Lights out in America's Dairyland: An EMP Adventure

by Victor Marbury

  “Take that ho!”

  Simone struggled with all her might, but her vision grayed and she began to see flashes of light until she lost consciousness. Simone went limp in Deandre’s grasp, and he let her go, causing her to fall to the ground face first.

  “Yeah, MMA all the way! First bout knockout for Deadly Deandre!”

  He quickly bound Simone’s wrists and ankles and threw her over his shoulder, thinking how pleased Delquan would be with his find. He retreated quickly to the farm, leaving his partner Ray-Ray to the crows.

  Deandre carried Simone up to the porch and unceremoniously dropped her on the wooden planks. Mustafa smiled as Deandre preened.

  “Mustafa, go get Delquan, I got a prisoner!”

  Mustafa went into the house, and Delquan emerged after him.

  “What do you have there young blood?” Asked Delquan.

  “I found her out along the western border of the farm…..she put up quite a fight….I think she killed Ray-Ray. I was able to choke her out and tie her up so I could bring her here.” He looked like a proud dog begging for a treat.

  “For your sake Deandre, she better wake up and be ok, we need information that she can provide. Mustafa, ’Dre, bring her upstairs and tie her to the chair……she has some explaining to do!”

  Dutifully Mustafa and Deandre picked her up and brought her upstairs and tied her to a chair bolted to the floor in Delquan’s room. Rumor had it that some women in the group spent some unpleasant time in that chair at the hands of Delquan.

  A short time later, Simone slowly regained consciousness and found herself tied to a chair that was bolted to the floor. A slim black man stood facing her flanked by an obsidian monster with one eye and another large black man on the other side.

  Delquan said, “I’m terribly sorry we had to take you by force, but after what you did to Ray-Ray, my compatriot Deandre saw no other option.”

  Simone eyed her captor trying his best smooth B love man act. She sized him up quickly thanks to her police training; this must be the famous Delquan. She also knew that her time was limited, if the nice guy routine didn’t work, he was going to sick his two boys on her who looked like they would take great delight in softening her up.

  She decided to act like they were her saviors instead of her captors and slipped into her best ghetto hoochie mama voice. Simone said, “Come on now big papa, let me go, y’all saved me from those cracker motherfuckers.”

  The woman’s comment surprised Delquan. He was under the impression that this woman was a fully-fledged member of the town and was doing everything she could to protect the boy by fighting like a banshee. Perhaps there was another reason for her behavior, he decided to question her further and see where it led.

  “Tell me sister, what’s your name and what were you doing out in the grove?”

  “My name’s Simone and I was trying to get away from the town, it’s a straight up Klan convention up in there. They treated me like shit the moment I came to town with Ben and the other two guys I was with . I even heard them call me nigger a few times behind my back! She huffed.

  “How did you get into the town? Where did you come from?”

  “I was in Madison visiting some friends at the University when this shit started. They hooked up with some male friends and left me on my own. The white guy I was with and his buddy let me come with them, we rode bikes out of Madison the night of the event. We hooked up with this other white guy who had a store, and he had a couple of cars that ran. We drove about 15 miles and came across a roadblock. They let us in, and that’s when everything changed. Once we got to town they turned into a pair of backwards-ass crackers from the farm and stopped being nice.”

  Delquan intoned, “They always reveal their true colors when they are in groups, don’t they sister?”

  “You know it. Anyway, we had stashed our bikes there before we went to town, I was just getting it back when your men attacked me! What the fuck, I am just a sister trying to get back to Milwaukee to be with my people!”

  “Would you be willing to tell me about the town?”

  “Sure, anything to get a little payback on those motherfuckers!”

  Delquan looked up from his prisoner, “Gentlemen leave us for a while. I want to get to know this poor sister a bit better.”

  Mustafa and Deandre left the room quietly, shutting the door behind them.

  “Now, what can you tell me about the town and its residents…….”

  Delquan spent three hours with her and despite his best interrogation tricks; he was unable to shake her story. When Delquan got to the fight between her and his men, Simone looked to the ground.

  “I’m sorry but I thought those cats were going to rape me, so I fought them as hard as I could. Are they ok?

  “Deandre is fine, nothing a few band-aids won’t fix….but I’m afraid that you killed Ray-Ray.”

  Simone rustled up some fake tears, “My God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to kill you man!”

  “I understand Simone, I suspect that they were about to exceed their orders…and besides, you have the right to defend yourself.”

  “Now, what’s the story with the town, specifically, what kind of resources do they have, and do you think that they will be able to defend themselves against us?”

  “Delquan, half the town is ready to leave because they are so scared of you. The other half want to negotiate with you to avoid a fight. I think that they are ripe for the picking if you attack them with your entire army soon.

  “It would appear that they are pretty well-armed since they destroyed my snowplow…tell me, do they have any more of those weapons?”

  “From what I understand, that was the only one they had. They got the same stuff as you….mostly pistols and rifles.”

  “Who are their leaders? Is there a main one to watch out for?”

  “The two guys I was with, Ben and Mitch have been doing all they can to prepare for you. Also, there is a bitch who runs the cops, take those three out, and you should have pretty smooth sailing.”

