by T A Williams
“So what? What now?” Ty asked shifting his weight from side to side.
Mason pulled out one of the large backpack radios. Part of the pack was burnt. Mason must have found it in the debris. “It’s been going in and out. Blast must have damaged it. Command is asking us to fall back across the Hudson to Newark. There is a small base where we can regroup.”
“So just leave?” Anger surged in Ben. “Just turn around and run away?”
“Regroup,” Mason said forcefully. “We have limited ammo, no food and most of us are wounded. We stay here and try to fight against what we just saw out there and we won’t last a day.”
Ben looked to Zima who didn’t flinch.
Ty met his eyes for a second then nodded his head in agreement. “Makes sense, B.”
Ben’s thoughts turned to the people they would be abandoning. “What about the people near Central Park? Are we going to leave them behind?”
“If they knew where this base was then they knew about what we had set up at Central Park. I’m sure it’s gone.” Zima said.
“And the civilians?”
Mason studied Ben for a moment. “We can swing by there but there isn’t much we can do. If they are hurt we are bingo on meds. We don’t have the manpower to transport them.”
“They were planning on setting up barges along the Hudson to start moving the civilians out, but I don’t think they had started yet,” Zima said.
“At the very least we can let them know where we are going,” Ben said.
Mason looked to Zima whose face remained blank. “Go ahead with the ones that are too injured to fight effectively. The rest of us will swing by Central Park to spread the word.”
“Sounds valiant as hell Mason but-“
“Let’s move out we are losing daylight.” Mason interrupted him.
Zima turned his attention to Ben. “Watch your ass.” Then jogged over to the other soldiers.
Ben turned back towards Central Park and despite the fact it was day the sky was black from the smoke rising from the damaged buildings. A faraway explosion sent tremors through the ground shaking the nearby windows. Was this foolish? Mason patted him on the back.
“You’re right. Don’t doubt yourself.”
A smile crept onto Ben’s face. The man knew him well.
“Keep your head down and stay sharp. We should be able to get there and back to the river before night falls.” Mason said.
And just like that they loaded up and headed back towards the destruction of Manhattan.
Alec
She laid next to him, her eyes closed, a strand of her hair laying gently across her face. He couldn’t stop staring at her. The sun had just begun to crest over the horizon sending the first rays of sunshine through his window and across her face. He knew he should wake her before her father realized she was gone, but he didn’t want the moment to end. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled.
“Good morning,” she said. He said the same with a kiss. “I have to go.”
“I know.”
“But I don’t want to,” she said placing her hand on his face.
“I was hoping you would say that.”
“I’ll find you later?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
They shared another kiss and she dressed and left. Alec laid in his bed staring out at the rising sun. The Chinese soldiers were still out there, Whitford was still badly hurt, and they were all still in danger, but all his thoughts were focused on her. Bethany and the people in New Hope were his family and he would protect them.
Alec got dressed and walked outside just as the day was officially beginning. Margie and Malcolm were tending to the horses and Alec gave them a wave, knowing soon he would have to call a council meeting to bring up the distressing news, but he gave them a few more moments of peace. He watched a few of the others heading out to check on the crops and took it all in. Then things, as they always tended to do, changed.
From the far side of the field he noticed movement and caught sight of a horse bursting forth from the woods and into the field coming towards them rapidly. The person on the back of the horse waved his hands about widely and headed straight towards Margie and Malcolm. Alec took off in that direction. By the time he got there he recognized his favorite horse, Sheba, and the person on the back of her and his stomach dropped, it was one of their scouts. If he was there that meant one of the Chinese patrols was dangerously close.
“They’re less than a mile away but moving slow. They’re searching for something.” Alec caught Evan saying to the others.
Malcolm caught sight of Alec. “They’re scouting and on the main road.”
They had cut down trees and tried to hide the main road as well as they could, but Alec didn’t know how well that would hold up against trained soldiers that were purposefully searching for people hiding. He ran over to the scout and held his hand out. “Get down and hand me your rifle.”
The old man swung down off the horse and Alec swung up after him. The man handed over the old hunting rifle and Alec slung it over his shoulder.
“What the hell are you doing?” Margie asked.
“I’m going to lead them away from here.”
Alec kicked his heel into the side of Sheba and they took off down the field. He held the reins out in front of him allowing the horse to get to full speed. The landscape whipped by and the only sound Alec could hear was the wind blowing past. The fear of riding a horse was still there but it was nothing compared to the fear of losing Bethany and everyone else he cared for.
He rode like the wind.
He cut through the back fields and before he knew it he caught sight of three Humvees in the distance slowly making their way down the road. He pulled up at a safe distance and watched. They were going slow enough that it was obvious they were searching. There was no doubt they would look much closer at the fallen tree before turning around. Without thinking twice Alec spurred Sheba forward and then made a wide loop to get behind the Humvees. They were a little over a hundred yards away when he came out from the field onto the gravel road behind them.
The shot rang out into the morning air.
