Wolf Pack_Invasion and Conquest

by Rob Buckman

  “Alpha team to Pack leader.”

  “Pack leader actual to Alpha team leader – go.”

  “Not sure what’s up, but I’ve got firelight ahead.”

  “You know the drill – go slow and investigate. I’m moving up to your position.”

  “Ten-four Pack leader.”

  With his helmet night-vision, he could move faster than the rest of the Pack, ordering them to take it slow and easy. By now the dogs where following his commands, and even slept beside his rack at night after they’d been out chasing and eating rabbits. Moving forward, he soon detected firelight dancing between the trees, and it wasn’t long before he moved up to Alpha teams position, where they hunkered down fifty feet from the camp.

  “What the hell?” He muttered, expecting to see a group of marauders, or half-starved civilians hiding out in the woods. What he saw was a group of kids huddled around the fire, the oldest no more than 17 or 18, the youngest about ten, and no adults in sight. He saw Krista Jackson signaling, and moved up beside her, and even before he asked, she knew the answer to his first question.

  “We checked for half a mile around them, sir. No adults.”

  “Shit!” He didn’t have to explain what he meant. Should he leave them and find a way around, or? It was no good, he was the sheepdog, and his duty was to protect the lambs at all cost.

  “As much as I hate to say it, Boss, we can’t just leave them.”

  “I know, I know.” He hissed angrily, leaving unsaid the problems of taking them with them, Krista already knew.

  “Move the team to surround them, just in case they take off running.”

  “It’s a safe bet they will, unless...”

  “Unless what?” He didn’t answer, and touched his ear to switch frequencies.

  “Pack leader actual to Joann - need you at my ten-twenty on the double, girl.”

  “What!" She spluttered. "Who me… what did I do now?”

  “Nothing. Stop asking silly questions and get your ass up here.” Decker snapped, not feeling in the best of moods right now. They waited in silence as the rest of the team moved into position, and with a carefully shielded pin light, Decker guided Joann to him.

  “What’s up?” She panted.

  “Take a careful look and you’ll have your answer.” She did.

  “Oh shit!”

  “That about sums it up.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Strip off your gear and walk in there. Say hi gentle like and try not to scare the pants off them.”

  “Damn it… don’t want much do you. They’re going to run like scared rabbits the moment I walk out of the trees.”

  “So, say hello the camp first and see what they do.”

  “First, I have to get naked for you guys… twice I might add, and now you want me to walk in there and get shot. Thanks a bunch.”

  “You’re wearing your new armor so there’s no chance you getting killed.” Krista reminded her.

  “Unless they miss and shoot me in the head.” Even as she grouched, she took off her ghillie suit and combat gear, shucking her pack. “Well, here goes.”

  Joann was a smart girl, and she even made a little noise as she moved through the trees towards the camp. That put the kids on notice that something was out here, and as expected the older ones were pointing weapons in her direction.

  “Hello the camp.” She called. “Can I come in?”

  “No… go away!”

  “Are, come on, I’m cold and just want to warm myself.”

  “Who… who are you?” The older girl called.

  “Just a girl out in the woods looking around.”

  “Who’s with you?”

  “No one, just me.”

  “Go away. We don’t have any food and anything of value.”

  “Come on, I just want to talk and get warm by your fire.” Two of the older kids jumped up and ran towards her, brandishing weapons. They ran past and stopped behind her, looking around. Decker could have told them they wouldn’t see much after sitting around looking at the fire. Their night vision would be shot to hell.

  “Ain’t no one else here, Jackie, she’s alone.”

  “Okay Amy, if she’s armed, take her weapon and bring her in.” Joann handed over her rifle after clearing the breach, and removing the mag, and walked into their camp with her hands up, more as a sign of peace, rather than surrender.

  “Hi there, my name is Joann.”

  “What you want?” The older girl asked, acting belligerent and threatening her with a sawn off shotgun.

