by Steven Kagey
“Mine still works,” David said smugly.
The girls and Brian’s heads snapped toward David with enough speed to cause whiplash.
All three said, “What? How?”
“Dumb luck, really. My dad got some of those Faraday bags in and had an extra one that he gave me to mess around with. I was playing around with it and had my phone in it to see if it would block cell service when the pulse hit. After we realized what was going on, my dad’s phone didn’t work, but mine did. It just didn’t have a signal.”
Brian was stunned. Dumb luck is right. Go get it please.”
“I don’t have it here. It was useless with no cell service, and we had our hands full with all the people coming to the house. When we left the battery was dead, so I forgot it in my room at home.”
“Go get your dad,” Brian said. “We need to go get your phone. Hopefully it’s still there.”
The radio crackled. “We got company incoming” Sean said.
Everyone in the house froze, listening for further instructions. After a few seconds, Sean said, “They’re friendlies. It’s Sheriff Perry and looks like a bunch of his deputies. They got four cars pulled up to the gate. They’re waving at the house.”
Remembering her recent encounter with a so-called deputy, Crystal looked nervous.
“These are real deputies,” Brian assured her. “Everything is fine. You girls did a good job with this. Listen for any more codes.” He handed David the paper. “You need to get your dad and go get your phone. Be careful.”
Brian put on his gear, grabbed his rifle, and headed out the door. When he passed the shop, he called to Craig, “I need you and David to go get his phone from your house. And make sure to get the charger.”
As Brian approached the gate, Sheriff Perry waved and Brian waved back. It looked like the sheriff had all his men with him, all dressed in their tactical load out. Everyone was at ease though, their weapons hanging down in front of their vests.
“Sheriff, you could have come up to the house,” Brian said.
“Not with you having a fifty somewhere around here,” Sheriff Perry replied. “We didn’t want any friendly fire incidents.”
Brian laughed and the two shook hands. Doc was going out to relieve Sean so he could come down to see the sheriff. When Sean climbed out of the LP/OP at the wood line, the sheriff exclaimed, “Damn, he was dug in like a Georgia tick!”
Sean came through the gaggle of deputies and shook hands with most of them on his way to where Brian, Sheriff Perry, and Deputies Anderson and Collins were standing.
“You boys are loaded for bear ain’t ya?”
“After you came and visited we started making contact with the folks around us to let them know we were back on the job,” Sheriff Perry said. “Those fake deputies left a pretty bad taste in everyone’s mouth about law enforcement and most took a shoot first, ask later stance. We did not return fire, we simply hunkered down and waited for them to stop shooting. After about twenty minutes of waving a white flag on a stick, most groups sent someone out to talk to us.”
“If we didn’t know you, I might have lit you up too,” Sean said. “I don’t think you would have been able to hunker down and survive that.”
Looking uneasy, Anderson said, “Yeah, we were pretty nervous about coming out here. That’s why we approached real slow and made sure no one touched their weapons.”
After the men chatted for a few minutes, Sheriff Perry stated the reason for their visit. “We came out to meet the militia folks. Maybe they can help streamline our reintroduction into the community.”
“They had some reservations about if you could be trusted and asked that we come along with you,” Brian said. “We can only bring one vehicle. Drive the rest of your vehicles up into the driveway, and the other deputies can wait there.”
He went up to ask the women if they minded fixing some lunch for the deputies.
An idea occurred to him then. “Sheriff, can you spare a few of the deputies? Craig and David need to go to their house near the interstate and can use the assistance.”
“Not a problem,” the sheriff replied.
Sean introduced them to the three deputies that would be accompanying them.
“Can you deputies take lead?” Craig asked after telling them about the smoke screen capabilities of the truck if they needed to get away.
Brian, Sean, Sheriff Perry, and Deputies Anderson and Collins loaded up in the sheriff’s car with Brian and Sean up front. Evelyn had provided Brian with a swatch of purple cloth to signal to the militia after he told her they had ragged on him about bringing a whole sweater the last time.
They drove up to the militia headquarters, held up the purple cloth, and were waved up. The militia members looked nervous about the law enforcement men being there. The sheriff had wisely instructed his men to leave their rifles and pistols in the car, which helped relieve some of the tension.
Todd and Chris came out to meet them, took them into the barn, and got straight to business.
“Gentlemen, my department is not here to take charge,” Sheriff Perry started. “We simply want to help and make sure the citizens of this county are looked after.”
The men took turns going over priorities and the plans that were underway.
“I’ve been speaking with the folks in the county,” Sheriff Perry said. “When we asked everyone what they need the most, it’s always food that comes up first.”
“We wanted to talk to you about that,” Brian said.
He told them about the raids they had conducted so far, and about their discoveries that the replacement deputies the DHS had put in place were likely criminals from the local jail. The sheriff and militiamen were horrified upon hearing this, and that horror soon turned to anger. Brian told them about the meth house and the house where they had found Crystal.