  “Do you know of anybody else that arrived in town after you?”

  “Yeah, some white gal named Mary…..word on the street was she was a spy for you. They got her locked up in the jailhouse in the center of town…..I think they tortured her to get information.”

  Delquan’s temper flared, “Those white bastards will pay if they harmed a hair on her head!”

  He resumed his calm and measured conversational tone, “What is their weakest point? Where would be the best area to attack?”

  “Delquan, if you want to take the town, you got to hit at the bridge on Water Street. I’ll show you the way….they’re expecting you to hit them at the junction of Highway 12 and 18. This way, you hit them where they least expect it. Also, that’s where their main supply dump is. Just inside the barricade. Before whitey knows what hit him, we’ll have taken their central supply dump.”

  Delquan’s imagination danced with visions of bullets, bandages and butter, all for the taking. Further, he dreamed of the white residents of the town surrendering at his feet, begging for mercy. It brought joy to his heart to envision such a scenario, but the calculating part of his brain that had served him so well up to this point in his life didn’t totally buy Simone’s story and urged caution.

  “Simone, you must be tired. Why don’t you take some time to rest…..we have a big day tomorrow.”

  Delquan opened the door to find Mustafa standing outside, “Mustafa, take Simone to the barn and make sure she has something to eat and a place to sleep.

  “Yes sir. Simone, come with me.”

  Mustafa led Simone out of the room and to her quarters. He had some thinking to do. Perhaps Simone was a spy sent to confound him and his plans, but he couldn’t bring himself to accept that scenario. After about two hours of deep thought, he decided…Simone was on the level, and he would use her information to attack the town. He called a meeting and announced that the attack was tomorrow, and to make the proper p
reparations to leave the farm.

  Chapter 15

  Sam rode up to the checkpoint totally out of breath. Not only was the bicycle too large and heavily laden for him to ride correctly, but the trail was bumpy which made the mad dash from the deer hide all the more difficult.

  Sam Stopped at the gates and yelled, “Let me in, the enemy has Simone!”

  The guards opened the makeshift barricade, and Sam made a beeline for the Police station. Once there, he dumped the bike and ran up the steps into the foyer headed for the Chief’s office. The Police Station became a hive of activity since he was last here, with townspeople setting up a field hospital in the basement and critical supplies being stored in every available nook and cranny that was available.

  Sam urgently knocked on the door to the Chief’s office and heard from inside “Enter!”

  He ran to the front of the Chief’s desk, smartly saluted, “Ma’am, Simone has been taken by the enemy! We got jumped by a roving patrol, but I was able to get away.”

  I jumped from my chair, “Sam, tell us what happened.”

  “Well sir, we were getting the bike from its hiding place like we planned, and Simone decided to have a look at the activity at the farm. She said that there didn’t appear to be any real action, but saw people moving around like it was a regular work day. I spotted the men just as they passed the thicket I was in and yelled for Simone, but it was too late. They jumped on her and began to beat her something fierce. She yelled for me to get back to town, so I did.”

  I looked at the young man before me who was acting like a well trained solider, “You did what you could and followed orders; I’m proud of you son. Now, do you think they took her alive?”

  “I think so sir; she was giving them a heck of a fight as I was running away, I think they wanted her for information.

  “I see…..well Elaine it looks like we have a new problem to contend with…a POW.”

  Elaine nodded, Hopefully there will be a way to get her back. I would hate to lose her to this.”

  I turned to Sam, “You did well Sam, don’t worry about Simone, she’s tough and resourceful. Now I want you to go to the greenhouse and fetch Mitch and Grinker, and then I want you to go home son, you’ve had a big day! I will see you tomorrow….dismissed!”

  Sam executed a perfect about-face and left the room for his final duty of the day.

  After about a half an hour, both Mitch and Grink showed up, and I filled them in on what happened to Simone.

  Grink growled, “Let me go with a couple of guys and get her back! I am sick of waiting these popcorn farts to show up….let’s take the fight to them!

  I folded my hands together, “Not today man, we don’t know what they will do to her if we attack. I think they will probably use her as a bargaining chip. Let’s sit and wait for them to make the next move, after all we will be dealing from a position of strength if they come to us for a fight.”

  Mitch weighed in, “Well, I think you’re right Ben. Let’s wait it out and see what happens.”

  Grink snorted, “I wonder what Simone would do if they grabbed you? I think she would move heaven and earth to get you back Ben!”

  I was stung by the comment, but I forced my anger down and answered calmly, “I certainly hope not! I‘m just one guy….the loss of me wouldn’t effect the outcome of the battle…you would do well to remember that Grink!”

  Grink deflated a bit, “Sorry, I didn’t mean…..”

  I cut him off, “Don’t worry about it man….We’re all under pressure here.”

  “Grink, why don’t you make sure the guard schedule is set for tonight and knock off. I need you sharp…I have a feeling we’re going to war real soon.”

  “Ok, see you tomorrow.” Grink left the office to attend to his duties.

  I turned to Mitch, “How are our defenses doing?”

