Apocalypse [Book 2]

by Matt J. Pike

  ***

  February 2, 2015

  Woke to the sound of gunfire this morning – whatever is going on over at Fullarton is settling in for the long haul now, it seems.

  It’s enough to keep us absolutely focused on getting as prepared as we can while the fight is somewhere else. Should Norwood take Fullarton – and, let’s be honest, that’s the most likely scenario – that will really stretch us defensively. Essentially, they’ll own all the land on both our eastern and southern borders. That completely opens up their options to attack, so we have to be smarter about how we defend.

  To make our life easier, we’re developing a fallback strategy from the southern border. We don’t actually need the southern half of the city to function, so it’s the easiest thing to give up should we have to consolidate our numbers closer to home. We know our streets really well – which ones are accessible, which ones are booby-trapped etc. That’s a big asset to have because, should they breech our defences they’ll be flying blind every step of the way. We should be able to control a lot of that movement with a few additional street blockages, meaning we can control how they come to us. That way, we can lead them through on our terms in a lot of ways. Which is huge. We can use this to create positions to bunker down and fight back, on virtually every city block. Locations where we have every advantage of the battlefield in our favour – cover, visibility, exposure. When/if we get overwhelmed, we fallback to the next position… and so on. We can even set up booby traps at key points along the way, too. We can make every step towards the oval a daunting, fearful, life-risking nightmare for them.

  We have two teams working on that at the moment. They’re coming up with a plan in the war room this morning, then one team will be on wall-building duty, while the other team will prep the conflict points ready for action, as well as plant further booby traps.

  *

  Turns out it was the perfect day to test the two-way radio range. The day had started reasonably soupy, but conditions deteriorated throughout the morning. It meant our team could finish their experiments with range and capability over a variety of levels of extreme weather.

  Generally, we’re pretty lucky. The oval is in a quite open space, meaning we have pretty clean conditions for a signal around us – no tall structures to compete with at all. Out east, where the lookout stations are located, we have a decent signal. Our closest lookout has almost an unimpeded line of sight with the oval, so even in the worst of the conditions today, it was still audible. As you moved south, the signal line was more obscured by buildings. In the soupy conditions early, we were capable of full communications with the southern-most lookout on the eastern front. Although the signal came with some static, you could still speak and understand quite clearly. But when things went from soupy to porridgy (as we called it), it meant comms were intermittent at best at the Wakefield St lookout. In fact, they bounced between somewhat useful to somewhat recognisable.

  The guys found a spot on the roof behind the lookout building that at least improved the signal so it could still be used in the more horrid weather. They also found locations to get a better signal at the Pirie and Rundle lookouts, so it would take more than porridgy conditions to break down comms there.

  But it’s all recorded, and they’re going to have notes for Lana and her team in the war room, as well as signage and directions at each of the lookouts.

  The situation is far more bleak down south. The three positions out there are another half a kilometre further away from the oval and the signal has to dance around the buildings in the heart of the CBD.

  So, soup was a problem – the signal would jump between fuzzy and complete static. But at all three spots they were able to find a get-out-of-jail location to at least get comms active. Unfortunately, a couple of these spots required a walk and a climb. We talked about how practical that may or may not be when the heat was on, but it’s far better we have the options than not.

  As for utterly porridgy conditions down south – well, we can pretty much forget about comms in those circumstances. It was completely unreliable at best – total comms black out at worst. The only way comms can get through in those conditions is to have someone with a two-way move several blocks closer to the centre of the CBD.

  It’s a weak point in our defensive set-up. It’s difficult to put a value on the impact it may have because it doesn’t affect us now. It may be no problem at all when the enemy strikes, but it does leave a little sickening feeling knowing if the enemy attacked in a certain set of circumstances, the comms to almost half our defensive front would be all but useless.

  Someone mentioned something about extending the range of our signal coverage – something about repeater stations. But no one is familiar with the tech as it is, and to find a store to swipe from, with the products that we need, in the brand that we need, and to connect electricity to wherever we placed this repeater station... well, all up it’s not something we’re going to resolve in the immediate future. Not before Norwood attacks, that’s for sure.

  Instead, we’ll just have to walk around with the knowledge we have a potentially epic-fail defensive problem on our hands. That is surprisingly not that difficult, as it’s hardly like we’re watertight even without that problem. It’s not like we’re on the Death Star and there’s some 2m wide exhaust vent on our moon-sized weapon that’s the problem. If you really stop and think about it, if this place was the Death Star, its surface would be made up almost entirely of 2m-wide exhaust ports, with the occasional defensive turret and spaceship-sized trench to break up the monotony.

  Anyway, enough Death Star talk – we’re the good guys**, not the empire. And good guys defy the odds... that’s just what they do*.

  *In the movies.

  **OK, I was going to let that all slide through as some random comment, but I feel I need to add to it. There is a sense among us that we are the good guys. I mean, we don’t go around killing other people or groups, just to add to our resources. We keep to our own. And we’re building a world that’s about a sustainable future, not just wringing the last drops of blood out of the past.

