From The Ashes: America Reborn

by William W. Johnstone

  The Night People have outside allies in the form of Monte, a mercenary warlord from Canada, and Lance Ashley Lantier and his troops, who have returned to get their revenge on Ben Raines and the Rebel armies. Confrontations with Monte’s and Ashley’s armies in New Jersey delay the realization that there are many more Night People deep underground in the subway system who have remained very safe from Rebel attack and who have been warehousing prisoners for food banks.

  Ben sends Ike and his troops to clear the Holland Tunnel as an escape route, while he plans a way to confront the Night People without killing innocent prisoners. What is left of Monte’s and Ashley’s armies move into Manhattan and are defeated by the Rebel armies. The Rebels draw the Night People out of hiding and thousands of the enemy are destroyed. The Rebels barely have time to recover from the fighting when intelligence reveals that both Khamsin’s troops and Sister Voleta’s Ninth Order have returned and are only days away from attacking Ben Raines and the Rebels in New York.

  TEN

  WWJ: Do you have anything like the EPA down here?

  Ben Raines: We have a department that is constantly testing water quality all over the SUSA. They do tests on pesticides and other chemicals that are sprayed onto the land. But many farmers here use good bugs to kill bad bugs. You can’t do that outside the SUSA.

  WWJ: And it works?

  Ben Raines: Sure it does. That was known years before the Great War, but the government had laws preventing their use. I’m not really sure why the government went to such lengths to prevent farmers from using that method, but I imagine you can add two and two together just as well as I can.

  I knew, of course, what the general was implying, but damned if I was going to get sued by some chemical company for insinuating collusion.

  WWJ: Perhaps the FDA felt there would be too many bug or insect parts in the grain.

  Ben Raines (smiling): Sure they did. I suppose that’s as good an explanation as any.

  We were driving back to his home, and taking the long way getting there. Men and women in civilian clothing waved; men and women in BDUs saluted.

  WWJ: I have never seen any soldier in class-A uniform. Is there a reason for that?

  Ben Raines: A good reason. We don’t issue them except for ceremonies. Funerals, visiting dignitaries, heads of state, things such as that. And no front-line soldier is involved. The men and women who make up the honor guard—the spit-and-polish detachment, we call them—are people who have been so badly wounded or are of an age when they can no longer function in the field. I don’t give a damn how well an army can march. It’s how well they can fight that I’m concerned with.

  WWJ: And men and women fight side by side?

  Ben Raines: Yes. But only if the woman can meet and match the same qualifications as her male counterpart. We don’t cut any slack for gender in the Rebel army. I’m not going to get a lot of men killed just to prove a point to a bunch of goddamn feminists. Everyone of legal age in the SUSA has a job to do should we be attacked, and I’ve heard very little bitching about it.

  WWJ: Even in the army?

  Ben Raines: Especially in the army. Sure, there are women grunts. Damn good ones. Women Scouts. Damn good ones. But mister, they’re tough as boot leather, and they drag their own weight and then some without any slacking.

  WWJ: But for the most part . . . ?

  Ben Raines: What jobs do women hold? Pilots, truck drivers, tank commanders, door gunners, clerk/typists, cooks, drill sergeants, range officers, security personnel, nurses, doctors, medics . . . just like men. Whatever job they can do.

  WWJ: And the requirements are the same?

  Ben Raines: For a non-combat job, no. The jobs are less physically demanding and so are the requirements. Scouts and SEALs have the highest physical requirements.

  We rode in silence for a while longer, leaving the town and driving out into the countryside. The countryside, like the town, was neat, with no signs of trash littering the ditches and roadside. I commented on that.

  Ben Raines: People in the SUSA don’t litter . . . for the most part, that is. That’s just one of the things kids are taught from the age of comprehension.

  WWJ: And taught it in school, as well.

  Ben Raines: You bet. I told you: we teach right and wrong in our schools.

  WWJ: You teach a lot of things in your public schools that aren’t taught in schools outside the SUSA.

  Ben Raines: That’s because we are of basically like mind here. But not to the extent that individuality is stifled.

  WWJ: That is something that few outside the SUSA seem to comprehend.

  Ben Raines (laughing): Oh, they fully comprehend most aspects of our philosophy. Don’t kid yourself about that. It isn’t that the majority of those outside the SUSA can’t live under our system of government. They won’t live under it. They’re either too lazy, too careless, too reckless, too uncaring of the rights of others, too irresponsible, too immoral, too dishonest . . . the list goes on and on. But what it boils down to is just one lame excuse after another.

  WWJ: Some say your philosophy of government violates their freedom of religion.

  Ben Raines: How? How can that be? No one here is forced to attend church. Bible study is not a required subject in any public school. We don’t have open prayer in public school. We have people of all faiths living here in the SUSA. You’d be hard-pressed to name a religion that isn’t represented here. But the people of those faiths are secure enough and flexible enough in their beliefs to live and work and play among others of different faiths. I recall that in one of the last national elections held before the Great War, a Jewish man said on television that he was opposed to any candidate who advocated a moment of silence in public schools. Those who really wanted a short prayer, but were willing to compromise for a moment of silence, could only read that one way. And they weren’t happy about it.