  “They are shaping up nicely. We have the barricades set up with some sandbagged emplacements at each checkpoint. I planted mines discreetly at each checkpoint as well, enough to turn any army into hamburger if we get them bunched up! The plungers are all protected as well as the wires; the last thing we need is any of that stuff getting damaged.”

  “Good. Where’s Robert been?”

  “Robert is my right hand, you haven’t seen him because he has been three places at once for the past few days doing my bidding. Without him, we wouldn’t be nearly as ready as we are now. Last time I saw him he was filling sandbags with the assigned crew at the main gate.”

  “I’ll try to get over there and thank him for his unsung work soon.”

  Mitch chuckled, “Fat chance, you’ve been working just as hard. Let’s hope it all pays off.”

  ……………………………………………..

  Sam made his way home to his mom and dad’s house on Pleasant Street. His mother, June, was just getting home from the main gate after placing the final barricade in place and filling sandbags for the emplacements.

  She waved at her son as he came down the street and yelled, “Come inside! I got a surprise for you!”

  He entered the house and met his mom in the kitchen, “Hi mom, what did you get ahold of?”

  She produced a six-pack of coke from behind her back and said, “I got this from Mitch. He stopped me and told me what a good job you did today, so he thought you should get a reward.”

  She set the coke down on the kitchen table, and he took one from the carrier. It was warm, but he could hardly complain…he wondered how many Cokes existed in the world as of right now. As he drank, his mother looked at him with undisguised pride.

  “Mom, do I have to stay in the shelter when the attack comes?” He knew that the children were going into the garage of the police station, and he didn’t want to be anywhere near there, he wanted to be at the main gate slugging it out with this guy Delquan.

  His mother looked thoughtfully at the table, “I think it’s best for you to be there. I’ll know where you are and know that you’re as safe as possible.”

  “Mom, I’m not a kid anymore….I’m almost 14. I’ve been in the thick of it since this thing started. Haven’t I proven my ability to take care of myself?”

  “Well, I think you’re still a kid young man…and Mom’s opinion counts more than yours, so there. “You’ve done such amazing things over the past couple of days, but I want you to protect Zeke in the shelter…He needs you more that any of the barrier crews need you. Leave the fighting to the adults.”

  Sam was steaming, but he knew his mother only want to see him protected. His dad made sure that he and Zeke were raised as men, not boys. They both had a ton of skills none of their peers had that would serve them well when their bodies caught up with their minds. Perhaps he would bring this up with his Dad when he got home from the fields today. Perhaps he could sway his mother’s decision.

  “I’m going out on the porch mom.” He took his coke and called for his loyal Basset hound Rufus. Rufus trotted in from the basement and made his way out at his master’s side to the porch.

  As he sat on the porch and drank his warm Coke, he meditated on the events of the day as he absently scratched the ears of his Basset Hound Rufus. He realized that his home was in danger and that the people coming to invade had no intention of treating the townspeople with any degree of kindness. It was at that moment when he knew that he had to stand with the men of the town and defend his home from the invaders. He planned on heading to the roof of a vacant building next to the Keystone Grill directly overlooking Highway 12 and West Water Street, giving him at least 200 yards of open street to shoot directly down. He went inside and removed his brand new Ruger 10/22 and a box of CCI Stingers from the gun cabinet. He returned to the porch and began loading the five 10-round magazines full of bullets while his faithful hound laid at his feet and gently dozed off to the rhythmic clicking of rounds seating in magazines. Once the opposing army arrived on the field, he would go to his perch and rain death down on the invaders.

  As six o’clock arriv
ed, the final planning meeting was in full swing. Cambridge was isolated at the four main highway junctions of 12 and 18, 12 and Highway A and 18 and Highway A and 12 and Water Streets forming a rough triangle. There were also listening posts and a few troops posted at Spring Street and Highway 12, West Cedar Street and Highway 12 and Airport Road and Highway 12. Representatives from the unincorporated town of Oakland were also present, and they volunteered to man the roadblocks on Highway A, as well as the small feeder roads at Perry Road on Highway A and Hope Lake Road on Highway 18. They had been working with Mitch and his roadblock design, and at last report, had their areas of responsibility blocked off.

  Mayor Kendrick of Oregon stood up from his chair, “We’re ready. We have the roadblocks in place, manned by some of our best shots. We got the improvised claymores in place and got them wired up just like Mitch told us…..don’t worry, we got your back door.

  Robert finally made his appearance and stood, “I’ll be in command of the mobile reaction force. We’ll take both Thing one and Thing two to transport the four-man teams to back up anybody that needs it. Thing one will cover the Western approaches, and Thing two will take care of the eastern approaches.”

  Mitch stood and gave a report on the barricades, “We’re ready to go barricade wise. All approaches to the town are secure and mined. Nobody is getting through with anything less than another snowplow.”

  Elaine took the floor and said, “Our Police station is the communications hub, command post, and protected area for the children of the town. We have constructed a final protective line at each door and seeded the lawn with bullet traps and other nasty surprises thanks to Mitch. If the invaders get this far into town, they will have us to contend with…. we’ll make them pay for each inch of ground they take! We also have four scouts in the field covering the farm and the approaches to the town to warn us when Delquan is on the move.”