Those Who Remain: A Postapocalyptic Novel (The New World Book 7)

by G. Michael Hopf

  She found her phone and hit the last number called.

  A ringtone came from the cargo area of the SUV. She looked over her seat to discover her driver was back there dead.

  “No, no!” she cried out.

  The SUV made a hard left and headed into Ponderosa Park.

  “Please, whoever is driving, please, I can give you whatever you want,” she sobbed.

  The driver didn’t respond.

  Knowing her demise was coming, she chose to at least resist. She grabbed the handle, opened the door and flung herself out in the cold dark night.

  Her body hit the frozen asphalt hard. She heard her left arm, elbow and knee break from the fall and subsequent tumble.

  The SUV slammed on its brakes and slid to a stop.

  Elizabeth pulled herself up and began hobbling away.

  The rear backup lights came on.

  “No, God, no, please,” she sobbed. She looked over her shoulder and saw the vehicle coming her way.

  She didn’t know what lay off the road, but she had nowhere to go as the vehicle bore down on her. She leapt and landed into thick bushes and quickly became entangled. As she struggled to free herself, the vehicle came to a stop on the road just above her.

  She went into a full frenzy to free herself from the bushes, but the more she fought, the worse it got.

  The sound of a pistol being removed from a holster hit her ears.

  “No, please, I’ll do anything,” she cried.

  She heard and felt the first shot. It was almost instantaneously from the crack of the gun going off to the searing pain of the bullet ripping through her side. She grunted and continued to try to free herself.

  The second shot cracked, but this time she didn’t feel it. However, something did feel odd, as the pain in her knee was gone and she fell to the ground. All she could think was the bullet had severed her spinal cord in her lower back.

  “Why, I’m a good person, why?” she moaned.

  The unknown shooter walked down into the ditch and stopped just a few feet from her. They pulled out a flashlight and shone it on her.

  “Please, no!” she sobbed. She tried to see who it was, but the blinding light in her face made it impossible.

  The third shot went off, but she didn’t hear or feel it because it smashed into her forehead. She slumped over and died, her body suspended by the bushes.

  The shooter holstered the pistol and retrieved her body. Like her driver, she was tossed in the back.

  The SUV sped off and disappeared into Ponderosa State Park.

  ***

  Gordon woke suddenly and looked around the bedroom. The suns early rays were beaming through several cracks in the wood blinds next to his bed. He picked up his watch and saw it was twenty minutes past nine in the morning.

  He sat up and stretched.

  Haley’s sweet laughter could be heard coming from the kitchen.

  He stepped out of the bed into his comfy slippers. When he opened the bedroom door, the volume of the laughter rose.

  As he walked the hallway towards the kitchen, he could also hear Samantha and Luke.

  “Daddy!” Haley squealed and ran towards him when she saw Gordon walk into the great room.

  “Good morning, baby girl,” Gordon said, hugging her.

  “Want some coffee?” Samantha asked.

  Gordon picked up Haley and sat on a bar stool. He looked at Luke and asked, “Shouldn’t you be on patrol?”

  “I took the morning off, family day,” Luke replied.

  “Family day?” Gordon asked, looking confused.

  “Yeah, we thought since you had the day off, we’d all snuggle up and play games,” Samantha said putting a steaming cup of coffee in front of him.

  “It’s Tuesday, plus I’ve got a meeting later with Elizabeth, um, maybe another day,” Gordon said.

  “Hmm, John stopped by early this morning and left that for you. You were so tired that I just let you sleep,” Samantha said.

  Gordon craned his head back and looked at a small box sitting on the floor near the front door. “What is it?” he asked.

  “Not sure,” Samantha said.

  “Anyway, he said he had taken care of your meetings today and that you should just take the day off,” Samantha relayed.

  “That’s odd,” Gordon said, standing up. He placed Haley down and walked over to the box and picked it up.

  “What is it?” Samantha asked.

  “Yeah, Daddy, what’s in the box?” Haley asked, running up to Gordon.

