January Dawn

by Cody Lennon

  I realized in that moment that I had misjudged Mrs. Redman. Her icy hostility toward me was not out of wanton hate or misguided fear, but out of love for her family. It was something her and I had in common. We both grew up in tough situations. We both dreamed of the one thing we wanted most, a family. This was her family and she’d do anything to protect them. Funny thing was, I was doing the exact same thing. I was fighting for the family I loved. We were working toward the same goal, completely ignorant of each other’s intentions.

  Carrigan stood shyly behind me, not wanting to intrude on such a precious moment.

  “Everyone this is Carrigan. Carrigan these are the Redmans,” I said. Everyone exchanged curt greetings.

  “This is a pleasant reunion and all, but how are you here right now?” Mr. Redman asked, his practical military mindset at work.

  For a minute, I had almost forgotten about the immediate danger of our mission.

  “General Gammon sent us,” I said.

  “It’s the Janus Contingency. It’s been authorized,” Alex added.

  “How do you know this?” Mr. Redman asked.

  “I saw the order with my own eyes.”

  Uncharacteristically distraught, Mr. Redman’s face went pallid as he massaged his chin and said, “Sarah honey, take the boys upstairs please.” Sarah grabbed a candle and herded the two younger boys down the hall and up the stairs.

  “You’re sure it was Janus?” He asked when the children were gone.

  “Completely.”

  “The President is using the Legion to carry it out. They tried to kill General Gammon already, but we were there to stop them,” I said.

  “Wait, what is this Janus thing, Silas? And who tried to kill Dominic? I don’t understand,” Mrs. Redman said in her usual fiery manner.

  “I told you years ago that I was living on borrowed time. The Janus Contingency is a decree authorized by the President to eliminate any and all subjects deemed hostile to national security. It’s his personal hit list and I’m at the top.”

  Tess slipped her hand into mine, her fingers perfectly interlocking with mine.

  “That isn’t right. Why would anybody want to hurt you?” Tess asked.

  “Because I know things sweetie and what I know can do a lot of damage to a lot of people. If they kill me those secrets die also.”

  “But we’re not going to let that happen. That’s what we’re here for,” Carrigan said.

  Tess squeezed my hand and held her herself close to me. She was scared. I don’t blame her. Her father was telling her that people were coming to kill him.

  “What else did Gammon tell you?” Mr. Redman asked.

  “He told us to come here and bunker down until he can get us evacuated. A lot has happened Dad, and I’d like to fill you in, but we don’t have time right now. We have to get ready, the Legion could be here at any moment,” Alex said.

  It took a second for that information to sink in with everybody. It still hadn’t settled well with me.

  Then something spectacular happened. Mr. Redman transformed in front of our eyes. He flipped on his military mind, straightened his back and went to work doing what he does best, being a leader. The People’s General had reawakened.

  “Sam, go sit on the front porch. You start yelling if you see anybody coming down that road. Bethany, I want you to douse all of the lights, pack some food and blankets and bring them upstairs. Tess, go upstairs and get all the kids to pack a bag, extra clothes, a blanket and a book or stuffed animal to keep them calm. Get to it,” he ordered. “You three with me. We’re going to defend this house.”

  We followed Mr. Redman downstairs to the basement. He unlocked his gun safe and stacked all of his firearms on the workbench. He had half a dozen shotguns of different gauges, a couple handguns, two hunting rifles and an AK47 assault rifle.

  “We must maintain control of this battle. We know this property inside and out, and they don’t. If we control the tempo and the direction of battle, we can funnel them where we want them to go. What all do you have in arms?”

  “I have my G36, three extra mags, my sidearm, and two grenades,” I said.

  “Same here, plus two blocks of C4,” Alex said.

  “I have my G36, two mags, my M24, my side arm and a claymore,” Carrigan said

  “We’ll need every round,” Silas said, “We engage them outside. That’s our first line of defense. We hold them there as long as we can. If we’re forced to, we fall back inside the house. We do not let them inside this house, is that clear? Our situation is already bad and if they get inside it’s going to go from bad to worse.”