“We recovered enough food from the last house to replenish our supplies for the time being,” Brian said. “Sheriff, if you and your men continue raiding the rest of the dead fake deputies’ houses, you’ll likely find a lot of food that can be distributed to those in need.
“That’s a great idea,” Sheriff Perry replied. “We’ll do it.”
Brian pulled out the handful of driver’s licenses from his pocket and handed them over to the sheriff.
Sean told him about his own findings from the National Guardsmen’s homes. They agreed to a SWAT-type raid on the fake deputies’ houses and the National Guardsmen homes they would make contact and ask them to willingly surrender any stolen goods. If they surrendered anything, good, but if not they wouldn’t push the issue or harm them in any way.
They spoke about the DHS issue and what they could do about it, and also discussed how they would care for the folks that were already in the FEMA camp if DHS was defeated.
“Through our own surveillance,” Todd said, “we discovered multiple semi-trailers of food that DHS commandeered from the broken down rigs on the interstate. They’re being heavily guarded near the high school. We think it would be enough food to help get the entire town and county through the winter until gardens can be planted.”
***
Craig, David, and the deputy escort made their way to Craig’s house. As they got closer to town, they noticed fewer and fewer people around. There was an increase in burned out homes, and dead bodies.
David explained to his dad about the What3words location system and that he had an app for it on his phone at the house.
“Your phone probably won’t be there,” Craig said.
“The battery was dead, and everyone else’s phone was too. I don’t think anyone would pay my phone any attention.”
“I hope you’re right, son.”
Soon their house came into view, and the damage was immediately visible. All the windows were busted out on the shop and the first floor of the house. The front door was open, and their belongings were strewn out through the yard. Everyone got out with weapons raised and surveyed their surroundings for threats.
After not seeing any other people, they cleared the house.
One of the deputies stood guard outside while the other two fell in behind Craig and David. The damage was breathtaking. Walls were covered in graffiti, every picture frame was broken, and all the walls had holes in them.
The content of every cabinet in the kitchen was on the floor, and the smell from the refrigerator and freezer, which were partially open, made them gag. They hadn’t left much food behind but what they did leave had spoiled fiercely.
Upstairs the smell changed, but was barely any better. This time it was the smell of old urine and feces. They quickly cleared the hallway bathroom which was the source of horrid smell, there were feces all over the place. The toilet was full of human waste, and oddly the sink and tub were filled with human waste as well.
The bedrooms were not much better, less smelly, though not by much. Clothes were all over the floor, the mattresses were shredded, and dressers and furniture were overturned. Their hope of finding David’s phone was diminishing the closer they got to his room.
David’s room was the last one to be cleared, and it had a different smell. A dead flesh smell. Neither David nor Craig placed the smell right away, but the deputies did. After the room had been cleared, the deputies excused themselves outside, warning Craig and David there might be something dead in the room and to be careful.
Using a piece of broken railing from the stairwell to move the piles of clothes around after discovering the first pile that he picked up with his hands were soaked in urine, David methodically went through his room looking for his phone. He soon discovered the source of the smell and threw up in the closet. Initially, he thought it was the partially decomposed body of a cat, but realized it was a partially eaten decomposed body of a cat. As his mind contemplated what had eaten it, he threw up again when he realized it was likely a person.
Just as David had given up hope he spotted his phone in the corner. His excitement faded when he saw the screen was cracked.
“I found it, Dad, but the screen is broken.”
“Bring it. It might still work.”
Craig had a brief thought to grab some more clothes, then dismissed the idea because the stench would likely be embedded in the fabric and it would take long enough to get the smell out of their nostrils as it was.
Neither could get out the front door fast enough, both greedily gulping fresh air the moment they stepped outside. The three deputies were laughing.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” asked one.
When David said yes and held up his phone, they looked less than pleased that they had come all this way and cleared this house for a stupid cell phone.
Craig saw the anger flash behind their eyes. “If the phone works, it may have a crucial app on it that they we’ll need to combat the DHS forces.”
Their anger subsided, but they looked less than convinced of the importance of the phone. They got in their respective vehicles, and David plugged his phone into the charger, crossing his fingers. He let out a sigh of relief when the battery icon came up on the phone.
“Does it work?” Craig asked.
“I can see the screen but won’t know if the touch functions work until it starts up.”
Craig and David took one last look at their destroyed home.
“Before your mother sees this place, we’re going to have to torch it,” Craig said. “I’d rather her see a pile of burning rubble than see it in this condition.”
The five-minute wait that the phone took to start up was excruciatingly long. Once the phone rebooted, David slid his finger across the screen, and it worked. He and his dad cheered. David quickly opened the What3Words app. Fortunately the app downloaded all the information it needed when it was installed and didn’t require an active internet connection. David put in the first location.
seasick.polygraph.lowly
David didn’t recognize the house it showed. It was in their area, but was someplace out in the county. He showed Craig, who didn’t recognize the house either. David entered the second code, then the third, and neither one of them recognized the locations. Craig was thinking that this might have been a wild goose chase.