Alec sat on the back of Sheba, his finger on the trigger of the old rifle and the barrel pointed up towards the sky. The Humvees came to a stop and then fire erupted from them. Alec buried his heels into Sheba and pointed her back towards the empty fields as the ground around them exploded in gunfire. As the sounds of the Humvees accelerating and the gunfire continued Alec began to second guess the decision to fire the gun in the air.
They cut through the fields weaving in and around trees past fences and abandoned farm homes. He let Sheba take him as fast as she could and the sound of her hooves beating against the ground tripled in intensity. Alec glanced back and saw there was still one Humvee pursuing but had slowed down as it tried to maneuver around a clump of trees. Alec burst through a grove of trees and he remembered thinking briefly that they were going to lose them just as a burst of gunfire hit them. Alec felt the bullets hit Sheba in the side and then he was airborne. He tumbled end over end in the air. The first time he hit the ground his right shoulder erupted in pain, the second time the world darkened as his head struck something solid. When he finally stopped rolling he found himself face first on the ground and the world wobbled back and forth. As the world continue to darken he pushed himself up and caught sight of his horse. Sheba lay on her side, struggling to get up and failing. Finally the beast laid her head down on the ground no more than ten feet from him and her eyes met his. He watched her take her last breath just as the darkness took him.
Ben
The smoke from Central Park was visible for miles away. The fires had all but died down by the time they got there leaving behind the blackened remains of trees and smoldering craters. The buildings all around Central Park with pocked with impact marks that still released a steady stream of smoke in the air. Beyond the sounds of crackling flames were the weak moans of the dying. They seemed t
o come from all around him. He tried to ignore the destruction and the bodies but they were all around him.
“There is nothing left,” Ohio said next to him.
Ben ignored it and continued walking over and around the debris that littered the street. Just as he began to lose hope he saw movement in a nearby building. A young woman emerged from the doorway and hobbled towards them. Behind her was a young girl. Behind the young girl came dozens of others. Some of them limped, some had signs of blood on their clothing but all of them were covered in white soot causing them to look like ghosts emerging from a mist. One person yelled at them for help and then everyone did, piercing the silence. Mason stepped forward quickly and raised his hand in the air and by the time they got within twenty yards of the group of survivors the people had fallen into silence.
“We don’t have food, we don’t have medical supplies, and we don’t have time,” Mason’s voice boomed over them. “Soon this area is going to be overrun by the enemy and we can’t stop them. We are heading for a base across the Hudson. I can’t promise there will be food there and I can’t promise there will be shelter there for all of you. But it will be safer there than it is here.”
The crowd had grown to over fifty people at this point and faces from nearby buildings peeked out watching them, but it was silent.
Mason turned to Ben, Ohio, Ty and the four other soldiers that came with them. “Head west and keep your eyes open. They will either follow or stay, we can’t force them.”
The soldiers began to lead the way and slowly but surely the civilians began to trickle out and fall in behind them. After a few minutes Ben looked back and saw over a hundred people walking through the debris filled street behind them. As the sun began to fall behind the tall buildings their caravan made their way through the smoking ruins of Manhattan towards the Hudson River.
The sound of a helicopter reverberated throughout the city. Mason paused and looked back behind them. That sound of the one helicopter was soon joined by dozens more.
“Ours?” Ben asked.
“Not likely,” Mason said. He looked ahead and pointed towards a large warehouse a block ahead of them. “Get everyone in there, now!”
Ben and the soldiers ran the streets urging the civilians forward. At first there was confusion but as the sound of the helicopters got louder they put two and two together and panic broke out. The crowd surged ahead knocking people off their feet. Ben saw a little girl of about five or six years old get knocked aside and fall back into an alleyway. He tried to fight ahead but the crowd was too powerful and he found himself pinned against a building until the bulk of the crowd made its way past. He stumbled ahead and found the little girl sitting on her butt in the alleyway crying. Ben scooped her up and ran towards the building.
“HELO breaking the horizon!” one of the soldiers yelled.
Ben kept his head down and sprinted towards the building as two of the soldiers took position along the street behind a couple of cars. An older woman was in the middle of the street looking around frantically and when she saw Ben she broke down in tears and ran to him. Without missing a step Ben grabbed her arm and led her towards the building.
“We got movement on the far side!” He heard Mason yell out from behind a vehicle.
Ben ran through the open door in the warehouse where he was hit by the smell of musty bodies and the sound of crying echoing throughout the building. He handed over the little girl to her mother and ran back to the street where all the soldiers were posted up facing the direction of the helicopters. A single helicopter hovered in the distance facing them but didn’t move. Mason waved Ben over and he took position next to him behind the vehicle.
“What is it doing?” Ben asked as he tried catching his breath.
“Reporting our position,” Mason looked in both directions attempting to get the lay of the land. “Company is probably coming.”
Panic rose in Ben and he struggled to keep his heart from beating out of his chest. This was different from armed thugs or a few soldiers, this was an entire army.
Ohio came running from around the backside of the warehouse. “You were right, sir, that barge is still hooked up at the dock.”