  “Where do you want us sir?” Carrigan asked.

  “Here’s the plan.”

  We spent the next ten minutes going over every aspect of our defense plan. We were going to dictate the course of this battle. The reality of the situation struck me hard. We were no longer fighting in some strange neighborhood or in the woods next to some highway in some other town. This was home. This was personal.

  When we finished, Alex and I loaded his dad’s firearms and placed them around the house at windows and other strategic fallbacks. If we had to retreat inside we’d have the firepower to hold them off. I hope.

  “Hey Colton, was that story you told us true?” Alex asked. He placed a pump-action shotgun on the kitchen counter.

  “What story?”

  “The one you told us the other day when the sniper had us pinned down.”

  I placed a compact shotgun against the wall next to the archway that separated the dining room from the library.

  “Yeah, it was.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t…you know…succeed.”

  “Me too.”

  “I want to thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me and my family,” he said. “Our family, I should say. You’re very much a part of this family as I am.”

  “It’s me that should be thanking you, Alex. When I was looking for a footing in this world you offered me your hand and your friendship. I was a broken man, but you accepted me for who I was and I will forever be grateful. You offered me your home and the love of your beautiful family. For that I can never thank you enough.”

  “You’re my brother, Colt, and I love you,” he said, embracing me. “And I know someone else who loves you too. Go up and talk to her.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll take first watch and call you if something comes up. I’m going to fill my dad in on everything that happened today.”

  “Did you know all along?”

  “Of course I did. She’s my twin sister. We tell each other everything,” he said with a wink. “Now go.”

  I made my way upstairs. Tess’s door was cracked open. She was standing at her dresser, packing clothes in a backpack. For so many nights I rotted in muddy foxholes dreaming about the moment I got to see Tess again and here I was, anxious and giddy like a child.

  I quietly eased into the room. She didn’t turn around until I shut the door. I leaned my rifle up against the wall as she jumped into my arms and planted her lips on mine.

  “Ah!” I screeched when her arm abraded against the cut on my neck.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. What happened to you?” She asked inspecting my wound.

  “I had a close call with a Yankee.”

  “It’s bleeding. Sit down, I’ll fix you up.” She disappeared into the bathroom.

  I unburdened myself of my cumbersome belt and leg holster, shed my vest and my shirt and took a seat on her bed. I felt warm and my head was throbbing.

  Her room was as messy as I remembered from the first day I looked through her window. I had never actually been in there before. Not with Mrs. Redman on patrol, but she didn’t scare me anymore. Okay, maybe she did a little.

  Tess brought out a box of first aid and peeled the bandage off my neck.

  “Oh my gawd, Colt, that’s infected,” she said.

  “Is it?”

  Tess put her hand
up to my forehead.

  “And you’re burning up. This isn’t good.”

  She forced me to swallow a few pain relievers and then poked and prodded me with cotton swabs lathered with antibiotic cream. She covered it all up with a gauze bandage.

  “Hey,” I whispered as she finished cleaning me up.

  “What?” She said, running her hand through my hair.

  I looked up at the gorgeous face and nearly broke down crying. How do I tell her? How do I explain what I’ve been through?

  For weeks I dealt with the unimaginable horrors of war. The constant fear, all the death, the blood, the torn limbs, the relentless exposure to the elements, the earth-rattling gunfire, everything. All of it amounting to a paralyzing and unnerving pressure that dragged me down to the lowest possible depths of mental integrity.

  And now here I was, suddenly thrown back into normality. For a moment, the war was a million miles away and I was at peace. I was in the home I loved, I had a roof over my head, a full stomach, and I was sitting on an actual mattress.

  On top of all that, I was staring the girl of my dreams in the eye and feeling the warm smoothness of her skin. Could we pick up where we left off, even after all we’d been through?

