With the antenna up, I sat on the roof of the bunker and turned the little radio on. As I started scanning through the bands, I heard Doc’s voice from the darkness.
“Hey, Morgan. Let me take a look at your arm.”
“Where the hell have you been hiding?” I asked as I rolled my sleeve up.
“I was at the house,” he replied as I stretched my arm out. He took my arm and turned on a small light to inspect the test site. Doc pulled a small paper marked with measurements and laid it on my arm. He looked up and smiled. “Looks like you’re in the clear. It hasn’t grown any, so you’re good to go.”
I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Thanks, Doc. I was really worried.”
“Can’t say I blame you. But you’re out of the woods.”
“Good!” Danny said from the other side of the bunker.
“You going to hang out?” I asked.
Wiping a mosquito from his ear, Doc replied, “Yeah, why not. Got nothing else to do.” He looked at the little radio and asked, “What’s that?”
Picking it up, I replied, “It’s a small shortwave. I like to scan the bands and see what I can hear.”
“Pick anything up?”
As I turned the radio on, I said, “Lots of foreign stuff. Nothing to speak of, though.”
I set the radio on one of the bands and pressed the scan button, and the radio began scrolling through the frequencies. After a moment, it stopped on one, but it was rapid-fire Spanish. “Figures,” I said, and pressed the scan button again. It continued on for a bit and found several more Spanish stations, one German and what I think was French, but in a strange accent.
With no luck on that band, I switched the radio to another and pressed the scan button again. This time it hit a station that was actually in English. Not just English, but from the way it sounded, it was someone with a Midwestern accent.
…..are moving against the DHS in the suburbs of Atlanta. Doc slapped me on the arm and pointed at the radio as the voice continued. In intense house to house fighting, the Marines are gaining ground. The fighting is intense as it is now apparent the Feds armed street gangs that were fighting alongside them.
In the south, the Navy has secured the Exxon/Mobile refinery in Baton Rouge. Pumping continues on offshore rigs with assistance from Navy Seabees and auxiliary ships providing power to the rigs. With the addition of the production capacity of the Baton Rouge plant, the fuel limitations are now easing, allowing additional strikes against Federal targets. However, the plant is not up to full capacity as a result of sabotage that caused moderate damage and several casualties among plant workers. The injured were airlifted to Fort Polk and are being treated by the 115th Combat Support Hospital. God bless the men and woman of our armed forces, fighting the good fight on behalf of the people of this nation.
You’re listening to John Jacob Schmidt on the Radio Free Redoubt, broadcasting to all of you in occupied territory, as well as those outside the wire. Bringing you the news you need in these uncertain times. On the international front, the UN Security Council today released a statement saying that the deteriorating situation in North America is becoming a humanitarian crisis. The Secretary General of the UN, Hussein Torboko, has asked the Security Council to consider a resolution to send UN peace keepers to the US in an attempt to quell the violence. The UK ambassador to the UN objected vehemently to the proposal, as did the Canadians and Australians. However, before the motion was even brought to the floor for discussion, the Russians and Chinese both said they were willing to assist the US, “in this, their greatest time of need.” Marine General Bill Puller replied to the UN in unequivocal terms, stating that any foreign troops setting foot on US soil will be seen as an invading force and dealt with accordingly.
I was stunned by what I was hearing. We’d been in the dark for so long about what the rest of the world was doing, and now all of a sudden we hear the Chinese and Russians want to invade! Apparently, I wasn’t the only one surprised. At some point, Danny came over and said exactly what I was thinking, “What the hell?”
Doc was a little more certain in his response. “Fuck them! Those bastards try that shit and we’ll be shooting blue helmets as well as black ones!”
The broadcast continued. I don’t think they will like their reception. Tune in at 2100 hours for our next update.
A woman’s voice then came on. Good evening, patriots. Prepare for a message. After a ten-second pause, she continued. The Maple Tree sings a lullaby. The Maple Tree sings a lullaby… She then proceeded to read off a series of numbers.
…29185 39458 89085 57723 31931 94832 49495 22840
As the woman repeated the message a second time, I asked Doc if we should have copied it. When she finished the message, AC/DC’s Thunderstruck came on.
“Yeah, probably,” Doc replied.
“Who the hell is this?” Danny asked.
“I don’t know,” Doc replied. “But they’re obviously sending coded messages to someone.”
“You think you can decode it?” Danny asked.
Shaking his head, Doc responded. “Without the code sheet, I don’t think even the NSA could decode it.”
“I know who they are. I used to listen to Radio Free Redoubt. They ran AmRRON radio nets around the country. This is exactly the kind of thing they trained for back then. We’ll have to start checking for their broadcasts. Don’t know why I haven’t come across this until now,” I said.
Doc’s face was suddenly illuminated in a bright orange glow. We all looked towards the source of the light and saw a large ball of flame rising into the sky as a loud boom hit us. Doc realized what we were looking at first.
“That’s Tyler and Brandy’s place. It’s on fire!”
As Doc was about to run towards the house, a large caliber machinegun began firing at the bunker. The heavy bullets slammed into the log structure sending us diving to the ground.
Danny shouted, “What the hell’s going on?”