When the fourth location came up, David mumbled to himself, zooming all the way in to get a better look.
“What is it?” Craig asked.
“I thought it was Uncle Brian’s place, but it’s the house next door to him.”
Craig flashed his lights and slammed on the brakes, skidding to a halt. He grabbed the phone and inspected the image, then handed the phone back to David. “Look up the last location.”
Craig jumped out of the truck with his rifle and scanned the area to ensure it was safe to stop for a moment. The deputies’ car had stopped up ahead and they were looking back to see what was wrong. They saw Craig outside the truck scanning the area and backed up next to the truck.
“David, show them the locations to see if they recognize any of them.”
None of the deputies knew who the first three houses belonged to, but were familiar with the areas. The fifth image riled them all up, and they began aggressively questioning David as to why he had that image on his phone.
Craig interrupted and asked, “What’s at that house?”
“It’s the sheriff’s house,” a deputy replied. “It’s where all of us and our families are staying!”
Craig told one on them to jump in the truck so they could explain on the way. “We have to get back right now!”
Craig sped off, leaving the two deputies in the car struggling to keep up with him. He explained to the deputy that was riding with them how they intercepted the radio transmissions, and they had passed these locations using an obscure location system, which was why they needed the phone.
“One location is the militia location where Brian took the sheriff to.”
At one point a vehicle pulled out behind them, but there was no time to stop and see if they were friendly or not. Craig slowed the truck and the car with the deputies was finally able to catch up to him. As they came broadside of the truck, the deputy in the truck stuck his head out the window and motioned for them to get back to the house as fast as they could.
David reached down to the floor and squeezed the handle to the garden sprayer, sending a large cloud of smoke out of the tailpipe.
The deputy was looking in the side mirror and when he saw the smoke he frantically asked, “Are we on fire?”
Craig and David laughed and reminded him of the smoke screen they had told him about. He was in awe as they raced to catch up to the deputies in the lead.
***
Brian, Sean, the militia leadership, and the sheriff and his guys were still discussing the plans for the county.
“Since we’ve recovered some of our food supplies from what was stolen,” Brian said, “me and my guys are at the disposal of either the militia or you, Sheriff, whoever needs us.”
“The situation we’re currently in is beyond a law enforcement scope,” Sheriff Perry said. “As such, me and my guys will be assisting with any county leadership issues, helping to take care of the residents of the county, or acting as trained fighters where the militia needs us. The militia can take the lead on fighting the DHS and any other feds that oppose you. My department will back you up.”
All of a sudden there was a flurry of activity at the command post table set up in the barn. The militiamen started grabbing weapons and rushing outside. Three men ran over to the table where the discussion was taking place, aiming their weapons at the sheriff and his deputies.
“This was setup!” one of the men brandishing his weapon screamed. “They double crossed us!”
“What are you talking about?” Thomas asked.
“A Hummer with a fifty cal mounted on top and a car of heavily armed men wearing deputy uniforms are approaching the house.”
Todd asked, “Why haven’t the guards fired the mortars yet?
Another man over at the command post table manning the radios
said, “They’re saying the gunner is holding a purple sweater up in front of him.”
“Purple sweater?” Brian mumbled.
The man standing at the table confronting the sheriff said, “It’s a trick, they know our friendly signal and are trying to breach our perimeter.”
“Wait!” Brian shouted. “We never told them what the friendly signal was. We have a Hummer with a fifty. That has to be our men. Something must be wrong.”
The men aiming their weapons at the sheriff and his deputies slightly lowered them while Todd and Thomas digested what Brian had told them.
Then Brian exclaimed, “Oh shit!”
Everyone looked at Brian for clarification.
“We intercepted some code words being passed by the DHS and determined they were possible locations. Two of my guys went to get a phone with an app that can decode the locations. If they just drove the Hummer up here after we told them to wait, that can only mean they must have discovered something serious that could not wait for us to return.”
“Let them through!” Todd screamed. “Get them up here quickly!”
Craig was in the fifty cal turret and lowered the sweater as they pulled up to the barn. “We got problems!” he yelled.
David jumped out and ran up to Brian. “This farm is one of the locations that was passed in the code, Uncle Brian!” He caught his breath and choked out, “The sheriff’s house is another one of the locations.”
Brian asked, “What were the other locations?”
“We’re not sure,” David replied. “None of us recognized them as important.” He handed the phone to Brian.
Brian zoomed into each image, and then to the next.
“Shit,” Todd said, looking over his shoulder. “Two of those are our other safe house locations.”
Thomas immediately ran back inside the barn to get on the radio and warn the other two houses.
“Men,” the sheriff said to his deputies, “we have to go.”
Craig walked up with a few of the deputies. “Sheriff, we sent your other two cars back to warn your people and reinforce your house.”
