The Changing Earth Series (Book 4): Battle for the South

by Hathaway, Sara F.

  “Mom! You’re up!” Dexter elated as he ran to her and hugged her tightly. “I missed you so much,” he choked out the words, trying not to cry.

  Erika let the tears fall and declared, “I missed you too, Dex.”

  Then Trucker put his front paws on the bed and broke them up with a lick from his gigantic tongue across both their faces.

  “Oh, come on, Trucker!” Dexter scolded him. He backed down gently and sat down dutifully, staring at Dexter.

  “It’s okay,” Erika said cheerfully. “I missed you too, Trucker.” The animal felt her positive vibes and came back for a hug. “Do you know if Daniel and Grandma and Grandpa are okay?” Erika asked frantically.

  “Slow down, Mom,” Dexter comforted her. “They’re fine. Lt Col Virgis made sure Daniel, Grandma, and Grandpa got to Reno. Daniel’s pissed that you didn’t take him but all in one piece,” Dexter informed her.

  Erika thought on his words for a moment. “What about Star?”

  “She’s going through some stuff, Mom. Sean left her for another landowner’s daughter, so he could stay in the band,” he said sadly.

  Erika saw Vince’s eyes fill with anger and his face turned red. He paced, trying to calm himself, behind Dexter. Obviously, Dexter had already given him the news.

  “At least she’s okay. Why didn’t she come? Erika asked.

  Dexter lowered his voice and whispered to Erika, “Because you know what’s coming and someone had to stay with Daniel and Grandma and Grandpa.”

  “Because of the flood?” Erika questioned loudly.

  Stan took notice, along with a few of the nurses. Bennet rose sharply from his chair.

  “Erika, don’t,” he commanded sternly.

  “They have a right to know,” Erika countered.

  “Not now. The plans are being put in place,” Bennet assured her.

  “Those plans better get executed quickly,” she threatened him.

  He glared at her and her audacity.

  “I think you better stow your gear in the bunk house and go grab some food. We can discuss this later,” Bennet commanded.

  Erika glared back at him.

  “Sir, yes, sir,” she declared spitefully.

  The tension decreased as Dexter and Vince showered Erika with love and escorted her to the chow line.

  “Oh man! No more breakfast? I was really looking forward to rehydrated eggs with bacon bits,” Erika teased her boys.

  “Nope, you’ll just have to make do with rehydrated mashed potatoes and beef stroganoff,” Dexter said sarcastically.

  The potatoes plopped on her plate and the sauce from the stroganoff turned it all into a soft mush of flavors.

  “Mmmmm….” Erika jested again, holding up her plate.

  Trucker licked his lips at her feet.

  “Look, Mom, Trucker wants some,” Dexter commented.

  “Nope, Trucker, this slop is mine,” Erika told the wide-eyed dog.

  As she was finishing up, Bennet approached again.

  “I need to talk to you,” he told her bluntly.

  “Whatever about, Master Sergeant,” Erika chided him.

  “It’s 1st Sgt now,” he told her.

  “Well, well, congratulations, 1st Sgt—that’s much better than second sergeant, right?” she teased.

  “Erika, please stop. I need to talk to you,” Bennet requested.

  “Okay, but only because you said please,” she acquiesced.

  Chapter 28

  Bennet escorted Erika toward the building the Militia was using as a command center. Erika was stopped multiple times along the way by soldiers wanting to say hi and make sure she was okay. Vince, watching them from the table in the chow tent, saw Bennet grow more agitated each time someone stopped Erika. He was a giant of a man compared to his little spark plug.

  “I don’t like this. I’m going to follow them,” Vince told Dex.

  “I’m going to take Trucker out for a run,” Dexter told his dad.

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you in an hour or so,” Vince told him, getting up from the wooden table.

  1st Sgt Bennet led Erika through the building, where more of the soldiers stopped her to say hello. Bennet opened the door and closed it with a sharp bang. Erika sat smugly in the chair.