I crawled into the bunker and chanced a peek out one of the firing ports. “There’s a truck down there, one of those armored ones!”
Doc came crawling in and shouted at Danny. “Get the Goose and toss it in here!”
Small arms fire began to sound from behind us. I could hear numerous weapons firing and started to worry about Mel and the girls. Then I heard the unmistakable sound of two shotgun blasts in rapid succession. That had to be Thad and his coach gun. Danny tossed the Gustav into the bunker and I heard him start cussing. I looked back to see him and Dalton trying to get free of one another.
Dalton looked into the bunker. “They’re coming in from the back too, but I think they’re under control.” As he spoke, there was a large explosion to the back of the neighborhood. Dalton smiled. “That’ll teach the bastards!”
Mel and the rest of the girls were watching Dirty Dancing on my laptop. There were oil lamps and candles set around the living room, and they were busy talking and laughing over the movie when they heard the boom. Jamie was instantly on her feet, carbine in hand as she moved towards the front door.
“What was that?” Bobbie asked.
As Jamie got to the front door and looked out the window, she shouted. “Fire! Brandy’s house is on fire!”
She was reaching for the door knob when the sliding glass door leading to the back porch shattered, sending glass flying into the dinning room. Little Bit screamed and pulled a pillow from the sofa over her head. Jamie spun as two men came through the opening. She began firing as she brought the weapon up to her shoulder. The lead man went down, and the one behind him stumbled over the body and fired at the same time, sending a wild spray of bullets into the house. Drywall dust and insulation rained down.
Jamie fell back against the door and onto the floor as the man tried to regain his feet. Lee Ann ran into the kitchen
from the opposite side while the man’s attention was focused on the entry into the living room. She raised her H&K and squeezed the trigger, letting out a long burst of 9mm. Mel got to her feet and she, Fred and Jess rounded the corner to the kitchen at the same moment a third man appeared in the shattered glass door. The second man was on the floor, riddled with bullets. The three women all raised their pistols and fired in unison, sending a hail of lead into the man in the door. He never had a chance to pull the trigger.
Mel looked over her shoulder and shouted at Mary. “Get Ashley to the bathroom!”
Mary quickly grabbed her with one hand and Miss Kay by the other and ran towards the bathroom.
Thad, Sarge, Mike and Ted were all sitting on the back porch of Danny’s house after dinner talking. Miss Kay and Mary had left to hang out with the rest of the ladies and watch a movie. It was dark, having turned off the lanterns to conserve fuel. They were talking about the need to hit the Elk’s Camp and how Sarge thought it should be done, when they heard the boom. They were instantly on their feet and ran to the front of the house. They were coming out of Danny’s gate onto the road when they ran directly into a group of six raiders. In the darkness, none had seen the other until they collided in the road.
Mike, being younger and faster, had crashed into two men of the group, them falling to the ground in a heap of flailing arms and legs. Ted hit the light from his carbine to reveal the other four men, who were obviously caught off guard. He began to fire as Thad pulled the coach gun from his back scabbard. Sarge began firing on the men with Ted, who were shooting back in a panic. But this was all taking place at contact range; they could physically touch one another.
The two men Mike ran into were fighting with him. One of the men had a grip on Mike’s carbine and was jerking it to keep him from getting his feet under him. With the single-point sling wrapped around him, it was as good as a handle. Mike fumbled for the quick release, trying to disconnect himself from the weapon. The second man charged Mike and wrapped him in a bear hug from behind. Thad stepped up and swung the coach gun at the crown of the man’s head with all the force he could muster, which was considerable. He split the man’s skull and he collapsed. As the body hit the ground, Thad fired one barrel into the man’s face.
At the same moment, Mike finally found the release and the weapon came free. Both he and the man he struggled with fell back away from one another. Mike drew his pistol as he fell and fired when his ass hit the ground. Thad swung the old shotgun around, holding it at arm’s length, and pulled the second trigger, sending a load of number four buck into the man’s chest, along with the hail of .45 rounds Mike was raining into the man.
Thad dropped the shotgun and drew his pistol, spinning around and looking for more targets. Ted and Sarge were back to back doing the same. Six bodies were on the ground around them. Mike got to his feet and picked up his carbine.
“Anybody hit?” Sarge asked.
Everyone patted themselves and replied in the negative. In the light from Ted’s carbine, Thad said, “Ted, your head’s bleeding.”
Ted reached up and felt the warm wetness on the side of his head. Sarge grabbed his chin, turning Ted’s head to the side. “You’re alright. Shot the top of your ear off.” He patted Ted’s shoulder. “You’re one lucky son of a bitch.”
Ted was pawing at his ear. “What do you mean, shot it off? Is it gone?”
“Hell yeah, it’s gone. Come on. We’ll worry about that later,” Sarge said as he started towards Tyler’s place.
Ted searched the ground with his light. “We’ve got to find it!”
“For what? Not like we can put it back on. What are you going to do? Make a damn necklace out of it?” Sarge shot back.
Ted was in mild shock. “Fuck that! It’s my ear!”