  “Like I said, I’m just out for a walk and saw your fire.”

  “Told you we shouldn’t have lit the fire.” A dark haired, dirty faced girl of about 16 snapped.

  “Shut up Abby. We needed it to get the little ones warm.”

  “Not much good without food in their bellies.”

  “I have food in my backpack.” Joann offered.

  “What… Where’s your pack?” Jackie demanded.

  “Back there in the woods. I didn’t want to bring it in until I'd checked you out.”

  “You gona share it with us?” Abby asked, a hopeful look on her face. The little ones weren't the only ones who were starving.

  “I can if you let me go get it.”

  “I don’t trust her.” Jackie snarled, poking the shotgun at Joann.

  “Okay then, I’ll just take off and leave you too it. I’m sure your Mom and Dad’s will be back soon with food.”

  “What! Wait… you can’t go.”

  “Jackie, just let her go get her backpack. The kids haven’t eaten for two days.” All the kids looked at Jackie with pleading eyes, hunger making them desperate.

  “Okay, but no tricks… and… and we keep your rifle.”

  “That’s alright. The ammo for it is in my backpack anyway.” Joann lied.

  As expected, the same two girls followed Joann back into the woods, but neither of them saw Decker and Krista on the ground as Joann walked up and retrieved her backpack.

  “Guess we just sit and wait until they’ve eaten.” Decker muttered.

  “Right – heads up people – hold your positions once you get there - but stay alert.” Five, single click replies came back in answer, as Decker rolled over onto his back to grab forty winks. Krista saw him and let out a snort, remembering what he’d said about sleep and eating when you can, as you might not be able to for a long time. In all it took an hour before Joann got them talking. Her comment about Moms and Dads hit home, and she saw more than one girl with tears running down her face, as they sat there eating the MREs.

  “Where are your parents?”

  “Um… around.” Jackie looked evasive. “They’d out looking for food and stuff.”

  “Right, in a pig’s eye. I checked before I came in. There’s no one around here for miles, and if what Abby said is true, they left several days ago and haven’t come back, have they?”

  “They’ll be back, just you wait and see… bet they’ll be here…” Jackie’s voice trailed off, and she started crying. That started the others crying as well. Joann bit her lower lip, suddenly seeing what Decker must have seen when he walked into the building in Tehachapi. She almost felt like saying the same thing he had, but restrained herself. After all, these were just scared, hungry kids.

  “So what are you going to do now? Where are you heading, Jackie?” She asked softly.

  “Thought we’d head for Bakersfield and see if we can find our parents…. Or link up with others.” Now it was Joann's turn to shake her head.

  “No good, we’ve just come from Bakersfield and it’s in alien hands. Tehachapi isn’t much better, more of a ghost town now. No people, and you don’t want to get captured by the aliens, trust me.” Jackie looked at Joann sharply, seeing her shudder.

  “Where did you start out from?”

  “A military supply base just off I-58 near Tehachapi.”

  “Wow, that’s a long way from here on foot… but how did you
get past all the alien ships. They keep shooting up anyone out in the open?”

  “Oh, we move mostly at night, and we do have a few tricks to fool the UFMs.”

  “Wait, you said we… and what are UFMs?”

  “UFM… well, that’s what we call the aliens, and the ‘we’ are friends of mine camped a mile or so from here.” That brought silence to the group, and Joann could see that Jackie was starting to get a little nervous.

  “Hey, not to worry. If you want to be left alone to do your thing, that’s okay with me and my um… leader.”

  “How many of you are out there?”

  “Oh, about a hundred give or take a few.” The children looked at each other, and she could see the conflicting emotions playing across their faces. They feared adults but were desperate for them to tell them what to do.

  “If… if we said no, would you force us like the other group?”

  “What group was that?”

  “Um… well, three guys showed up out of nowhere and tried to make us go with them.” Jackie looked down, as if ashamed.

