“Was that it?” she heard one of the American soldiers ask. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you some help once it’s clear.”
Ally continued to scan, knowing there was another one out there. For a moment she thought the last soldier might have run away, either in fear or to find reinforcements, before she caught movement on the far right. The last soldier had crawled to the far right side and had now flanked the Americans. Ally burst forth from her hiding spot and charged the Chinese soldier. The bad guy was aiming his rifle when he heard her footsteps coming up from behind. As he began to stand and turn Ally let loose with her arrow. The arrow struck him in the left arm as he pulled the trigger and fire spit forth from the gun; luckily it was pointing up toward the sky. Ally stopped and readied another arrow just as a bullet cut through his back and exited from his front. The Chinese soldier let out a guttural yell and then fell forward, never to move again.
Ally stood there with her bow held out in front of her. She looked over toward the American soldiers and saw the one who had fired the gun staring at her. The man had a shocked look on his face for just a moment, then he looked past her.
“Is that it?” he asked.
Ally put the arrow away and let her bow drop to her side. “Yeah, that’s it.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she answered. Ally glanced behind her and considered making a run for it. The Wastelands were forbidden for civilians; they had been told that when they first arrived. Any civilians caught in the Wastelands would be arrested and kicked out of the safe zone. Yet for some reason she didn’t budge.
“Is there anyone else with you?” the soldier asked.
“No.”
The soldier stared at her for a second then ducked behind the car. “I have a man down over here; can you assist?”
Ally knew better. She knew it would be safer to just turn and run, or at the very least to stay on the outskirts. Instead she found herself walking over toward the soldiers. The other soldier was lying on his back and he was bleeding from his left shoulder. The non-wounded soldier saw her approach and the shocked look appeared on his face again. For a second he just stared at her, then he snapped back to reality.
“Uh, can you put pressure on this wound?”
Ally bent down and placed her hands on the left shoulder of the wounded soldier. The blood felt warm on her hands and she tried to focus on something else. She watched as the non-wounded soldier got out a bandage. The soldier had a face full of hair but it was neatly trimmed, or as neatly trimmed as could be expected out in the Wastelands. He seemed young, maybe in his middle twenties, and had bright green eyes that kept glancing at her every few seconds.
“Thanks,” he said as he placed the bandage over the wound.
Ally moved her hands away and sat there. The wounded soldier groaned as the bandage was secured on his shoulder.
“It’s a flesh wound, quit being a baby,” the soldier said.
“Flesh wound? There is a bullet in my shoulder; that’s more than a flesh wound.”
The non-wounded soldier looked to her and rolled his eyes.
Ally smiled.
“I’m Maclin,” the non-wounded soldier said. “This crybaby is Hoover.”
Ally nodded and Maclin continued to stare at her. “Oh, my name is Ally.”
Maclin smiled and Ally’s heart fluttered. Maclin looked back behind her again. “You really don’t have anyone else with you?”
“No, just me.”
Maclin looked her up and down as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“But you’re just a little girl,” Hoover said, staring up at her.
Ally clenched her jaw.
“That little girl just saved both our asses,” Maclin said, giving her a wink. “This area was supposed to be clear but it appears there are still some stragglers roaming around. Thanks again, but what the hell are you doing out here?”
“I…uh…am I in trouble?” Ally asked, again considering making a run for it.
“Why would you be in trouble?” Maclin asked.
“Because civilians aren’t supposed to be out here.”
“Well, thankfully for us, you don’t follow orders,” Maclin said, smiling.
She liked his smile.
“It’s safer for you all not to be out here but we don’t have the manpower to try and stop you. You are most definitely not in trouble.” Maclin looked up at the sun, which was well on its way back down toward the horizon. “But we will be if we don’t get him back to base. I owe you a bite to eat. You hungry?”
“I…I guess.”
“All right then,” Maclin said as he helped Hoover back up to his feet. “Stay close.”
They walked through the destruction of the surrounding area. Every now and then Ally would catch sight of something resembling a road or street; otherwise there was nothing but rubble.
“You live out here?” Maclin asked as they walked.
“No, I live in one of the safe zones.”
“Oh....so you out looking for supplies, or…”
“Yeah, supplies to trade,” Ally lied. He seemed to have a hard time believing she was out in the Wastelands by herself so she doubted he would believe she was out hunting for Chinese soldiers.
Maclin didn’t seem to buy it but he nodded his head nonetheless.
They continued their trek through the wastes when she noticed someone in the window of a nearby building. Before she could say something Maclin waved up toward the window.
“No worries, that’s us,” Maclin said. “Good eyes, though.”
Ally looked to the other side of the clearing and saw another person in the building across the way. The clearing had a grouping of damaged and dilapidated buildings. At first glance they were nothing more than that, but look closer and you could see signs of life. A large hole in the side of a building revealed a couple of soldiers sitting on lawn chairs; a large concrete wall resting against an old pickup truck was hiding a group of soldiers playing a game of cards. In the middle of it all was a large open military tent where over a dozen soldiers sat poring over maps.