  Gordon jabbed his finger under the flap and lifted. A thought came to mind that the contents could be sensitive. Not needing another problem in his life by having to explain it to Samantha, he headed for his office. “Ah, you know what, I’ll open this in my office. It might be something classified.”

  “If that’s how John handles classified, you should fire him,” Samantha joked as she took a seat next to Luke, who was playing solitaire on the tall kitchen bar counter.

  “I’ll be right back,” Gordon said and immediately headed to his office. He swept into his office, closed the door and locked it. He suspiciously looked at the box. What is it? He went to his desk and sat down holding the box in his lap. Curiosity was killing him. He took a knife from his desk drawer, cut the tape that sealed it, and opened the cardboard flaps. Inside was a folded piece of paper. He took it out and saw a flash drive, an 8mm tape and three digital micro recorders. He unfolded the paper and saw John’s handwriting.

  The note read, ‘I took care of gathering all the files, recordings, etc. This is everything. Elizabeth and the others have left town. Whereabouts unknown.’

  Gordon furrowed his brow in confusion. He dropped the note in the box and closed the box. With it tucked under his arm, he exited the room for his bedroom. He got his phone and raced outside through a set of French doors there. He swiftly walked to the garage and entered through a side door. He rummaged through several drawers until he found what he was looking for, lighter fluid and a lighter. Back outside, he went to the fire pit in the back of the house. He dumped the contents of the box, sprayed volumes of lighter fluid on it and lit the lighter. Before setting it ablaze, he took the time to reflect on how something so small could have such a huge impact.

  The swoosh of the sliding door tore him away from his thoughts.

  Samantha stuck her head out and asked, “What are you doing?”

  He put the lit lighter to the contents and, woof, they went up in a ball of flames.

  Curious and somewhat suspicious, Samantha came out to see what he was up to. The cold air pressed against her thin sweater. She crossed her arms over her chest to shield herself from the chill, looked into the pit and asked, “What the hell are you doing?” The flames danced over the charred and blackened items that were now unrecognizable. She gave him a look and asked, “Do you need to tell me something?”

  “Nope, nothing you need to be worried about.”

  “What was in the box?”

  “You guessed it, something classified. I definitely need to have a chat with John,” Gordon said and walked off.

  Samantha watched him walk away then looked back in the pit. “What the hell is going on?”

  Gordon walked back around to the front of the house and called John.

  “Good morning, Mr. President,” John said.

  “I got the box.”

  “Good,” John said.

  “What do you mean Elizabeth and the others are gone?”

  “Just that, they left town. Gunny relayed all the info to me.”

  “How did you get all that stuff if she and the others left town?”

  “Mr. President, let’s just end this conversation now. I’d rather not discuss this further,” John said.

  “John, what’s going on? You sound strange,” Gordon asked.

  “Gordon, my friend, you don’t have anything to worry about. You’ll never hear from Elizabeth or the others, and none of the info she tried to blackmail you with will ever su
rface,” John stressed.

  “What did you do?” Gordon asked.

  “Just take the day, and enjoy your family. You’ve deserved it. I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

  Gordon shook his head in disbelief. By the cryptic wording, he knew John and Gunny must have conspired against Elizabeth, Demer, Lecter and their cronies. “I don’t understand.”

  “Just say thank you, and know this, you’ve got friends who have your back. Now go enjoy your family,” John said and hung up.

  Gordon lowered the phone and looked at it. He wasn’t expecting any of this. Although he did contemplate taking Elizabeth out, it appeared John and Gunny did that but went a bit further. He hoped they covered their tracks so that none of this ever came back on them all.

  “Daddy, come inside and play,” Haley called from the front door.

  Gordon looked at her and smiled. He was blessed to have his family but also blessed to have friends like John, Nelson and Gunny. They were indispensable. How can I ever pay that debt back?

  “Daddy, come on!” Haley hollered.

  Looking at Haley, he decided that he had to set these issues and concerns aside for now and give his time and attention to his family, especially little Haley. She needed him, and he, her. He raced to her and gave her a hug and a kiss.