  I wanted to explain all this to her, but I couldn’t. It was too deep and too personal to explain it fully.

  “Colt, what’s wrong?” she asked.

  My hands started to shake. I felt like I was crying, but there were no tears.

  “Hey, look at me,” she said, cupping my face with her hands. “I’m right here. What’s the matter?”

  “You don’t know how much you mean to me,” I said. Tess was my beacon of hope. It was her that kept me going. It was her that kept my heart beating. It was her that helped me keep my sanity.

  I reached into my pocket. My flag was a pale comparison to what it once was, beaten and battered like I was for so many years. Now it meant nothing to me. It was just a piece of tattered cloth. I had something new to hold on to now.

  The crumpled flag slid from my hand and fluttered to the floor at my feet.

  “Shhh, lay back,” she said.

  I laid back in the soft puff of her baby blue comforter as she crawled on top of me. She kissed me and wrapped her arms around my body, nuzzling her face into the crook of my neck. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders and tickled at my bare chest.

  I had been away for so long. How I longed to be close to her. Now, with her laying on top of me and her heart beating in sync with mine, I was happy.

  “I never stopped thinking about you,” she said.

  *

  Alex barged into the room.

  “Colton, get up! We got incoming at the front gate. We’ve got two minutes tops.” He was gone just as quick as he appeared.

  I sprung out of bed, slipped on my shirt and raced to gear up. Dammit. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Tess and I were so comfortable, we must have drifted off without knowing.

  As I clipped on my belt, I said, “Tess grab the kids and bring them up upstairs, hide in Alex’s closet and don’t come out for anything.”

  “Is this really happening right now?”

  I grabbed her hand before she broke out in a panic.

  “You’ve got to keep it together right now. I need you, alright? Grab the boys and keep them safe.” I kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll come for you when it’s all over.”

  “You promise?”

  “I kept my last promise, didn’t I?”

  She squeezed my hand tight, raising it up, so that she could kiss it.

  “I love you,” she said.

  “I love you, too.”

  I grabbed my rifle and took one last longing look at her before I rushed downstairs.

  I went out the back door and skidded to one knee behind an oak tree a hundred feet off to the side of the house. From this point, I could oversee the entire field from the far tree line all the way up to the driveway.

  Alex was in position behind the slate wall in the parking lot. I couldn’t see the others, but I assumed they too were already in position.

  My heart pounded wildly as I tried to shake my grogginess. Up above, the almost full moon stood sentinel in the clear sky over thousands of stars. A slight ocean breeze picked up and rustled the Spanish moss dangling from the limbs above me. Animal life slithered and sighed from the unknown.

  “Heads up. Here they come,” Alex said over the comms.

  A pair of headlights casted a pale glow on the edge of the woods at the far end of the driveway. That pale glow turned into two radiant eyes as the vehicle came around the bend and faced us. Another vehicle followed close behind.

  “We got two vehicles inbound. Shit, scratch that, make it three.”

  The three cars approached cautiously, inching their way forward.

  Alex peeked over the wall. I could see a detonator in his hands. The silent intensity of the moment choked my breathing.

  This is it, Colton. This is your moment.

  When the lead vehicle reached the sixth pair of trees, Alex had his mark. There was no way they could see they the blocks of C4 hidden under the dirt on the side of the road.

  When Alex hit the detonator, the lead vehicle was instantly engulfed in yellow flames. The sheer force of the explosion flipped the vehicle on its side. The truck teetered for a moment before tilting over on its back like a stranded turtle.

  Men poured from the other two vehicles, starting a maelstrom of small arms fire. Alex open fired with his rifle. The glow from the burning vehicle made the blue clad soldiers look like featureless shadows, demons in the night.

  Alex ducked as the hit squad zeroed in on his position. I could see at least a dozen muzzle flashes. Alex returned fire. This time he had a little help from Mr. Redman and Sam, who posted up on the second story balcony with a couple hunting rifles. I heard the shrill resonance of a bolt action rifle followed by the screams of its victim.

