From The Ashes: America Reborn

by William W. Johnstone

  WWJ: Then you no longer us a Thompson?

  Ben Raines: I have a completely reworked Thompson I carry with me in my mobile CP, but I pretty much stick with the CAR now. Occasionally I will use an M-14. I don’t remember the last time I used a Thompson in combat.

  WWJ: There is no plaque on the case; no information about the weapon.

  “You knew what it was right off, didn’t you, sir?” The question came from a child, standing with his mother off to my left.

  I turned to look at the boy, about ten years old. “Yes, I guess I did,” I said.

  “Good afternoon, General Raines,” the woman said.

  Ben Raines smiled at her and nodded in greeting. The woman and small boy walked away, to continue their tour of the building.

  WWJ: A friend of yours, General?

  Ben Raines: I never saw the woman before.

  “There is a small brass plaque being readied to mount on the cabinet.” The voice came from a doorway off to our right.

  “Hello, Cec,” Ben said.

  “Ben. This the writer fellow who’s interviewing you?”

  I was introduced to President Cecil Jefferys and shook hands—he had a very firm grip. I was immediately impressed with the man. He was tall, strongly built, with almost snow-white hair. Cecil Jefferys had an aura of strength and calmness about him. He waved us into his office and seated us.

  Cecil Jefferys: Ben treating you all right?

  WWJ: Just fine. He’s very cooperative.

  Cecil Jefferys (after a laugh): Dr. Lamar Chase would be astonished to hear that.

  WWJ: That’s the chief of medicine?

  Cecil Jefferys: Yes. Another person who has been with the movement since the beginning.

  WWJ: Are there many of you living in this area? Those who helped start the movement, that is?

  Cecil Jefferys: Not too many. Most were killed during the government’s assault against the original Tri-States up in the Northwest. There are only half a dozen or so who are still active in the field. Most have retired and are living very quietly; spread out all over the SUSA.

  WWJ: You commanded a battalion for years, right?

  Cecil Jefferys: That’s correct. My days as a field commander ended, for the most part, after a heart attack several years ago. I still command a battalion of Rebels, at least on paper. A bunch of old farts like me who make up part of the home guard.

  WWJ: The president of the largest and most advanced and productive nation on the face of the earth still is active in field exercises?

  Cecil Jefferys: Oh, sure. You’ll find me out on the rifle or pistol range several times a month, banging away at targets. I have to keep my hand in it to some degree.

  WWJ: That’s incredible!

  Ben Raines: Where is Ike, Cec?

  Cecil Jefferys: Damned if I know, Ben. Roaring around somewhere, I’m sure. Making life as miserable as possible for those in his command.

  WWJ: That would be General Ike McGowan, right? The ex-Navy SEAL?

  Ben Raines: Right. We met down in Florida shortly after the Great War. He had built a radio station, of sorts, and was broadcasting under the call letters of KUNT.

  WWJ: KUNT?

  Cecil Jefferys laughed out loud and slapped a big hand down on the desk. “You have to know Ike to fully appreciate the man. He’s an old Mississippi boy with a wild sense of humor. Besides, he’s an ex-SEAL, and those people aren’t normal to begin with.”

  WWJ: I don’t think I’ll print that last part, Mister President.

  Ben Raines (after a laugh): Where is the secretary of state?

  Cecil Jefferys: Out of the country. He should be back in a few days. He’s meeting with the president of Mexico, working on something.

  WWJ: Is Mexico going to become part of the SUSA? That is the rumor that’s been floating around?

  Ben Raines shrugged his shoulders and President Jefferys assumed a noncommittal expression. I did not push the issue any further. I knew that several provinces up in Canada had aligned with the SUSA, and that was causing quite a rift not only in the newly formed Canadian Parliament, but it was being condemned in the American Congress as well. However, nearly everything the SUSA did was condemned by the newly formed American Congress. But as Ben Raines had so bluntly put it: Let those pantywaist liberals bitch, they can’t do a goddamn thing about it and won’t do anything except run their mouths, raise taxes, and pass hundreds of totally unnecessary laws.