  “It’s cold. Close the door,” Haley said.

  Gordon stepped inside to the warmth and love of his family and closed the door on the harsh realities of his everyday life.

  OCTOBER 22, 2016

  “Independence is happiness.” – Susan B. Anthony

  Salt Lake City, Utah

  Gordon walked into the towering city hall building and was instantly thrust in a state of awe at what was about to happen.

  An unknown woman approached Gordon and said, “Mr. President, this way, please.”

  “Sure.”

  Samantha came up next to him and took Gordon’s hand. “This is so exciting.”

  “It is, yes, it is,” Gordon said, gently squeezing her hand.

  They were escorted to a large room. On the far wall was a table draped with various colors. Gordon then noticed the colors represented Cascadia on one end and the United States on the other. Behind the table, Old Glory stood, and to the left of it was the Doug flag. Off to the far right stood two podiums. The one on the right had the crest of Cascadia, which was nothing more than a circle with the colors of the flag vertically displayed, blue, white and green, from left to right. From the other podium hung the very recognizable United States presidential seal. Behind the podiums again stood the flags and just behind that was a large yellow drape with red edging. This struck Gordon as odd, but he quickly forgot about it when John came up.

  “Mr. President, follow me,” John said and pointed to a hallway.

  “John, please, just call me Gordon.”

  “Not in public, we need to have protocol.”

  “Do you have a flask on you?” Gordon asked.

  John gave him a quizzical look and asked, “You serious?”

  “Ah, yes and no. I have to admit, I’m a bit nervous.”

  “You’ll be fine. Let’s go sit and wait. Showtime begins in twenty,” John said as he ushered them away.

  ***

  John stuck his head in the waiting room and said, “It’s go time.”

  “Why is this so formal? Did I agree to this?” Gordon asked. He disliked dog and pony shows, but he understood the significance of the occasion so went along.

  Samantha touched his arm and said, “Congratulations, sweetheart, you did it.”

  He looked deeply into her doey eyes and said, “We did this. In a man’s life, if he’s lucky, he’ll have a woman by his side like you that supports him, holds him accountable and allows him to flourish. I’ve had that with you. None of this today would have happened without you. In fact, I can make the argument that this happened because of you not me.”

  “You’re sweet. Words like that just might get you laid tonight,” Samantha teased.

  John rolled his eyes and said, “You two, enough. Gordon, we have to go.”

  Samantha and Gordon kissed and embraced.

  “Good luck, I love you,” Samantha said and left the room.

  “This is it,” Gordon said to John.

  “It sure is,” John confirmed.

  Gordon walked to the door but stopped short of leaving. He looked back at John and asked, “Did you bring a gun with you?”

  John unbuttoned his suit coat and opened it slightly to show a pistol hanging in a shoulder holster. “I never leave home without it.”

  Gordon lifted the back of his suit coat. There he had his beloved Sig P239 snugly tucked in a waistband holster. “You can never sure, right?”

  “That’s how we roll. Now get out there, Mr. President, and get that treaty signed,” John said as he pushed Gordon out the door.

  Gordon stepped into the hallway and again paused. He could see the large crowd that had gathered, the flashing lights, cameras, and there at the end of the hall, waiting, was Cruz. He took a deep breath and headed out.

  “Mr. President,” Cruz said with a broad smile, offering his hand.

  Gordon shook his hand and said, “Mr. President, good to see you.”

  “You look nervous,” Cruz said.

  “I’m not a politician, so this stuff makes me feel like a fish out of water.”

  “You’ll be fine. Let’s go make this official,” Cruz said and walked out.

