Righteous Sacrifice

by Timothy Van Sickel

  Jake and Andy follow her crowd to a food line where a thick chicken broth with rice is being served. Andy, Jake’s team mate, is a believer, and has heard of Mark’s faith as well. He feels compelled to make a connection with the woman. Acting as if they belong, they make their way to where the woman is sitting with a few of her companions, eating the same rice and chicken broth as her followers.

  As they approach the group, a man notices them and stops them. He is a large man, but completely unarmed. Jake and Andy had not been stopped from entering the bizarre area while carrying their assault rifles and pistols. Most everyone in the bizarre area is carrying some type of weapon. The large man fearlessly steps forward.

  “We come to seek peace,” Andy states. He hands his rifle and side arm to the large man, Jake does the same. Looking at the woman, Andy states, “Know Jesus, know peace.”

  “You come heavily armed for a man who knows Jesus,” the woman says.

  “Jesus said to the Centurion that he had more faith than anyone he had met, but he did not tell him to lay down his arms,” Andy responds. The woman nods, her expression unchanged. Andy pulls his back pack off and pulls out two five pound bags of dried beans. “The man I work for, he would like the message you are preaching. Take these, it is not much, but hopefully it will help,” Andy says handing her the dried beans. “Maybe tomorrow I can bring more.”

  She smiles and nods, thankful for the small donation. An awkward silence ensues as the woman watches them. Jake fidgets a bit while Andy just smiles, feeling a peaceful presence. The woman speaks. “I am Julia, thank you for your kind gift. Why would the man you work for take interest in me?”

  Andy is silent for a moment. Though young, he is smart and diplomatic, which is why he was chosen to lead this mission. “Let’s just say that you and he both work for the same man. Someone who is no longer here on earth, yet is all around us every day.”

  She nods again, smiling. “You and this man you speak of are saved.” She pauses and looks them over more closely. “You are not part of the refugee camp, and you are not farmers recruiting help. You’ve been well fed, your clothes are clean, not tattered and torn, but you are better armed than most and you offer food without asking for anything in return. So what is it you want from us?”

  Andy thinks for a minute. What does he want? What drew him to the woman? His mission is to gather information. “You are right, Julia, we are not part of the refugee camp. We seek information as to what is going on. We know America was attacked by an EMP, but we are trying to find out how people are reacting. We have seen a societal breakdown in our area. We are wondering what’s going on elsewhere. We are scouts looking to see what is coming our way.”

  For a moment, Julia grows a bit dark. “God’s wrath is heading your way, wherever that may be. We are finally ahead of the scourge. Behind us, bad things are happening, very bad things. We have been here for four days. There were about a thousand people here when we arrived. Now there are close to ten thousand. The local farms are starting to be strained, starting to close us out, because there are now too many of us to take care of.

  “Behind us is an even larger mass of people. They’re swarming out of Pittsburgh and its suburbs. They’re moving this way. We were among them, but we got ahead of them. They’re ruthless and desperate. I know we will need to move on within a week, maybe sooner, because the fighting will overtake us again soon.

  “Where are you from? Why do you care?” Julia asks.

  “I’m from a safe place, and I care because Jesus commands me to care,” Andy responds. “I need to continue to explore this camp now. Have five of your people at the eastern gate to this camp tomorrow morning.” He rises to leave but Julia reaches out and clasps his hand.

  “Let’s pray, brother.” She bows her head and begins. “Dear Father, you have brought this Christian soldier to us, he is on a mission that you have placed upon him. Keep your hand of protection upon him. Keep his faith in you strong as he searches for answers. Lay clear his path that he may do your will. In Christ we pray, Amen.”

  Andy and Jake both say Amen before leaving. Jake is a bit awestruck at the conversation he just witnessed. He watches as Andy confidently strolls through the rest of the bizarre. Is he missing something? He is scared to the point of breakdown, yet these Christians move forward boldly.