  “And you blew them away, didn’t you?” She nodded. “Good for you, but no, if you don’t want to go with us, you can go on your way with our blessing and some food to keep you going.” Hearing that, Decker moved back into the trees and opened the general push frequency.

  “All team leaders, listen up. We have a bunch of scared kids here and I don’t want to frighten them any more than necessary, so here’s what I want you to do.” He gave them their instructions and moved carefully back into his last position just in time.

  “Can I bring someone else here for you to meet? He’s our leader.” Jackie looked around, bringing up the shotgun as the other started hugging each other, fear written on their faces.

  “He’s here… where?”

  “He’s close, and he has a couple of furry friends with him.”

  “Okay… I guess... but no tricks.” She replied, not sounding too sure.

  “Hey, he’s friendly, and I promise, no tricks.” It was easy to see Jackie was scared shitless, but there wasn’t much she could do about it, except start shooting.

  “Hi.” Decker said, moving out from behind a tree, so they could see him. “Can I come into your camp?” Now Jackie was really scared, and Decker couldn’t blame her. The last men she’d met had tried to capture her and her little group. Keeping his weapon slung, he walked slowly into the camp with Max and Goldie beside him, and sat down a few feet away, thereby presenting a less threatening pose. This put him at eye level with Jackie after she’d sat down again, still looking unsure.

  “Are they friendly?” A little dirty faced, blond haired girl of about eleven asked.

  “Usually, hold your hand out and let them sniff you.” The little girl did, and much to Decker’s surprise, Max didn’t growl or lay his ears back, a good sign when he wasn’t happy. Decker stroked Max head to reassure him, as the little girl came up and held her hand out. Max sniffed and let her stroke his head as Decker had done.

  “He’s nice.” Goldie got up and walked around her, sniffing as she went.

  “I have something you might like.” Decker said, carefully reaching into a side pocket of his Bergen.

  “You are sneaky…. You’ve been holding out on us.” Joann snorted as Decker took a bar of chocolate out. It was a little soft, but the kids didn’t mind, seeing their eyes light up when they saw it. That broke the ice with most of them but he could see Jackie was still suspicious. Decker gave Joann a stern look, but she just grinned at him.

  “Is it okay if we bed down here for the night?” Decker asked.

  “I… I guess so.”

  “You going to put a guard out?”

  “Um… no. We just kill the fire and huddle up to keep warm.”

  “Well no need to worry tonight with Max and Goldie on watch. They’d warn me if any bad guys show up.”

  “I’ve got a big sleeping bag. Anyone want to cuddle up with me?” Joann asked.

  “Me… me… me.” Three of the younger girls called out. Taking it slow and easy, Decker unrolled his sleeping mat and sleeping bag, and after removing his boots lay down and zipped the side up. Once they’d finished eating, three of the youngest cuddled up with Joann, while the rest wrapped themselves in dirty blankets and tried to sleep.

  “I’ll keep the fire going so you can stay warm. No one will bother you tonight.”

  “I guess I’ll stay on guard.” Jackie muttered, reaching over to put more wood on the fire. Decker smiled, betting she couldn’t stay awake for more than an hour. As he said, with Max and Goldie on watch, and with what was going on around them, he soon fell asleep himself. He only woke up once, about two hours later to find Jackie fast asleep. Decker smiled, and taking the spare blanket out of his Bergen, he carefully covered the girl, seeing Joann watching him with bright eyes, smiling slightly. After stacking wood on the fire so they’d fall slowly inward, he went back to sleep for the rest of the night. As usual, he was awake at dawn, and he added more wood to the kid's still smoking fire, hearing the sounds of the Pack coming awake around him. As instructed, they’d carefully moved up during the night, surrounding the kid’s little camp, and were now busy getting breakfast ready. Putting his boots back on after shaking them out, he added a little more fuel to the fire, and went off to find a cup of coffee. He strolled back sipping the brew to find the kids awake and looking around, wide-eyed.