  WWJ: Mister President, did General Raines have anything to do with your decision to run for president of the SUSA?

  Cecil Jefferys: Let’s just say he’s a most difficult man to refuse.

  WWJ: I can believe that.

  Ben Raines: You two go right ahead and talk about me. Just pretend I’m not here.

  Cecil Jefferys: Oh, we will, Ben. Now then, young man, what questions can I answer for you?

  BOOK #8

  DANGER IN THE ASHES

  We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature has placed in our power . . . The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.

  –Patrick Henry

  Ben Raines is back to visit his old home in north Louisiana, where he encounters a group of rednecks led by Hiram Rockingham, a man whom Ben had known many years before. The two men dislike each other intensely. Ben hates ignorance of all kinds, and Rockingham revels in it, proud of his lack of education and ignorance.

  Ben has returned to set up an outpost in spite of the ignorance and resistance of many of the current inhabitants. He is sure that the only way to restore order to the country is either to educate those who refuse to see reason or to kill them before they spread their poison farther. Another threat that the Rebels must deal with is the feared Night People, cannibals who have infested much of the country. Ben has become convinced that the Night People are headquartered in New York City and that eventually the battle will take them there. He sends Ike and Tina north with two hundred soldiers and twenty-five scouts to check it out.

  At a meeting in the town center, Ben lays it on the line. Hiram will see to it that all the children will begin attending a rebel school for reeducation. If Hiram doesn’t agree, Ben will send troops and gather the children without his permission. Hiram caves in but in secret begins to plot his revenge.

  Tina and the scouts are outside of Memphis; returning eastward they begin daytime recon and reclaim of city areas. Near the airport off I-240 they run into trouble. The place is crawling with Night People. Tina and the scouts hole up in a hangar and prepare to spend a long and dangerous night. At dawn Tina hooks up with Ike and his troops. It’s clear that cleaning the Night People out of the cities will be a difficult job. Tina and Ike head for Nashville and on to New York.

  Back in Monroe, Ben confronts Hiram, who has burned a cross as part of a growing resurgence of the KKK. Ben and Hiram fight. Ben humiliates him, and it’s now clear that only the death of one of them will resolve the hatred between them. Later that evening one of Hiram’s sons is killed as he attempts to assassinate Ben. Hiram holds Ben personally responsible for the death of his son.

  The Rebels’ problems aren’t just with the rednecks either. A group of black militants control a sizable territory and are threatening to begin a war against all whites. Ben and Cecil meet with them, and the leader, a man named Lamumba, agrees to discuss peaceful coexistence. Though the man is angered by the idea, Ben enforces his dictum that all children, black and white, attend school.

  Meanwhile, Hiram, believing that his son Billy Bob has betrayed him, decides to make an example of him and has him whipped, tarred, and feathered. But the idea backfires when Billy Bob turns against his father before he dies and urges all the children to listen to the teachings Ben has to offer.

  Ben becomes momentarily concerned that a new recruit, an officer named Patrice Dubois is actually an IPA spy. It is a difficult situation because Cecil has become involved with her romantically, but under interrogation she proves t
hat she has become a Rebel sympathizer and is welcomed aboard.

  Responding to a call for help from a group of freedom-loving citizens trapped in Michigan by a band of outlaws and fighting for their lives, Ben is surprised to hear from his longtime adversary, General Georgi Striganov. Striganov has been encamped in Canada since his defeat at Ben’s hand. He makes amends for past differences and tells Ben that he has troops ready in Canada to come the aid of the party in Michigan. Ben takes him up on the offer and bitter rivals become reluctant allies.

  Finally, Hiram goes too far when he shoots Ben’s son Buddy, wounding him seriously. Despite injuries of his own, Ben goes after the ignorant redneck, bent on revenge. When Hiram dies in the jaws of an angry alligator a twenty-year-old debt is finally settled. While Ben prepares to go to Michigan, Ike and Tina journey toward New York and an amazing discovery.