  For two more hours they mingle with the refugees and locals. While the area is secure, a pervasive sense of fear is felt. The farmers and the transients both are aware of the larger crowds heading their way. As they saw when they first came in, farmers are recruiting help and security. That i good. But, they can find no unified leadership. If these people had a strong leader, they could stop the masses and restore order. Before the sun gets too low on the horizon, Jake and Andy head back to meet their two comrades who have been guarding their bikes all day.

  It is dusk when they report back to Captain Regis. Reports are relayed back to the command center and plans are set for the next day, including a farm truck with food for Julia. Her people will get a nutrious beef and potatoes meal with a sugary apple dessert.

  Chapter 17, Traps

  East of White Mountain

  010/02

  “Road block ahead Captain White,” Zach hears over his CB radio.

  “What do you see?” Zach responds.

  “There’s several trees cut down across the road. Big trees,” his lead scout bike responds. “I’ll have trouble getting around it, let alone your trucks.”

  “Do you see anyone? Someone has to be guarding it.”

  After a short pause, Zach gets a response. “No one in sight.”

  “Don’t approach the roadblock, Charlie. Stash the bikes and seek cover. This may be a legitimate attempt to protect someone’s land, or it could be some renegades with an ambush set up.”

  “Roger, captain. We are two-hundred yards short of the downed trees.” After a short break, Charlie continues, “we are off to the side of the road, in a small thicket. Not much cover here.”

  “I’m coming up with two trucks, we’ll dismount twelve men and scout the woods on both sides of the road. You stay put.”

  Five minutes later Zach’s people are moving through the woods, looking for signs of an ambush. They are a bit jumbled up to start, but Zach has two military people leading each team, and they soon get their people spread out in a wide vee formation. As they close to within a hundred yards of the downed trees, four men break from their concealed position close to the roadblock and tear through the woods to the east. Startled, Zach’s people freeze up. One of his team leaders lets off three shots at one of the fleeing men, who drops to the ground. Several more rounds are exchanged, but the firing quickly ceases as no one on either side has a clear shot due to the distances, heavy woods and uneven terrain.

  Zach’s people remain on the ground where they were when the shooting started, too scared to move. Only the vets have the nerve to move and they get their team mates moving. They close in on the downed ambusher, the leader of the team making sure his untrained soldiers take up security positions while he has his designated medic tend to the man he shot.

  The wounded man is really only a boy of maybe sixteen or eighteen years of age. He has been hit in the hip. He is bleeding profusely. The soldier designated as the medic has no real experience. The profuse bleeding causes him to vomit. The veteran team leader comes to his aid and they get pressure bandages applied while he questions the young man.

  In the boy’s dying words they find out that it is indeed an ambush spot. They have been there a week, taking from anyone who ventures into their trap. He was part of a larger group of about fifty people with ambush sights around the area that his uncle had them set up when supplies got low. In his dying words he asks for forgiveness. It is heartbreaking for the whole team, a young man dying, trying to survive.

  Just then loud shrieking is heard from the other side of the road. Hysterical shrieking. Two of the other team members break out of the woods. Both drop to their kne
es and vomit.

  One of the team members, a woman, gasps and points back in the direction they just came from. “Back there,” she says haltingly as she tries to regain her composure. “Dead bodies. In the ravine, dead bodies.” She bends over and vomits again, then begins to sob. “We smelled the stench and went to look. Oh my God, the ravine was full of dead bodies. The stench, Oh my God there are least a dozen rotting bodies, bones and flesh and stench.” She tries to vomit again and is wrung with dry heaves. She finally gives out and falls to the road sobbing.

  The man that was with her rises from his knees and wipes his face with his sleeve. “Don’t go back there! It’s gruesome!” He stifles another urge to throw up. “I need a wash cloth, a towel, please, I have to wash off the stench.”