  WWJ: My parents were among those very unhappy about it. I remember that well.

  Ben Raines: Good for them.

  WWJ: I remember my father cussing the liberals and saying that many of them don’t even send their kids to public schools. They send them to private or parochial schools that wouldn’t be affected either way.

  Ben Raines: All that was very true.

  WWJ: What happens to those who are caught littering?

  Ben Raines: The first time they’ll spend two days working at a local landfill. Eight to five, Saturdays. And that’s not real pleasant work. The second time they’re fined five hundred dollars. It gets progressively worse each time. But, we just don’t have that many people who litter. Not anymore. You’re heard me say this before, and you’ll probably hear me say it a few more times during these interviews: The people who live in the SUSA are very law-abiding, and they pass their beliefs on to their kids starting at a very early age.

  WWJ: How about the people who send their kids to church and private schools here? You surely don’t have anything to say about what is taught there.

  Ben Raines: Not a thing.

  WWJ: And those private and church schools can operate without government harassment?

  Ben Raines: Of course. I wouldn’t dream of interfering with a legitimate church-run school.

  WWJ: Legitimate?

  Ben Raines: Those people who worship God. Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Hindu, Muslim, etc. Not the devil. Not a bucket of goat shit. Not a sack of sand that supposedly came from space. Not any religion that involves animal sacrifice or the using of a narcotic drug. If an adult wants to pick up and kiss a rattlesnake, that’s their business and we won’t interfere. But don’t involve a minor child in it . . . in any way, shape, form, or fashion.

  WWJ: What happens to a child if he or she is subjected to that type of behavior? The rattlesnake business?

  Ben Raines: We will separate the child from its parents. It’s only happened once.

  WWJ: Were you accused of interference with a religious ceremony?

  Ben Raines: No. We didn’t take the child out o
f any church. We waited until they got home from church. Then we took the child. The next day the entire congregation moved out of the SUSA.

  WWJ: They left the child?

  Ben Raines: Yes. But they took the rattlesnakes.

  I looked at the General to see if he was putting me on. He wasn’t. At least I didn’t think he was. I was learning that with Ben Raines it was sometimes difficult to tell. Then the general smiled.

  WWJ: You’re putting me on, right?

  Ben Raines (laughing): No. They really did take the snakes and leave the child. It was the expression on your face that made me laugh.

  WWJ: Where are we going now?

  Ben Raines: Out in the country to an aid station. I want you to see how they work.

  BOOK #10

  TRAPPED IN THE ASHES

  Love, like Death,

  Levels all ranks and lays the shepherd’s crook

  Beside the scepter.

  - Bulwer-Lytton

  The Rebels are still in New York fighting the Night People in the middle of a brutal winter. Khamsin’s troops are perched west of the Hudson River when Ben receives word that the Libyan wants to arrange a meeting. Khamsin confesses that he thinks dealing with the Night People has been a mistake and he wants to join forces with the Rebels to defeat them in the city.

  While Ben appears to go along with the plan, he sends his PUFFs over Khamsin’s troops as they are landing on the shores of the Hudson River and destroys nearly half his army within minutes. While Khamsin retreats, the Rebels send tear gas down into the subways and sewers in order to drive the Night People out in the open. The Judges, who are the elite leaders of the Night People, abandon the city.

  Khamsin and what remains of his troops return to fight the Rebels again. This time Ben slowly lures the enemy into the city, which he has decided ultimately to destroy. Ike, Cecil, West, and Dan evacuate the city quietly as demolition teams prepare to destroy it. Ben and his troops are among the last to pull out as Khamsin’s troops are caught in the midst of the destruction. Aware of the fact that Voleta, Monte, and Ashley are waiting outside of the city to attack the Rebels as they escape, Ben uses a chemical gas to neutralize the enemy troops.

  The Rebels then move carefully southward fighting their way through cities like Philadelphia and Memphis as they make their way back to Morristown, Louisiana—Base Camp One. There is hardly time for the Rebels to recover from their last foray, before Ben begin accepting volunteers for the westward operation that will be setting out from Base Camp One along Interstate 20.

  ELEVEN

  We pulled into the parking lot of a building that had several military ambulances parked by the side, in a wide garage with the front doors open. There were several civilian cars and trucks parked in the lot.

  WWJ: How many people staff these aid stations?

  Ben Raines: Three to a shift, three shifts in a twenty-four-hour period. If all the medics are gone when a call comes in, it is recorded and a beeper goes off in the ambulances. All they have to do is call back in, get the address, and head out to the next emergency.

  WWJ: Do you have many emergencies?

  Ben Raines: Sometimes it gets real busy. Most of the time they’re giving shots and seeing to minor injuries. But it keeps the hospital emergency rooms from clogging up.

  WWJ: It’s a good idea, and obviously it works for you down here, but it wouldn’t work outside the SUSA.