  Our initial show of force worked. The Legionnaires scrambled behind the cover of the trees, outright confused as to why they were encountering such fierce resistance. By pinning down their front avenue of approach, they had no choice but to try to flank on either side. That’s where I came in.

  “They’re moving left,” Alex said.

  Four soldiers sprinted out into the open field and crouched forward through the waist high grass as the others continued their direct assault.

  “I see’em.”

  I leveled my rifle and aimed at the shadowy scarecrows moving through the field. My first shots sent them dropping to the dirt.

  They quickly rebounded and returned fire. As I reloaded, bullets ripped shreds of bark off the trunk of the tree and chewed up puffs of grass and dirt around me. One bullet hit the ground inches from of my foot as I popped out and returned fire. One of the soldiers fell dead as I emptied the last few rounds of my magazine. I patted my ammo pouches. Only one magazine left.

  “They’re moving right,” Alex said.

  “I got’em.”

  I heard the sharp piercing boom of Carrigan’s sniper rifle.

  We stopped their center advance, so they flanked left, where I was there to stop them. Failing there, they moved right, through the horse pasture. Only, Carrigan was perched in the window of the hayloft in the barn waiting for them to make that mistake.

  The enemy was pushing strong. They were within fifty yards now.

  “I’m out of ammo. I’m falling back inside the house,” Alex said.

  “I’ve got you covered Alex.” I stepped out in the open and fired several bursts at every target I could see. When my rifle sounded the familiar click of an empty magazine, I instinctually pressed the release button and reached for a replacement. Empty.

  I dropped my rifle, pulled the pin off of a grenade, lobbed it as far as I could throw and retreated to the backside of the house. The blast shook the ground beneath my feet.

  “Colton, watch your left, coming around the corner,” Carrigan radioed.

  One of the
soldiers came running around the corner of the house with a submachine gun. I drew my pistol and put three rounds into him. He dropped dead.

  Carrigan came running out of the dark from the direction of the barn. “Sorry, I didn’t have a shot on him.”

  “Colton, where the hell are you? I need help up front,” Alex’s voice chimed in my ear.

  “On my w---.”

  A soldier peeked around the corner and sprayed us with rifle fire. Carrigan and I crashed through the French doors into the safety of the house to avoid the gunfire.

  I needed a gun, and quickly. The shotgun in the kitchen. I reached it as two shadows fluttered outside the window above the sink. I fired a shot into the window, ejecting a blast so powerful it sent bits of glass and curtain fabric twenty feet out into the yard. The shot pummeled its intended victim off his feet and off the porch all together.

  Carrigan backpedaled her way into the kitchen firing her rifle out the backdoor.

  “I’ve got this. Go help Alex.”

  I found Alex in the living room firing his pistol out the window. He couldn’t get two shots off before he was swarmed with return fire that shattered every last remnant of glass in the window frame.

  I dropped to the floor and crawled forward toward him under overwhelming fire. Bullets ripped through the wooden framed house and continued on inside tearing into furniture and shattering anything that stood in its way. The couch and pillows spewed their feathery innards. Lamps exploded, sending their shades up in the air like miniature rockets. Picture frames splintered and hopped off their mantle.

  “I’m almost out,” Mr. Redman yelled from the dining room across from us. We were running out of ammunition and fast losing control of this battle. They just keep coming.

  I managed a quick peek out the window and saw four men approaching the front door.

  “They’re going to breach,” I yelled, a second before a terrific explosion rocked the house and the smoky back blast smothered the foyer.

  A smoke grenade followed soon after, rolling to a stop at the bottom step of the stairs, spewing its white fog. Typical breaching procedure. The next thing would most surely be…

  “Flashbang!”

  A flashbang grenade soared through the window between Alex and me and skidded across the living room floor. I ducked, closed my eyes, covered my ears and opened my mouth like I was trained.