  Zach and four more security people have showed up by this time, taking in the grim story. He sends two seasoned vets towards the ravine and two more teams to scout the general area. Within fifteen minutes everyone has returned and they begin to pull back to a secure area. The mass gravesite in a ravine is confirmed, even the vets are shaken by what they saw. Before leaving, Zach leaves a note tacked to the largest downed tree in the road block. “The killing must stop. The Laurel Highlands Militia will not put up with this kind of barbarism. Dismantle your ambush sites. We will be back.”

  Zach has his team mount up and retreat back up the mountain. He is highly disappointed. They have barely made it five miles from the farmstead and have run into a savage group. They find a place to set up a rally point and then send out two more scout teams. Both run into similar roadblocks. The first roadblock is cleared with the ambushers fleeing.

  The second roadblock, near the small village of Ryot, is better manned and expecting trouble. The flanking teams are sent out as before, but this time the ambushers do not flee. The team comes under fire. The team leader and his people respond. Now, knowing they could face fire, and knowing of the depravity of the people they face, Zach’s people respond fiercely.

  The team leader gets pinned down briefly by the ambushers, but the technical moves up and unleashes with its heavy gun. This takes the enemy by surprise and they hastily fall back from the sustained gunfire. Zach’s team is able to retreat to safety. The team leader sustaining a minor shoulder wound that is quickly tended to.

  They have successfully broken up three of these people’s ambush sites. He hopes that has sent a strong message. They will return the next day. He knows what he is supposed to do. This is a setback, but it will be dealt with. The barbarism just five miles from the Farmstead is chilling. He will make sure to inform Daneel so that a stronger guard can be set.

  Chapter 18, Meeting Neighbors

  Near the town of Ryot

  10/03

  Zach’s crew approaches the area where the downed trees had blocked the road. They have two support trucks carrying chainsaws and winches, and an additional SAW technical with twelve more soldiers. The roadblock has already been cleared. The large logs moved to the side of the road. Zach’s heavily armed team passes through. They see one man in the distance who salutes them before scampering away into the woods.

  He deploys a squad to secure the area, using one of his Iraq War vets to lead them. He cautions them to beware of an ambush or IED’s, booby traps.

  He pushes on with his strong patrol as they come off the heavily forested mountain and into the more fertile valley. Lush farms and large orchards permeate the area. They come across a heavily secured farm. One of their security men blocks the road and waves them forward.

  Zach’s lead vehicle pulls up and four people pour out and set up a secure perimeter. The locals look on, dumbfounded as the truck leader signals an all clear and motions for Zach to come up.

  He dismounts and shakes the hand of the man who stopped them. “Captain Zach White of the Laurel Highlands Militia,” he states proudly, it being the first time he has introduced himself as a captain.

  “About time you all got here,” the man states. “You scared those asses up the hill out of their wits. They was causing a stir, but you settled their asses down. One of their people came to us last night offering to make peace. This valley needs a little law and order. About time the army showed up and settled things down.”

  What does Zach tell the man? Yes, they are the army, but probably not the army this man is expecting. His mind kicks into high gear. He needs to move and talk as a man of authority. It is why they made Mark a General, not a Colonel. And why he is a Captain, not a sergeant. Ranks have been inflated to command a presence of authority

  “Glad to be of help, sir,” he states. “Who’s in charge of the area? I need to meet with them so we can find out how best we can help you.”

  “That would be Sheriff Owens,” the man says. “I can probably have him here in an hour or so. I’ll send a runner into Bedford.”

  “That would be good,” Zach responds. He gives a signal for his crew to set up a rally point perimeter, which impresses the locals on the nearby farm, as his men and women post their vehicles and stake out positions as if they were about to be attacked by a German Panzer Division. Meanwhile, a dirt bike screeches off to the east, to get word to Sheriff Owens that the “army” has finally arrived. Zach sends his scout bikes out as well.

  An hour later Zach is in a bit of a tight spot.

  “What the hell is the Laurel Highlands Militia and who the hell is this so called General!” the sheriff exclaims. “I thought we had the real U.S. Army showing up. All I see is a rag tag group led by a chump of wanna be dictator! Shoup, you wasting my time on this crap?”