  Ben Raines: Oh, it could work outside the SUSA. But many of the doctors in your society would be opposed to it, and the lawyers would be jamming the courtrooms with all sorts of lawsuits.

  WWJ: But the lawsuits would not be entirely the fault of the lawyers.

  Ben Raines: That’s right. The citizens with minor injuries would have to accept the idea of seeing highly qualified paramedics instead of a doctor. Down here, that’s no problem. Outside our borders . . . ?

  The general smiled and waggled one hand from side to side and said: “Very iffy.”

  We walked into the medical facility and everyone, civilian and soldier alike, immediately stood up. The general waved everybody back to their seats and jobs. He said: “We’re just visiting, folks. Nothing is wrong. Nothing to get alarmed about. The gentleman with me is planning a move into our area and I’m just showing him around.”

  The citizens relaxed and the paramedics on duty resumed their work. There were several children there to receive booster shots for various childhood inoculations. A pregnant woman. A man with a badly cut hand was there to get the dressing changed. A teenager was there to receive his pre-induction physical before entering the army. The teenager stared at General Raines, his mouth hanging open. It is not often one gets to see a living legend. While General Raines chatted with one of the medics, I clicked on a tiny microcorder and walked over and sat down beside the young man.

  WWJ: When do you report for duty?

  Teenager: In a month. I’m going to try out for the Scouts.

  WWJ: That’s a tough outfit.

  Teenager: One of the toughest. Them and the SEALs.

  WWJ: Don’t you have to take parachute training first?

  Teenager: Oh, I’ve already done that. You can get all that done in high school here. I’ve been a qualified jumper for two years.

  WWJ: Well . . . good luck.

  Teenager: Thank you, sir.

  I talked with several of the people waiting to see the paramedics, asking them about seeing an EMT instead of a doctor.

  One Said: I’m not here to get a triple bypass. I’m here to get my BP checked and to get a shot. But these people could just about do heart surgery. Most of them go on to medical school after a few years and become doctors. Getting to be a paramedic down here is a tough go. Most of these people have performed emergency battlefield surgery at one time or another, serving with one of our Rebel units.

  WWJ: Aren’t you afraid they’ll misdiagnose something?

  The man looked at me and smiled and said: Nope.

  Back on the road, heading farther out into the country, we rode for a few miles in silence. I finally said: “There isn’t much traffic on this road.”

  Ben Raines: People are working.

  WWJ: But it’s the middle of the summer. Where are all the kids?

  Ben Raines: I told you: our school system goes practically year-round. If the kids are not in school, they’re working at something. Mowing yards, painting or repairing fences, cleaning out gutters, working in the fields, flipping burgers, bagging groceries, baby-sitting, working at day-care centers, looking after elderly people in nursing homes, volunteering at hospitals, taking college-prep courses, participating in organized sports, going on field trips with various groups . . . you’ll find very few of them sitting around on their asses doing nothing or in gangs dreaming up mischief to get into.

  WWJ: Doesn’t sound like much fun for the kids.

  Ben Raines: They have plenty of time to be kids, believe me. There are teen centers all over the place, with games and music and dancing.

  WWJ: With adults keeping an eagle eye on the kids?

  Ben Raines: Oh, no. Their own peer group does that. If kids are raised right, they know when they’re screwing up. But we don’t have a dope problem here in the SUSA. Alcohol is nearly impossible for a kid to get. We don’t have slums or bad sections of town.

  WWJ: You told me you got rid of the dope dealers.

  Ben Raines: That’s right. We hanged them.

  WWJ: I can’t see that ever happening outside the SUSA.

  Ben Raines: It won’t. Liberals make excuses for criminal behavior. Many judges outside the SUSA turn teenage murderers back on the streets with little or no punishment. That’s wrong. We know that if there are jobs going begging, vo-tech schools that are free for anybody to attend, OJT available at hundreds of factories and businesses . . . there is no excuse for criminal behavior. We just won’t tolerate it. And that’s the key. We won’t tolerate it.

  Both of us heard the ambulance from the aid station come screaming up fast
behind us, lights flashing. General Raines immediately pulled over onto the shoulder to allow the emergency vehicle plenty of room and said we’d follow it. Let me see just how skilled the paramedics were.

  We had not gone two miles before an army patrol vehicle came up behind us, then passed us, the two soldiers inside giving General Raines a very quick but very startled glance.

  WWJ: Is this usual? I mean, the authorities accompanying the ambulance?

  Ben Raines: Not really. We’ll see.

  Several miles farther, we turned off the highway and onto a secondary road. We could see the emergency lights flashing about half a mile ahead, off to our right.

  The radio in our vehicle suddenly started squawking. I could not make heads or tails out of it.

  Ben Raines: Home invasion. Four men down. The citizen and his family are all right.

  WWJ: Home invasion? Here?

  Ben Raines: First one in several years. The punks sure made a terrible mistake picking on this home. This is the farm of Pen Wilson and his wife and kids. Both of them ex-combat veterans of many years. Good people.

  General Raines smiled and added: “Many of the people down here are ex-combat veterans. They won’t put up with any crap. Bad mistake to crowd them.”