  “You know, your daughter looked just the same way when I interrogated her,” he commented to her to mess with her mind.

  “You better have been nice,” Erika told him.

  “Come on, Erika. It’s me,” he teased.

  “Yeah, that’s just what I’m afraid of,” Erika commented.

  He sat down in the chair across the desk from her.

  “Why did you do it, Erika?” he asked, staring at her.

  “Oh, come on, Bennet. Really?” Erika rolled her eyes at him. “Why did we leave?” She couldn’t believe he was even asking. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because I knew you would do something stupid and I was right,” he told her.

  “No, you were wrong. You want to know why I left? I left because you lied. I asked straight up, and you lied. I gave you the chance to tell me and you lied!” She stared back at him. “You lied when the lives of my family and closest friends were on the line. You would have sat safely in the North, hoping upon diplomacy while people died, and you knew it was coming. You are no different from the feds that decided to close down the California border after the Great Quake,” she said angrily.

  “That’s not fair, Erika. I’m under orders,” he replied.

  “Of course you are,” she sighed. “Your orders always come first.”

  “Yeah, they do, Erika. That’s just the way it is. It’s my job to protect you and if you haven’t noticed I’ve been doing a fine job,” he raged. He stood up suddenly, flinging his chair into the wall and started pacing the floor. “Let’s see, I trained you to protect yourself, I got you out of Vegas, I saved your husband in Montana, and I just saved your ass again last night!” He slammed his hand on the desk and his vein in his forehead was starting to bulge as he glared at her.

  “I know, and I can’t even begin to repay you for what you’ve done for me,” Erika acquiesced, reflecting on his words.

  “Yes, you can. You should follow your heart, but you also have to follow my orders. You owe me that,” Bennet told her.

  “I appreciate you, Bennet, I really do, but I don’t owe you that,” Erika told him bluntly. “You’re asking me to give up my freedom, the very thing we are fighting for. In exchange for what? For orders from you? We’ve been through this too many times.”

  “How about in exchange for your life and your husband’s life!” he yelled. “You know, the ones I’ve been saving over and over again.”

  “The ones you’ve been saving over and over.” She fed his words back to him. “Why Bennet? Why? So that you could use me as a puppet to stir up the people,” Erika countered back.

  “It’s not like that, Erika,” Bennet responded.

  “Really? Las Vegas: get us out so Mathew Tweed can’t kill us, and we can help the resistance. Montana: get us back into society even at the possibility of federal prison camp and living life as a refugee again so we can go on public display. Why did you save us this time? What do you need us for now?” Erika accused him.

  “Nothing,” he replied. “It’s not like that this time.”

  “Then why do you care if I follow orders?” Erika wondered.

  Bennet paused for a moment. “Because, then I’ll always know right where you are.”

  Erika studied him for a moment, confused. “I don’t know, Bennet. So much has happened in the past few weeks. Do you know I watched people die on the streets, babies, because you were looking for us? Did you have to go there?” Erika accused him.

  “You freaking left, Erika!” Her comment had hit deep. “You were on Federal Probation and you left! You can’t come back after that. They will kill you!” He slammed his hand down on the desk again and stood up. “I was going to bring you back without incident, so no one wou
ld ever know.” He tried to explain, which was something he hated to do, and that made him even angrier.

  “While my friends and family died!” she shouted back at him.

  “Dammit, woman, you and your husband made a fool of me. Did you know that your son and I were almost arrested in Dallas, we were hunted, and I had to crawl through four miles of tunnel behind your son’s dog’s ass because of you?” Bennet fumed.

  Erika chuckled at the last comment.

  “Oh, you think that’s funny?” Bennet steamed. “We are leaving in the morning.” He said flatly, changing the subject altogether.

  “No, I’m staying with the Militia,” Erika told him.

  “What are you talking about? Your family is back in Reno at the Merc base,” Bennet tried to inform her.

  “I know,” she said simply.

  “Don’t you want to see them?” Bennet asked.

  “I do, but we’re taking out Las Vegas before we move east with the refugees behind the army, so they can be evacuated, right?” Erika asked him.