“It doesn’t look like much but we’re on the move a lot. We have to be able to pick up and go at a moment’s notice,” Maclin said, watching her face.
“Are there more of you? I mean more than this?”
“Oh yeah. We’re just one of the mobile units. Our HQ is bigger and more secure than this.”
Hoover stopped where he was. “I’m going to get this checked out.”
“Good call, they’re probably going to have to amputate,” Maclin said with a smile.
For a second Hoover’s face made it seem like he believed Maclin, then he caught onto the joke. “Ha, ha, very funny,” he mocked as he walked away.
Maclin shook his head again and smiled at her. “Come on, let’s find some grub.”
Ally would have thought that a civilian in their base would have caused an uproar or at least some kind of military meeting; instead, she got a few glances but none that lasted more than a few seconds.
“Are you all used to civilians being in the Wastelands?” she asked.
“Wastelands, huh? Is that what they call it? Guess it fits.” Maclin shrugged. “Not that uncommon. There are still people that live around here or just people passing through. Once the fighting died down a lot of wildlife moved in. There is actually some pretty good hunting down by the coast, if you’re into that kind of thing.”
Maclin walked up to a window and gave it a few knocks. A soldier unlatched it and swung it open.
“What we got today?” Maclin asked.
“For you? Our best, rabbit stew,” the soldier inside said as he handed a bowl to Maclin.
“I got two here,” Maclin said.
The soldier glanced past Maclin and saw Ally there. “My bad, I’ll give you all a two-for-one special.” He handed a bowl and a spoon to Ally, who took it.
Maclin led her off to the side, where they rested up against a building that blocked out
the sun. It felt good to get off her feet and the cool air felt better against her skin. She took a spoonful of the stew and was surprised at how good it was.
Maclin laughed when he saw her face. “Forgot how good foot can be with spices, huh? One of the benefits of being in the military, I guess. We still get the good stuff.”
They sat there enjoying the quiet and the stew. After a few minutes Ally lifted up her bowl and drank the last of the stew. It warmed her belly. Maclin was taking his time and enjoying each spoonful. Ally looked back out toward the empty buildings.
“So, are we winning?” she asked.
Maclin nodded. “Seems so. It was rough going for a while. They were content to sit back in the ocean and bombard us with missiles for months, but when they set foot on land we pushed them right back into the water. They airdropped a bunch of soldiers a few months back but that was more of an annoyance than anything else.”
“So did they give up?”
“Maybe. Or they decided to focus their attack somewhere else. Their ships moved on and the skies have been clear. That’s why Hoover and I almost got caught with our pants down out there. Been nearly a week since we’ve had any contact. Thanks again, by the way.”
“No problem.”
“You going to need some help getting home?”
“No, I’m ok.”
Maclin stared at her for a beat. “I don’t know how comfortable I feel just letting you wander back out there by yourself. Especially after I was just involved in a firefight.”
Ally shot him a look of annoyance. “They snuck up on you, not me. They only saw me because I was trying to warn you.”
“Fair enough,” Maclin said with a small smile. “I’ll grab you some supplies for your trip. We should be based here for the next couple of weeks, so if you’re ever in the area I got a bowl of stew waiting for you--deal?”
Ally felt her face grow red. “Deal.”
Ben
Food had never tasted so good. A bed had never felt so soft and the shower--Ben hadn’t realized how much he had missed a hot shower. When he finally got out, dried himself off and sat on the soft bed, he was nearly in tears. This is what they had lost so long ago. Ben finished putting on the crisp army uniform that had been provided for him when there was a knock on the door. He opened it to find General Wallace standing outside. The man’s face was hard as stone and he smiled but it didn’t soften his features.
“You ready to meet the President, son?” he asked.
“Yes sir,” Ben said awkwardly.
Wallace paused for a moment as if he was thinking, then turned and began to walk down the bright corridors. Ben fell in line with him.
“I understand you joined after the Event?” Wallace asked.
“Uh, yes sir.”
“That’s commendable. It’s one thing to enlist when the world is at peace; it’s something else entirely to do so when it’s not.”
“Thank you, sir,” Ben said.
They walked through the corridors in silence. It was still strange to Ben to see working lights and electricity. It was something that had been so commonplace when he was a child but now seemed almost magical. They walked past one of the Mess Halls and Ben spotted dozens of soldiers sitting around eating casually, as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
“You’ve been out in the field a long time, son?” Wallace asked, watching him.
“Uh, yes sir. I enlisted and then went to New York.”
“That was a tough battlefield, one of the toughest we’ve had so far.”
They walked past a door guarded by two soldiers into a giant room where a woman sat at a desk with a warm smile on her face.
“Hey Jim, President Johnson is waiting on y’all,” she said as she gave them both a smile.
General Wallace opened the double doors and Ben walked into an immaculate room. There was a large wooden desk in the middle and just behind it was a giant presidential seal on the back wall. Ben noticed a wet bar in the corner and several leather couches on the other side.
“President Johnson, this is Private Irving,” Wallace said.