  Anyway, that alone is something worth fighting for. It’s just right. I feel that when I plan for what’s to come, I really do. So do the others.

  I don’t know if you can measure that feeling in any tangible way that makes a difference in a battle; doesn’t matter I guess. It’s there, I feel it, everyone around me feels it and it will make a difference.

  ***time to get off my good guy soapbox

  ****I can’t believe I used the word tangible in a sentence... I sound like middle management.

  *

  Everyone not on special projects or lookout duty will be on trebuchet construction duty. We are going to pump out as many of those things as we can. Ideally, we’d have four to defend the east and another three on the southern front, plus some more mobile versions that can be moved around as required. It all depends on what resources we can gather and how much time we have, but with the size of the team we have, Jonesy reckons we can pump out one a day now.

  He’s spent the evening making some adjustments to the sling and how the rope is connected to the throwing arm. Yesterday’s test firings all released the ammo too early, he reckons. The sling was not grabbing the ammo correctly, causing the shot to fly too high. Anyway, he thinks the changes he’s made are going to have a big impact on distance… I guess we’ll soon find out.

  Oh, everyone is on the trebuchets except Marci and Angie, who are going to go on a clothes run. They’re going to swipe anything that can pass as camouflage in the ash environment. Every little advantage we can get in this world can make the difference. Being hard to see is a big advantage – especially when everything will be new to the Norwood crew should they enter our turf. It’ll be interesting to see what they come up with – but any palatte of grey, brown and black should do the trick.

  ***

  February 3, 2015

  Did the adjustments to the trebuchet make a diff
erence? Yes… yes they did.

  From the first test firing this morning, things were going to a whole different level with distance. It’s amazing actually; the same machine, the same level of counterweight as the last shot yesterday... just a few tweaks around the sling and the angle of the pin on the throwing arm and bam! First shot this morning – 212m.

  I joined in with Jonesy and the team as they counted out the distance. The bowling ball had cleared Adelaide Oval No.2, Montefoire Rd and had made its way across the best part of the nearest fairway on the golf course. It had also punched a 4m crater into the ash banked up on the side of the seventh hole.

  We all just gathered around the impact point and gawked at it, occasionally looking back to the barely visible grandstand at the back of the oval, where we’d fired it from. That was some serious firepower.

  We retrieved the ball, which was in surprisingly good shape, and headed back to the oval, high on excitement.

  When we reached trebuchet 1, Jonah looked at Jonesy and said, “What now?”

  “Now we build.”

  There was a big cheer from the group. I couldn’t help but admire Jonesy in that moment. He just has this knack of being able to lead through his words… to inspire. I mean, leadership comes in many different forms, I guess, and while I think I have it at some level, I don’t have it like Jonesy. In moments like that, he’s like a coach firing up his players at half time in a grand final or something. He just knows how to sum up a mood and make a point that drives that to an action with a few simple words. Anyway, glad he’s one of us.

  So, the plan was to accumulate as many large pieces of wood as possible. The easiest way to do that was to focus on all the dead trees that lined the riverbank along the stadium. We had two chainsaws acquired from the oval’s gardening supplies and were soon off in two groups felling any tree with a long and straight enough trunk.

  We had another group towing the wood back to Jonesy in one of the Thunderbirds. It was a pretty efficient little system and by lunchtime we had already gathered enough material for another three trebuchets.

  All of which was done with the distant backdrop of gunfire from out Fullarton way. It was a constant reminder that we really shouldn’t slow down for a second.

  *

  We have a situation. Like we didn’t have enough situations already. Duncan is missing. Like gone. AWOL. He was supposed to be on lookout this morning and was a no show. I went and found Alyce; apparently he didn’t sleep here last night. They had been fighting a bit and she just thought he’d gone to clear his head. But after speaking to her for a while, he’s been obsessed with what’s happening out east, particularly what may have gone down at TTP.

  I’m not sure if Alyce was giving me everything – it was hard to tell. She seems a bit of a mix of worried/scared/confused/anxious. But she’s just let everyone know… I might try her again this evening when she’s had a bit of space and some time to digest things.

  As for Duncan and the move – well, it’s a really shit thing to do. It leaves us even tighter on daily duties at a moment when we’re expecting an attack in the very near future. Plus, by not telling anyone, it leaves me even more concerned over his motives than ever before. He was a TTP hubber before he arrived here and I never got the sense that he truly ever wanted to be one of us anyway. But he was doing the hard yards, so I let his actions speak for him. Now those actions have led him out of camp. No one here really knows why – including Alyce. If he wanted to see how those he knew at TTP were, and if they’d been potentially defeated by Norwood – he just had to ask – it’s something we could have organised at some point. That’s information I’d like to have, too.

  Man, so annoyed right now. No, annoyed doesn’t do this feeling justice – I’m something a lot worse than annoyed right now.

  Admittedly, there was no way we were going to waste resources on that sort of trip given everything that’s going on around us now. Hey, maybe that’s why he didn’t say anything. Who knows? And who knows is the entire point here right now. Beyond the limited stuff Alyce is saying, or knows, no one has any idea of his motives, at all! It doesn’t take much for thoughts around his possible reasons to leave me in a very suspicious place.