  1st Sgt Bennet was surprised she already knew the tactical information. Erika rose from the chair. She shook her head at him.

  “Cassidy and Eli already talked to me about the plans when we were down south. The Militia has never hidden anything from me since the moment I stepped into their camp,” she said, walking out the door.

  “Damn it, Erika. Don’t walk away,” he yelled, following her out the door.

  “Let her go,” Vince told Bennet. He had been waiting behind the door.

  “Vince, what are you doing here?” Bennet asked, still riled up from the conversation with Erika.

  “Waiting for you,” Vince told him.

  They went back into the office to avoid attention from onlookers.

  “Tactics aren’t working this time?” Vince asked.

  “She is the most stubborn little…” Bennet admitted to him.

  Vince rubbed his nose a little and looked at him. “She’s stubborn? You know what, Bennet? She is exactly what you made her to be! From the minute you met her you have been trying to mold her. To change her and make her into what you thought was best for her. Though sometimes it doesn’t seem like it, she has tried to be exactly what you wanted. She came home night after night bruised from your training and hurt from your challenges. Does she ever complain? Does she ever give up?

  “You know what I wanted? I wanted to take my wife and my kids and live in the woods somewhere. Someplace we could grow food, live simply, and spend time together. Now, here we are wrapped up in the very center of this conflict because you told her she could save the world.

  “I know you have saved my life specifically, but Bennet, she’s given you her life. She trusted you to be her friend. Hell, she gave you our lives. It’s time you take a second to realize that,” Vince corrected him.

  Bennet sat down in the chair, reflecting on Vince’s words.

  “Vince, I’m jealous of you,” Bennet admitted.

  “I’m sorry?” Vince wondered how he meant that.

  “You’ve got such a great woman and beautiful kids. Your family is solid and one hundred percent loyal to each other. Wherever you’ve lived, whatever is happening around you guys, you’re happy as long as you’re together. I’ve often wondered why I couldn’t be satisfied with something so beautiful, but it wasn’t in the cards for me. I’m sorry for causing you guys to make the decision you did,” Bennet admitted, deflated.

  “You’ve got to let her in, Bennet. She will follow your lead, but she needs to know where you are headed first. She loves you, you know,” Vince told him.

  “You’re not threatened are you, Vince, because it’s never been like that.” Bennet felt awkward.

  “Bennet, I’ve never been jealous of another man in my life with Erika. I trust my wife one hundred percent. We talk about everything. We respect each other’s opinions and work hard to find a solution we’ll both be happy with. We’ve had you as part of our lives for a long time. You just have to face it, you’re one of the family now,” Vince told him.

  “I can imagine worse things,” Bennet teased. “What do I do about, Erika?”

  “Talk to her. Be straight with her,” Vince answered as they walked to the door.

  They gave each other a bro hug.

  “Thanks, Vince,” Bennet told him as he went to go find Erika.

  He found her in the bunk room next to a cot. She was going through her pack. She had laid everything out for her own personal inspection and was sitting cross-legged in front of a mat, cleaning her rifle. She looked up as he entered but quickly looked back down at what she was doing to avoid eye contact.

  “You can’t beat the smell of gun oil,” he commented as he approached.

  “They should make it a cologne,” she jested back, still not looking at him.

  Bennet sat down on the floor across from her mat.

  “Erika, I don’t know how else to say this and I’m really bad at this stuff, so I’m just going to say it,” he thought out loud, stammering a little.

  She looked up at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

  “I’m sorry,” he blurted out.

  She smiled at him and went back to her work.

  “We’ve both given a lot of ourselves and been through some messed-up stuff on this journey. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you. I know I have orders, but you guys are all the family I have, and I’m sorry I put that on the line by not talking to you,” he said honestly.

  She put the gun parts down, processing his words.

  “I’m sorry too,” she said, looking up at him. “You’ve been the greatest mentor and taught me so much. We shouldn’t have left like we did. It was a snap decision and we made it, but I apologize for leaving you like that. It was wrong.”