  From a group of citizens near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Tina learns that President Logan personally visited them shortly after the Great War. He told them that their area was the only one safe from radiation for many miles around, and they must never leave. Ike realizes that the only parts of the country actually destroyed in the war were Washington and Baltimore. The rest was a hoax perpetrated by Logan. Just in time, Ike discovers that these seemingly peaceful citizens are really Night People. The hideous creatures are spreading like wildfire and getting stronger. He fears that they will have their hands full in New York City.

  Ike decides to stock up on arms and equipment at Fort Dix and other military bases along the way. While the posts have been looted many times, Ike knows where to look, and the Rebels find much in the way of equipment in tunnels beneath the surface. The biggest piece of luck is the discovery of several flamethrowers. They will be of great use in the battle to come.

  Back in Michigan Ben learns of a warlord named Monte who has struck a deal with the Night People, supplying them with human food in exchange for women, and that his army is several thousand men stronger than intelligence suspected. He also learns that most of the troops are in the New York area. Ben tries to warn Ike, but someone is jamming radio frequencies.

  Ike realizes he’s in trouble, however, and begins to set up inside Fort Dix, using every weapon at his disposal, including several battle tanks, to create a defensible perimeter against the Night People. A vicious firefight follows; the attack by thousands of enemy forces is relentless, but Ike and the outnumbered Rebels emerge victorious. Ben learns that the mission to Michigan was a hoax to keep the full Rebel force away from the East Coast and begins planning an immediate move east to protect Ike and prepare for the assault on New York City.

  NINE

  General Raines left us alone for a time, and I asked President Jefferys a number of questions about the intricacies of the government of the SUSA; questions that General Raines had hedged on. President Jefferys smiled when I mentioned that.

  Cecil Jefferys: Oh, he knew the answers. Hell, he set the whole damn operation up. He just wanted me to get involved in this interview, that’s all.

  WWJ: Sneaky, isn’t he?

  Cecil Jefferys: My friend, you don’t know just how rough Ben can be when he sets his mind to it. That is one man you do not want for an enemy. He never forgets.

  WWJ: Does he hold grudges?

  Cecil Jefferys: You would certainly be safe in saying that, I assure you.

  I left President Jefferys and went wandering around the capital complex, looking for General Raines. I finally found him sitting on a bench in a small park between two buildings. He was petting a small dog.

  WWJ: Whose dog?

  Ben Raines: Belongs to one of the people who work here. Dog walks to work every morning with its owner. Never leaves this park area, and goes back home with the owner every evening.

  WWJ: Does everyone in the SUSA own a dog or cat?

  Ben Raines: Just about. I will have several dogs and cats when I leave the field. I like dogs. Did you find Ike?

  WWJ: He’s out in the field doing something or other with his unit.

  Ben Raines: We’ll hook up with him before you leave. Even if I have to take you out into the field. Did Cecil ask you to become a resident of the SUSA?

  WWJ: As a matter of fact, he did.

  Ben Raines: And . . . ?

  WWJ: I told him I’d think about it. But I will probably move into the area.

  Ben Raines: Good. We need more writers and reporters and columnists in the SUSA. Those who can report fairly and without bias, that is.

  WWJ: How do you know I can do that?

  Ben Raines: Oh, I had you checked out as soon as you asked to come in and do this interview.

  WWJ: Then the rumors are true?

  Ben Raines: What rumors?

  WWJ: That you have a network of spies and informants outside the SUSA? All over what used to be called the United States.

  But the General would only smile at that.

  WWJ: The newspaper that serves this area is very good; well staffed with good writers. But very conservative.

  Ben Raines: In most areas, yes, it is. You have noticed that there really isn’t much news to write about in the SUSA?

  WWJ: That did come to my attention.

  Ben Raines: There is practically no crime to report, except for the occasional domestic squabble.

  WWJ: No dope pushers in the SUSA?

  Ben Raines: Oh, there used to be. We got tired of warning the dealers and finally rounded up all the sellers of cocaine and heroin and hanged them.

  WWJ: You . . . hanged the dealers?