“Alright, Ohio, you and Ty get those people on the barge and get it across the Hudson,” Mason ordered turning his attention back to the helicopter in the distance.
“Uh,” Ohio stammered. “I don’t exactly know how to drive a barge.”
“That’s because you don’t drive a barge you pilot the ship that it’s connected to,” Mason said without taking his eyes away from the helicopter.
“But-“
Ohio didn’t get to finish as the sound of screeching tires echoed down the street and moments later several Humvees came careening around the corner in front of them several blocks down. Mason and the others opened fire. Ben got to the ground as the sound filled his mind and a few feet in front of him Ohio did the same. The Humvees backed up quickly around the corner and Ohio sprinted into the warehouse.
Mason turned to Ben. “Go with Ohio on the barge.”
“What? What about you?” Ben asked.
“We’ll give you enough time to get across.”
One of the soldiers let out a couple of quick bursts down the street but Ben didn’t stir. He wasn’t going to leave Mason, he couldn’t leave Mason. This man was the last constant he had in his life.
Mason grabbed Ben’s arm. “Don’t worry, Ben, I’m not going anywhere. We’ll hold them off as long as we can then we’ll peel off and rendezvous with you all at the base in Newark.”
Ben started to say something but the words wouldn’t come out.
“Get out of here and that’s an order soldier.”
Ben grabbed Mason’s arm for a moment and then the screeching sound of a missile erupted from the far side of the street. It streaked across the street and hit a building just a block ahead of them. The top of the small building exploded and debris rained down from the sky. Mason pushed Ben away and began to fire in the direction of the missile. Ben turned and ran. He ran into the empty warehouse, past the last of the civilians as they loaded onto the barge and then pushed his way to the front where Ohio was getting ready to pilot the ship.
Ohio turned to Ben, a look of fear clear on his face. “Did they break through? Are we out of time?”
“Mason will give us enough time,” Ben said, doubt never entering his mind.
Someone pounded on the side on the rear of the ship and Ty’s voice came from the back. “We’re unhooked and everyone is on board, move it.”
The sun was gone and the dark of night was thickening all around them. Ben walked to the rear of the boat as it pulled ahead and stared out towards the warehouse. The sound of gunfire was a constant and two more helicopters appeared near the first. Ben waited for one of the helicopters to fly over and spot them or for another boat to pull up and open fire, but it never happened. Instead they floated across the river at almost a leisurely pace, every second the warehouse got smaller and smaller until it was just another building that blended in with all the others. Then the sound of a jet screeched by and the warehouse exploded into a ball of flame.
Alec
He was aware he was being moved and he heard people talking around him but it felt like it was happening to someone else. His head and right shoulder radiated pain and he didn’t have the strength to open his eyes. Whoever was carrying him dropped him and his right shoulder hit the ground causing him to plunge back into darkness.
Alec wasn’t sure how long he had been out but a hard slap across his face brought him back to the world of the living. He sat on his knees in the middle of a room with his hands tied behind his back. He slowly lifted his head up and the world wobbled but held together. In the room were several armed Chinese soldiers along with a Chinese man in civilian clothing. That man squatted down next to him and looked him over.
“Ok?” he asked. Alec didn’t answer. “You understand what I say?” The man’s English was hard to understan
d but Alec nodded. This pleased the man and he nodded his head to the other soldiers. “Good, good. My name is Xian. Where you from?”
Alec opened his mouth and pain radiated from his jaw. He closed his eyes and gave himself a moment to compose himself. “Centralia.”
“They found you outside of Centralia.”
“I was hunting.” Alec said slowly. His head was still swimming and it was a struggle to find the words. “There isn’t anything to hunt near town.”
Xian stared at him for a second and his expression was blank. “Why you shoot at us?”
“I didn’t. I saw a deer and I shot at it,” Alec lied. “I didn’t see the soldiers there until they started shooting at me.”
Xian and the soldiers shared a few words than he turned back to Alec with a frown on his face. “No, they say you shot at them.”
“I’m not a smart man but I’m not that stupid. I know one gun and one person couldn’t hurt three Humvees worth of people.”
That seemed to satisfy Xian and his shook his head and raised his shoulders at the other men in that room. “You still in lot of trouble.” He stood up and gestured to one of the soldiers who stepped forward. “You will be example.”
The shoulder who stepped forward brought down the butt of his gun into Alec’s face and the world went black again.
The next time Alec was awoken was by a bucket of cold water being poured on his face. Alec let out a yell and opened his eyes but didn’t try to move. The right side of his face felt numb and the world was outlined by a border of darkness. He felt a soldier pick him up and sit him on his knees, only then did Alec realize he was sitting at the edge of the town square and the people of Centralia filled the square, watching. He dropped his head and to the left of him he could still see the dried blood of the skinny translator from before.
Xian stepped in front of him and addressed the crowd gathered in front of them. “We warn you not to fight us. We are not enemies but if you treat us like enemies we will strike back.”
