also tell him about the parachute we found and he informs us it was probably from a supply drop a couple of years ago.
Sam says, “Like I said earlier, you weren’t the company I was expecting. One of my key crews experienced difficulties and has been rounded up by the Russians just outside of Fairbanks. But I’m wondering … I mean, after seeing what you all went through and how you beat the odds to get here.” Sam pauses. “We’re down to the wire.” Sam grips one hand in the other. “I’m wondering if you’d be willing to help me out, for the sake of taking back our country?”
CHAPTER 56
SAM’S SHELTER IS PRETTY INGENIOUS. I mean, it looks like an earth shelter, but it’s not. It’s blanketed with a thick layer of soil. Thick enough that there are trees growing out of it, covering it. And the front side, where the door is, is all brush. But really, it’s this totally sturdy metal structure that’s about forty feet long and ten to twelve feet wide. The ceiling curves and slopes down at either end on the back side, so it’s like being inside a half dome.
The gear is packed in plastic totes. Plus, there’s this long counter and a bunch of communication equipment. Along the back wall, there are bunks that fold down.
The green thing, we learn, is how he sends and receives information. That’s how he found out one of his crews got nabbed by the Russians. He raises the antenna to send and receive. Otherwise, he keeps it retracted. And some of the spruce trees surrounding it aren’t really trees but structures composed of hundreds of mini solar panels. Years ago, lots of sling loads delivered by helicopter—under the guise of a fake mining company doing some exploration—established this place.
“If that antenna of yours wasn’t moving,” Derrick says, “we wouldn’t have come this way, because we wouldn’t have seen it.”
“So you came out here after the invasion?” Brooke asks.
“I was ordered to this station when it was happening,” Sam says. “But the fewer specifics you know, the better. I’m focused on regaining control of the missiles, and to carry out your part of the mission, if you choose to help me, I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”
Brooke asks about getting back to Fairbanks.
“In general,” Sam says, “the past few years, as the United States has backed off from cooperating on international issues, our allies have formed stronger alliances with each other. Now we’re pretty much on our own. Russia has ordered the speedy and peaceful withdrawal of our troops from all places in the world where they’re stationed, the docking of our nuclear submarines, and the grounding of fighter jets from our aircraft carriers. At the same time, they have our nukes in Alaska pointed at the Lower Forty-Eight, and they are slowly assuming control of the entire state. I—”
“But what about Fairbanks?” Brooke cuts in. “That’s where our families are. That’s where we want to be.”
Sam holds up one hand. “I’m getting to that. Local militias have started organizing, which the Russians basically love because it gives them the excuse to use force. And these militias, while they may give state troopers or local police a run for their money, are no match for sophisticated military weaponry. At the same time, Russia has said that actual military retaliation will result in a nuclear response on the Lower Forty-Eight.” Sam takes a drink of water. “If you showed up in Fairbanks, you’d be detained. They’d intensely interrogate you at a minimum. They don’t take kindly to people showing up outside of the boundaries they’ve set up. If they find you somewhere else, they may shoot first and ask questions later. Like if you made it to Talkeetna or the highway. You’re quite lucky that you ended up here, given that you had no clue about what’s happening.”
Shannon asks, “What has the Native response been?”
Sam says, “You’re Athabascan?”
“My mother is Athabascan. My father is white, but I haven’t seen or heard from him in a long time.”
“The public response from leaders in the Native community, at least from what I’ve gotten via my limited communication, goes something like this: Alaska Natives of all tribes were here the first time the Russians invaded. They were here when the Americans invaded. They are still here this time around with the Russians. And will still be here after they leave.”
“That sounds about right,” Shannon says.
“I can understand it,” Sam says. “I would hope, however, that individuals, whether Native or non-Native, would see the urgency in defusing the current nuclear situation. If nuclear weapons are launched, everyone loses.” Sam looks at his watch. “Time for me to raise the antenna and grab whatever information is coming my way today.”
“Won’t the Russians detect your presence when you do that?” Derrick asks.
“The technology we use prevents most attempts at detection from being successful,” Sam says as he gets up, goes over to the counter, and sits in a chair in front of some type of control panel. We gather around him as he puts headphones on and flips up a switch. A panel with several green lights glows, then blinks, then glows. Sam toggles another switch and messes with a dial. After a minute or two he flips the first switch down, toggles the other switch back to where it was, and takes his headphones off.
Sam swivels around in his chair to face us. “The other teams are continuing their preparations. We’re getting closer to executing the plan. I know you all are tough, just given the fact that you survived the hike from Simon Lake. In order to maintain the integrity
of the mission I’m hoping you’ll help me with, I may not tell you everything, but I won’t lie to you. It will be dangerous. You’ll be pushed to do things you’ve never done before. But the skills aren’t so technical that I can’t teach them to you over the next few days before we would move out.”
“How much walking would be involved?” Brooke asks.
“If all goes as planned,” Sam says, “not much. About seventeen miles.”
“You haven’t exactly said what we would be doing,” Derrick says.
Sam lets out a breath. He looks at each one of us and says, “I need a commitment from you first. As an agent of the US government, I have the authority in emergency situations to deputize you all as agents of the US government as well. Your identity will be protected. Nothing will be put down in writing and the government will probably deny any of this ever happened. And you will never be able to talk about it once your job is completed.”
“I get that,” I say. “It’s just normal to want to know what you’re agreeing to before you agree to it.”
“True,” Sam says, “but these are about as far from normal times as you can get. If I tell you the whole plan and then you decline and are captured and tortured, you’ll have vital information that would compromise the mission.” He rubs his beard with one hand. “I’m going to step outside and use the outhouse. Then I’m going to take a short walk to do a little maintenance on my antenna. You four talk it over and give me an answer. I’ll be back in a half hour.”
CHAPTER 57
“CAN WE TRUST THIS GUY?” Brooke asks.
“He’s got to be the real deal,” Derrick says. “Look at this setup. You can’t make this stuff up.”
“I think he’s legit,” Shannon says. “Those satellite images don’t lie.”
“Me too,” I say.
“I just want to get home,” Brooke says, “not blindly agree to some dangerous plan. Look what we’ve been through already.”