  Ben Raines: That’s right. That sort of takes all the thrill out of the business.

  WWJ: I can certainly see where it would.

  Ben Raines: We did have an armed robbery attempt here about six months ago. But the three robbers were shot to death before they could get out of town. Our main source of trouble is along our borders.

  WWJ: People wanting to live in the SUSA crossing over?

  Ben Raines: People who want something for nothing trying to cross over. There is a big industry now outside our borders manufacturing fake I.D.s for the SUSA. They won’t stand up under any type of check by the authorities, but people keep trying.

  WWJ: You can’t blame people for wanting a better life.

  Ben Raines: I can blame these people. They want something for nothing, that’s all. They don’t want a job, they want a position. And if they can’t get a position, they want the working public to support them and their kids—forever. We don’t want those kinds of people here, and we won’t have them.

  WWJ: So you turn them back?

  Ben Raines: At the border, whenever possible. If they’re caught here in the SUSA, and they almost always are, we escort them back to the border and kick them out.

  WWJ: Including the kids?

  Ben Raines: Including the kids.

  WWJ: That’s hard.

  Ben Raines: There was a time when, if the child was under a certain age, we kept the boy or girl and placed the child, or children, in foster homes. But we’re overloaded with kids. We can no longer do that.

  WWJ: You just took the child away from the parent?

  Ben Raines: Many times, yes. But only after carefully interviewing the parents. It doesn’t take long to determine what type of people they are. Not if you know what to look for and what types of questions to ask. Believe me, we’ve got it down to a science.

  WWJ: Some people just need a helping hand.

  Ben Raines: We’ll help those types of people get back on their feet . . . without hesitation. It’s the other types we don’t want here.

  WWJ: Do you have any type of public assistance here in the SUSA?

  Ben Raines: Oh, sure. And we’ll give a qualified family food and shelter and clothing and medical care and retraining until they’re ready to go to work. But we will not pay for healthy, able-bodied people to lie up on their asses and do nothing.

  WWJ: How do you prevent that, especially if they have children?

  Ben Raines: People who are physica
lly incapable of working, but still have some mobility, or are retired and volunteer to do it, will take care of the kids, freeing the parent to go to some type of school, usually a vo-tech. If the parent refuses, out they go . . . very quickly. Usually within forty-eight hours.

  WWJ: I have to ask this: The people who take care of the kids, are they qualified?

  Ben Raines (after a short laugh that was filled with sarcasm): They’ve usually raised kids of their own, and done a good job of it. You hug children when they need it. You discipline children when they need it. You feed children when they’re hungry. You give them rest periods and play periods in a safe environment. It doesn’t take a goddamn rocket scientist or a government agency’s nine million pages of rules and regulations.

  WWJ: Somehow I knew that would be your answer.

  Ben Raines: You’re learning.

  BOOK #9

  VALOR IN THE ASHES

  “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

  - Casablanca

  Ben Raines and the Rebels had been moving forward with their plan to set up Rebel-supported outposts in small communities of survivors across America. They are soon forced to acknowledge the fact that these rural settlements will always be in jeopardy of attack from the cannibalistic Night People who now totally dominate what is left of America’s urban areas.

  New York City is the center of operations for the Night People, who were establishing underground communities even before the nuclear war. Raines leads an expedition from base Camp One (in Louisiana) north to New York to destroy the leaders of the cannibals and salvage what might be left of the tremendous educational and cultural resources of the city.

  Ben starts out with his volunteer detachment which includes Cooper, Beth, and Jersey—and Ben’s first love, Jerre Hunter, who had recently reappeared to join up with the Rebels at Base Camp One. The tension between the two seems impossible to resolve, and she is sent north of the city to work with Tina’s Scouts. Ben and the Rebels start from the south of Manhattan and clear the buildings of Creepies block after block, moving steadily northward. Cecil and his troops come over from the east across the Brooklyn Bridge to join forces with Ben. Meanwhile Emil Hite, his followers, and Thermopolis and a band of hippies learn of Raines’s mission and pledge to go to New York and join the fight.