  “Looks like you’re ready for inspection.” He smiled at her quickly, changing the subject.

  “Yes sir, I guess I am,” she said, smiling back.

  “Well, why don’t you pack it up and go spend some time with your boy. I’ve got to check back in with Eli, but I’ll meet you guys at chow time.”

  “Sounds good to me,” she said, packing her stuff up.

  Vince smiled at them from the doorway.

  Chapter 29

  Vince and Erika spent a relaxing day with Dex, catching up. Eli agreed to Vince and Erika staying one more day to heal. Mercenary sources within the Federal Forces said they were still busy in the north. Although they had access to the same weapons in use before the Great Quake, the quake itself had decimated the numbers of these war machines. The gasoline to fuel them was limited and the factories to produce them were destroyed.

  Even with these limitations the death count in the North was going to be astronomical. The people had fought many battles after the Great Quake, and they were not about to go quietly into the night.

  The next morning, 1st Sgt Bennet was up early. They needed to get on the road to Reno.

  “Good morning, boys and girl,” he announced, walking down the rows of cots Jensen, Smith, and the Moores were in. When there was no answer he turned back around and bellowed, “Let’s go, people,” giving each cot a swift kick. He turned around again. “It’s 05:00, time to move.”

  They began to stir, moaning about the early morning hour.

  “I’ll see you in the briefing room, cupcake,” he said, pointing at Erika as he left.

  Erika’s body still ached, but she knew Bennet would not relent. She dressed in her camo and made sure her pack was ready to be loaded into the truck.

  “Guess I’ll see you at the chow line,” Erika said, giving Vince a kiss before heading out.

  Erika hustled over to the office Bennet had taken her to the day before. He was there, on some kind of a phone. Erika thought it looked like a backpack and a walkie-talkie had a baby together.

  “Yes, sir. We’ll drive straight through. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir,” he said, pushing one button among many on a control screen.

  “Morning, cupcake,” he said che
erfully. He knew how much she loathed the early morning hours.

  Erika was too groggy to come up with a snappy retort. “Good morning, sir,” was all she could muster. “What’s up?”

  “You wanted to be informed, well, this is briefing hour,” he told her.

  “Okay,” she said hesitantly, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

  “After chow, we are headed back to Reno.”

  “But, I told you…” she started to argue.

  “Erika, you’re being informed, but this is not open for debate, just listen,” he calmly stated. “After chow, we are headed back to Reno. The feds know you guys are here and it endangers this whole force. The Mercenaries are working on sweeping out the Federal Forces’ pockets in the badlands and then they are headed to Las Vegas. I was told to assemble a team that knows the facility. I’ll have three weeks to get this team ready to infiltrate the refugee camp to remove key targets that could be used as leverage against us before the Mercenary Army attacks it. Are you in?” Bennet had laid out the plans and awaited a response.

  “You know I am,” Erika replied confidently.

  “Good, grab some chow and get over to the truck. Dex, knows where it’s at,” he told her. “Send Jensen in.”

  She was confused about Jensen, but sure enough, when she opened the door she saw him standing there waiting for Bennet.

  “Ma’am,” he acknowledged her.

  “1st Sgt. Bennet’s ready for you, sir,” she told him.

  Erika crossed the expanse to the chow tent with a hop in her step. She was going to see Daniel and Star. Her purpose was clear, and it felt good. After getting her food, she sat down with Vince and Dexter. They were just finishing up and waited for her to eat while she told them about the upcoming training and task in front of them. Vince and Dexter agreed that they were in as well and packed the truck up to leave.

  It was a hot ride through Arizona. The sun beat down relentlessly. Erika tried to sleep, sweating in the back of the truck but it was so hot. She felt like she was in a puddle. She thought about Star and Daniel. The anticipation of seeing them far outweighed the pain of getting there. Bennet and Jensen traded on and off, driving, and the vehicle began to cool as night set in. They made it to Reno in the wee hours of the morning.