  Zach lets the sheriff rage for a bit, then speaks up. “Sir, I am part of what’s left of the United States Army. I am a combat war veteran, and so are most of the men and women with me. The United States, as we used to know it does not exist.

  “And, you may not want the United States Army showing up here, sheriff. Who controls the army right now? Do you know? We have been trying to figure that out. There is no federal government. The army could be loose bands trying to take what they can. Or they could be people like us, trying to institute some sense of order. My unit just showing up sent those renegades on the hill running.

  “We may not be the army you were expecting, but we are the army that showed up. If you are for law and order, with civilian governance, then we are your friends, and we want to be your allies.”

  “The world is falling apart and you want to talk about making an alliance? There is chaos all around us and you want to become our army, our saviors?” the sheriff respond in disbelief.

  The man called Shoup steps in. “The Purdy’s have already come to us and want to trade for food. Raiding the highway isn’t working out for them. Now that Captain White and his team have showed up, they have given that up. What have we got to lose? These people show up willing to help. Let’s form a council, Sheriff, and talk about it,”

  The Sheriff shakes his head. “You want me to negotiate with this group that calls themselves an army?”

  Just then a two bike scout team rolls up to them. “Captain, ten miles north of here an Amish clan is trying to move south, towards Springs. They have been grabbed by some refugees out of Altoona and are being held ransom. The refugees are demanding food to let the Amish convoy go.”

  “Well, Captain White, if you are the new army, the new authority, go deal with that. I been dealing with that for too long,” Sheriff Owens states a bit mockingly.

  Zach thinks fast. Leaving one heavy squad in place, he follows his scouts with four vehicles, including one SAW technical to this new hot spot. Sheriff Owens follows with his small detail.

  They roll up to a scene Zach has seen far too often. Over two-hundred men, women and children are spread across a farm pasture. The farm house is well protected, and the cows have been brought in from the fields. The farmers are keeping the refugees at bay. But there are two dozen horse drawn buggies and wagons in the midst of the chaos. Strangely, the Amish are mingling with the starving men and women that have taken them ho
stage, even feeding them with their meager stock of food.

  Zach’s patrol rolling into the valley causes a lot of commotion. All eyes turn their way: a few of the refugees grab some of their Amish hostages. Zach and his team have faced far larger crowds. He and four of his team walk boldly toward the crowd, the rest of his detail assumes a professional overwatch stance.

  “Who’s in charge here? It’s been reported that these Amish are being held ransom. Anyone want to speak to that charge?” Zach bellows across the pasture. All eyes are on him and his heavily armed crew, but no one speaks.

  Eying a man threatening an Amish family with a shot gun, Zach calls out directly. “Why are you holding those people at gunpoint? Come up here and tell me what you want.” Looking past the gate to the farmhouse he sees a middle aged man with a deer rifle. “You, with the deer rifle, come out here and let’s talk this out.” He hollers. He calls out a few more people that he thinks may be leaders of the differing factions and calls them up to his position.

  Five men and two women form a loose group around Zach. “The freaking country is falling apart, and I have to bring my team out here to squash some trivial squabble. I been down this road too many times in the past few weeks. You all have to work this shit out yourselves. Farmer guy, I don’t know your name, but I know what you need, you need help on your farm, and securing your farm.” The man nods.

  Turning to another man, Zach begins again. “You, taking Amish hostages, you are just lookin’ for food for your people, your family, right! Work a deal with the farm owner, help him with his farm and he’ll feed you. Don’t take freaking hostages, or just demand food. Work out a deal. You used to work to feed your family, right?” The man nods, a bit embarrassed. “Well, work for this farmer and his neighbors; earn your keep.”

  They all start talking amongst themselves, a bit hesitantly, but since no blood had been shed, they are all soon talking about how they can help each other. Before anyone realizes it, the Amish have a cured ham from one of their wagons being sliced for sandwiches and is doling out a coleslaw on the side.