Ben had been young when the power went out but he remembered the presidential election prior. His mother liked to watch the debates and tried to talk to him about the importance of voting. Ben had always drifted off seconds into her lectures. But he did remember the men always seemed to have the same look. They were always old with plastic looking hair, slick suits and a permanent smirk carved into their face. He had said something about this to his mother once and she had said that was just how politicians looked. It had confused him as a child. He still didn’t understand what that meant, but he did know that President Johnson was a politician.
The man crossed the room and gave Ben a firm handshake. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot of good things,” he said warmly.
“You have? I mean, thank you, sir.”
Johnson laughed and gave him a pat on the back. “Yes, we’ll have plenty of time for that. Take a seat,” he said, gesturing to the leather seats in the corner. “Can I get you a drink?”
“No sir, I’m fine, thank you.”
All three of them walked over and took a seat on the cool leather seats. The General sat to Ben’s right while the President sat on the couch directly in front of him. The President appeared to be in his sixties, with perfectly combed black hair and sharp worry-lines creasing his forehead. Even with that, he seemed to be at ease.
“Most of your squad has already been debriefed by General Wallace here, so I’ve been told quite a few things about you. Of course, I like to get all my information straight from the horse’s mouth. Tell me about yourself.” Johnson leaned back on the couch with his right hand draped back across the headrest.
Ben looked to Wallace, who just stared back at him with his intense eyes. “Well…uh…not much to say sir. I enlisted-”
“Why did you enlist?” Johnson asked.
Ben swallowed. He had been in firefights, he had been in the middle of a city that was exploding all around him and he had never been as nervous as he was right now. “I wanted to make a difference.”
Wallace laughed heartily. “Son, I’ve heard that line a million times.”
“It’s true,” Ben said a little too quickly. “When the power went out I was with my family and when things got bad my father and one of my brothers were killed, my sister was kidnapped and my brother disappeared searching for her. I went from having a family and a normal life to just being…to just being alive. I wanted to actually do something with my life.”
The smirk disappeared from Wallace’s face. A smile appeared on President Johnson’s.
“Go on,” Johnson said.
“A helicopter crashed near our house and I met a soldier named Mason. He was hurt and I helped him recover. Afterwards I followed him to New York, where he trained me to be a soldier.”
Johnson looked to Wallace.
“I believe he was one of our Special Ops. The ones we sent out to try and maintain order before we were attacked,” Wallace said. He saw Ben looking at him. “Your squad mate Ty told me about how you all went to New York looking for him.”
Ben nodded.
Johnson sat forward. “I’m sorry for your loss. All of us have lost someone or something but it doesn’t make it any less unfortunate.”
“Thank you…sir.”
“Now from what I’ve been told you not only joined up with Crimson and her group but became a valued member. I understand you were the one that salvaged the operation to set off the EMP.”
Ben thought back to when they stumbled upon Vick and Chavez’s group when they were under fire. Reaper had been against trying to help them. Ben, Ghost and Crimson had disobeyed his orders and saved them.
“I was a part of that group.”
Wallace smiled. “I also understand that you were monumental in the operation and it’s possible it would have failed if not for your actions.”
Ben said nothing.
Johnson looke
d to Wallace and smiled. “I’ve been told a good solider is one that is humble, but at the same time don’t sell yourself short. Your group struck a massive blow to the Chinese invasion. To be completely honest, their offensive is all but over; all they are doing now is trying to maintain the few bases they already have in our country.”
“Switched them from being on the offensive to being on the defensive,” Wallace said.
Johnson leaned back on the couch again. “With that said, we can’t truly begin rebuilding this country until all the foreign forces have been pushed out or eliminated, which is where you come back in. Our scouts have been able to identify several of the enemy’s bases. Some are actual military camps, some are supply depots and others are prisoner camps. We are putting together squads to hit these locations and burn them to the ground. Interested?”
“Yes, sir,” Ben said without hesitating. “That’s why I signed up.”
Johnson clapped his hands together. “Good to hear. We still need to talk to the rest of your unit but so far no one has turned us down.”
“They’re soldiers,” Wallace said with a hint of irritation in his voice. “They are supposed to follow orders.”
Johnson waved a hand at Wallace. “If a unit nearly takes out the entire Chinese military offensive in a single strike I think they deserve to be asked.” Johnson turned back to Ben and flashed him a politician smile. “We are still putting the intel together and getting organized so you’ll have a few weeks of R&R at minimum. So go relax and unwind; you deserve it.”
Alec
The guards were tense. Normally they joked around and talked with each other but tonight they all stood at attention and only occasionally whispered amongst themselves. Alec wasn’t the only one who noticed it.
“What’s going on?” Jon asked as he scooped a handful of corn porridge and shoveled it into his mouth.
“No idea,” Alec answered quietly.
Finn sat down a very spaces from them, just within earshot but not close enough to make it seem like they were purposely sitting together. Finn made a point to make it seem like they weren’t friends.
“Hey Finn, do you know what’s happening?” Alec asked.
The Wasteland: Book 6 of The After The Event Series Page 4