  “Breakfast will be here in a while. Hope you’re hungry, as the girls always cook too much.” He lied, as he sat down by the fire on his rolled up sleeping bag. As he’d said, it didn’t take long before the girls came by and handed the kids a plate of food, smiling and walking back to their camp.

  “Wow… they are all girls… women… ladies.” Jackie stuttered. “Where are all the guys?”

  “No guys, just me.”

  “Who… who’s in charge.”

  “I guess I am.” Decker answered, scratching the back of his head.

  “And they all do what you say?” Joann snorted coffee hearing that. Decker shot her a dark look, but she just grinned back at him. That made the younger kids smiled. It was a universal rule that when you put young kids and dogs together, they’d feed part of their food to the dogs, not that there wasn’t enough for both, as the girls figured the kids were starving.

  “I need to go check on a few things. Joann, you’re in charge of them until I get back.” He growled, thinking about the added problems of taking care of the kids.

  “Grouchy, isn’t he.” One of the girls muttered loudly as he walked away. Decker smiled, remembering his daughter whispering the same thing to his wife one day.

  “No, not really. He just has a lot to worry about is all.” Joann murmured.

  “What’s he worrying about?” Jackie asked. Joann sighed.

  “First off, how to get the Pack from here to ‘Truckee’.”

  “The Pack?”

  “Yeah… I forgot. His nickname is Wolfman, so we decided to call us his Wolf Pack and were all his b… Well, you know his girls.”

  “We're not supposed to call women girls any more, or so my Mom said.”

  “Yeah, well, all our Moms and Dads are dead, along with the government that came up with that silly rule.”

  She could see that being told their parents were dead hit them hard, as like her, they were hoping they’d come back and rescue them. Joann chided herself for being so blunt and unthinking as the three youngest started to cry. Decker destroyed any illusions she and the rest had about their parents coming back, and made them take the first step to stand on their own two feet and fight to stay alive. Jackie might be able to understand and accept that, but the little ones would cling to the hope their parents would return, it was in their nature to hope.

  “I need to go to poopy.” The little blond announced, wiping the tears from her eyes. Joann smiled hearing that, bringing them back to the practical and the immediate concerns of Mother Nature.

  “Over-watch to Echo Leader. Where
did we set up the latrine?”

  “Echo Leader to Overwatch. It's set up down in the dry river bed and a guard standing by.”

  “Thanks Echo Leader.”

  “You’ll have to wait your turn, Joann.” The chuckling reply came back.

  “It’s not for me. The kids need to go.”

  “Ten-four.”

  Jackie still looked suspicious, and held onto the shotgun, but she did give Joann her lethal looking weapon. Joann could see she desperately wanted to ask her questions about it, and watched as she checked the breech was clear before dropping a magazine in the well and tapping it home. She then jacked a round in, and set the safety, all in one continuous fluid motion before slinging it, barrel down over her shoulder.

  “You make that look so easy.”

  “Yeah… just lots of practice is all.”

  “H... have you ever shot… killed anyone with it?” Joann thought about lying, and then discarded it.

  “Yes, I’ve shot and killed a lot of bad people since we left Tehachapi. You threaten the Pack and you die. It’s that simple.” Jackie looked at her, wide eyed, seeing a girl only a little older than herself, with a deadly looking weapon, and ready and willing to kill anyone who threatened them.

  “Can… can I do that?”

  “What, learn to kill bad guys?” She nodded.

  “We’ll see. Let’s get you lot to the latrine before you pee or poop your pants.”

  They followed, looking around at the women in various activities, all with weapons by their hand or slung over their shoulders. No one tried to grab them or harm them in any way, and gradually the fear drained away. Of course, with that many women of all ages, it wasn’t long before the maternal instinct kicked in, and the need to clean the kids up, considering how filthy they were. Much to Jackie’s displeasure, one by one the kids were enticed away after they’d came out of the latrine, including herself when she came out from behind the make shift screen.