  Gordon followed right behind and took his spot behind his podium.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, dignitaries, government officials, welcome to this event. I come here as the president of the United States to officially declare that the United States relinquishes all claims and rights to the states of Idaho, Oregon and Washington so that they may form an independent and free republic. It wasn’t easy to make this decision, but times have changed, events have forced this, and I finally came to realize that in order for the United States to keep these states, the harm would have trumped the good. The people of these great states have chosen of their own free will to establish their own government fashioned after the principles of our Founding Fathers and enshrined in our Declaration of Independence. I thought it best to part as friends rather than enemies. Why did I do this? Because we share a common heritage, common values, a common language and history up until recently. To fight, to wage a war where no one wins would have only hardened what little differences we have. People should choose their own way and I for one applaud the courage of President Van Zandt and the people of the Republic of Cascadia.

  “I’ll finish by again emphasizing our friendship. If you look behind me, you’ll see this bright yellow drape with red trim. Many of you were probably wondering why that was there. It’s there as a symbol. Yellow is the color of friendship and I pray the people of the United States and the Republic of Cascadia will remain friends forever.

  “May God bless the Republic of Cascadia and the United States of America,” Cruz said, his tone serious and sincere.

  Gordon didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t expecting such kind words from Cruz. He stared at Cruz and mouthed the words, Thank you.

  Cruz nodded.

  Gordon faced the packed room. In the front row, he saw what amounted to his world. With glowing faces and smiles, Samantha, Luke, Haley, John, Gunny, Michael and Nelson sat. An almost overwhelming flood of emotion just about took him over when he saw Samantha signal for him to begin speaking.

  “President Cruz, thank you. And thank you to everyone here. I don’t know how to follow up on that wonderful speech. Your words were perfect and set the tone for a relationship between our two countries for decades to come. I remember meeting President Cruz for the first time eighteen months ago. Then I had no idea, not one shred of ambition to be where I am today standing across from you. It seems that you and I come in and out of each other’s lives at the right moments. So when you mention friendship, I want you to know that for me, it also means that I view you a
s a friend to me personally. We’ve been there for each other just when the other needed it, and I can promise that I’ll be there for you and the United States anytime you’re in need. In this new world that first appeared after the lights went out, friendship and family have taken on a new meaning. No longer can we take those things for granted. Many of us have lost a lot along the way, but we have also gained, and for the gains we must be grateful. I know I am. I also know my country is grateful to you and the United States for allowing us to self-govern ourselves. We won’t always get it right, but we will have the United States as a guide, and for me, I’ll have you, President Cruz, as my guide and mentor. I’d like to finish up by thanking all who made this possible and all who have been with me from the start,” Gordon said.

  He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He unfolded it and said, “Sorry, I needed to jot down everyone’s name not to forget,” he said and paused when he saw the names of those who were no longer there. “Nothing we ever do in life is done alone. Yes, our names may be on the final page, but along the way people come in and out. They help to mold you; they give advice, counsel. They love and support. They influence and guide. Yes, we might make the final decision, but that decision is born of many others’ wise words and so is this great experiment we call the Republic of Cascadia. It wasn’t one man or woman that made it possible. It was a collective effort by all the citizens of Idaho, Oregon and Washington, some of whom gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we may have our liberty. Each Cascadian out there has that list of those people and I have mine. So, if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to remember and thank those who helped me get to where I am today. Let me note that my list is not in any specific order of importance, how can one do that?

  “To my family, Samantha, you’re the love of my life, thank you. My beautiful daughter, Haley, you’re a shining beacon that calls me home, and, Luke, your courage and strength inspires me. Nelson, a truer friend like you is hard to find and let me once again tell you how sorry I am for the loss of Seneca and your child. She was a great woman and will be missed by all. John, people say they have a right-hand man, with you by my side, you’re a right-hand army. Gunny Smith, these words express how I feel for you, brother, Semper Fidelis, and Michael Rutledge, a man of principle who is unwavering in his conviction. If I didn’t mention Brittany and Lexi, I’d be remiss. Those two wonderful women kept me alive when I should have been dead. I also need to thank the Marines from 2/4, 1/1 and all the support elements. Your bravery and sacrifice paved the road of freedom we’re on right now; the people of Cascadia, your belief and support in me, even during the dark times, was an inspiration and kept me going,” Gordon said.