  What an asshole!

  *

  Still obsessing over Duncan’s move – I’m pretty freakin’ angry the more I think about it. It’s a compromise on this place – whatever his reasons – which is a compromise to all of us. Like there isn’t enough going on in this city right now without a free roaming radical like Duncan buzzing around, with complete knowledge of who we are, our defences and our numbers... everything!

  Assessment upgraded: selfish asshole.

  Rant over. For now.

  *

  The gunfire was steady across the afternoon. After a while you get to hear the patterns in the firing. Steady fire is just holding ground. When someone makes a real move, we’ll know all about it by the sound of the guns. I couldn’t help but try to guess as to how this battle would pan out. I mean, Norwood have the firepower, and probably the numbers too, although I can’t say that for sure. But Fullarton know their stronghold and, surely, Norwood have a little more respect for what it takes to enter enemy territory after dealing with us. So, by the time mid-afternoon hit, I figured they wouldn’t be raiding today. There was just not enough daylight to ensure they cleared the place out, should they successfully take it.

  The morning might be a different story, though. Whether it’s tomorrow or not, who knows, but it will be a morning. And, after one night dealing with us, followed by two nights engaging with Norwood, well, Fullarton would be ripe for the picking. Sleep deprived, emotionally drained and on the back foot.

  If that’s what was happening, it was a good tactic from Norwood. Wear them down and wait for the right moment.

  *

  We only sent one team out after lunch to fell trees, while the other team helped Jonesy and Jonah on trebuchet construction, as we had plenty of materials to get started.

  By the time we called it a day, we had trebuchets 2, 3 and 4 in varying stages of construction, plus enough material to see us covered for 5, 6 and 7! Incredible.

  *

  There was better news from the fallback planning team down south. Between piling the ash in the streets to control how any enemy would advance and setting up fight points, well, it’s going to be slow and dangerous going for anyone trying to make it from South Tce to the city centre. Even 4-6 of us, armed with guns, will be enough to do some serious damage to a small army of their numbers. Of course it’s all theory and you never know what Norwood knows about us, or have planned when they attack, but it certainly feels like we’ve done enough work over the past few days to give us the upper hand – well, level the scales at the very least.

  *

  Oh, and Marci and Angie have swiped like champions across the city’s clothing stores. We got a sneak peek at some of the kit they’ve put together and it looks seriously badass. Everything is in shades that blend in with the environment – dirty greys and browns. Not only will it make us harder to spot for the enemy, we’ll be instantly recognisable to each other in the heat of battle. It’s a little difference but a big one at the same time.

  That feeling – starting to see our good work pay off – was reflected in the mood at dinner tonight. Potential worst-case-scenario issues aside, everyone was pretty buoyant about what was happening and how they were all contributing. Even though this potential conflict was a day closer than yesterday – the vibe was much better. It’s funny, that. Because, unless something random we haven’t thought of heads our way, we all know conflict is coming. We could hear the gunfire from Fullarton that will be heading our way at some point… but it didn’t matter. The little differences we were making, the decisions, the reasons why, the things we were creating, with everyone’s involvement, well, they weren’t distractions as such, it’s almost as if they were making us stronger. I don’t mean that in the things we’d done, it’s more the general
strength it gave us to see that we could rally together and be something bigger.

  I don’t know, I could be rambling here (what’s new?*), but I do feel it. I can’t define or measure it, but I definitely feel it.

  *maybe rambling is my signature move

  Anyway, it was a nice general group vibe. Within that, I couldn’t help but keep an eye on all the social interactions, as I tend to do. Morale and inclusion are important in such a small group, especially considering where we are headed as well as what happened to Duncan. My eyes couldn’t help but gravitate to Alyce – like always, but especially tonight in the circumstances. She returned my gaze a few times. Actually, it was more than that. We had a little wordless conversation from across the way. I gave her an ‘are you ok?’ look, she shrugged and nodded. I gave my head a little tilt, to gesture her over to chat, this time she shrugged and shook her head no. It was a no that implied not now… at least, that’s how I read it. The whole communication was ended with a thank you look from her and nod from me.

  It was a weird moment, almost like Duncan was still there making sure she didn’t look at me, or something.

  ***

  February 4, 2015

  I had mixed emotions this morning. The sound of gunfire from Fullarton had escalated. It was game on over there – no doubt. The fact that I picked this morning as the time it would all happen, well, I did have a burst of pride about it. That didn’t take long to turn to guilt, though, as I knew what people must be going through up there.

  Let them waste their bullets elsewhere. Sigh.

  But the outcome has huge ramifications for us.

  It’s all closing in.

  Funny how all the good vibes from last night are gone. It’s like the wave of elation we were riding from our achievements yesterday has crashed into the shore, yet the threat against us keeps inching closer. I know the only thing for it is to paddle out and catch another wave today. It really is amazing how up and down emotions and morale can be at the moment.