Sarge grabbed Ted by his plate carrier. “Get yer head outta yer ass! This shit ain’t over, and you know there’s no medicine in a gun fight! We’ll tend to your grape when this shit’s over. Now get yer ass in gear!”
Mike ran past Ted and slapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, Teddy. Let’s get these fuckers!”
Ted looked down at the men on the ground. “Shot my ear off, you sons of bitches!” And he proceeded to stomp one of the bodies in the face. Ted looked up with a wild expression, let out a scream, and then took off after Mike.
Thad picked up the coach gun and broke the action open. The two spent shells ejected and he dropped in two more. Sarge looked at him. “You OK, Thad?”
Thad nodded and was about to reply when there was an explosion from the back of the neighborhood. Sarge looked in the direction of the sound and said, “That’s Dalton’s IED. Let’s go take a look.” Thad nodded, and they moved down the road in the direction of the explosion.
Mel looked around the house. “Is everyone OK? Is anyone hurt?”
Taylor was on the floor searching frantically. “Where’s my gun? I can’t find my gun!”
“I think we’re alright,” Jess said.
Mel looked at Lee Ann. “Go check on Ashley. They’re in the bathroom.” Lee Ann nodded as she methodically removed the magazine from her H&K and placed a fresh one in. She pulled the bolt back slightly and checked to make sure it was chambered, and walked to the bathroom.
“Aww shit,” Jamie said. She was lying on the floor in front of the door looking at her blood-covered hand.
“Oh God, Jamie’s hurt!” Fred yelled.
They rushed to her side. “Are you OK? Where is it?” Jess asked.
Mel looked around. “We need to blow these lights out. Taylor, can you take care of that for us?”
Taylor was getting to her feet, having found her weapon on the floor under pillows from the sofa. She began extinguishing the candles and lanterns. Fred reached over and took one oil lamp from the top of a bookshelf and brought it over beside Jamie.
“Let me see it,” she said as she moved Jamie’s hand.
“Son of a bitch! I really liked this dress! First time I wear dress, and I get fuckin’ shot!” Jamie shouted.
Miss Kay came out of the hallway, tripping over the piles of pillows on the floor. “Who’s hurt?”
“Jess, get my vest. There’s a blowout kit on it,” Jamie said.
Mel could hear Little Bit crying in the bathroom. She looked at Fred. “I have to go check on Ashley.” Fred nodded and Mel left.
Little Bit and Mary were in the bathtub. Mary had her arms wrapped around the small girl as they both cried. Mel knelt down beside the tub. “Are you OK?” She asked as Little Bit reached out and wrapped her arms around her mother. Mel then looked at Mary. “Are you alright?”
Mary wiped tears from her face and sniffled. “Guess I’m not very brave.”
Mel put her hand on Mary’s. “You’re as brave as any of us.” Mel smiled and Mary smiled back.
“Can you help me out of here?” Mary asked as she tried to extract herself from the tub.
Mel picked up Little Bit and offered a hand to Mary and helped pull her from the tub.
Doc pulled the Gustav over and prepared it to fire. He peeked up over the side of the bunker. “I can’t really see the damn thing. I’m just going to aim below the muzzle flashes!” He shouldered the weapon while crouching, then stood up enough for the weapon to clear the side of the bunker. I was standing beside him when he shouted. “Back blast, clear!” Dalton grabbed me and jerked me to the ground as Doc fired. Inside the bunker, the blast and concussion were intense. My ears rang, and the small space was choked with dust. I didn’t hear the resulting explosion, and could barely breathe.
Doc dropped the weapon and stumbled towards the rear exit. Dalton pushed me out the doorway before coming out himself. He looked around for a moment then stuck his head back in. He reappeared, dragging Danny by the leg. We were all covered in dust and dirt. It was in our eyes, our ears and mou
ths. I was blinking trying to get the dust out of my eyes and pulled a canteen from the vest and started to wash them out.
Dalton grabbed the canteen from me and poured water on his face as well. Danny was complaining about his eyes, so Dalton knelt down and pulled Danny’s hands from his face. “Don’t rub your eyes. You’ll just make it worse.” He began pouring water on Danny’s face, “Blink. Blink your eyes.”
“I can’t.”
Dalton lifted one of his eyelids and poured water directly into the eye.
Doc was coughing up dust as well and trying to clear his eyes.
“Did you hit it?” I asked, trying to blink the crap from my own eyes.
“I think so. They aren’t shooting anymore.”
“We need to go check on Tyler and Brandy,” I said.
Dalton handed me the canteen. “Here, keep trying to wash his eyes out. I’ll go.”
All the while, AC/DC still blared from the small radio. The song was just over five minutes long and it was only now coming to an end. That five minutes seemed like an eternity.
There was a sudden burst of gunfire. I looked over the top of the bunker to see a burning hulk at the end of the road. What appeared to be one rifle was firing up there somewhere, but I couldn’t tell where.
“Someone is still up there,” I said.
Doc looked over. “I don’t think they’re shooting at us though.”
I strained to see where the sporadic gunfire was coming from, but couldn’t find it. I slid back down beside Danny. “How are your eyes doing?”
Danny shook his head, blinking hard. “They’re getting better.”
Lee Ann came running up. “Dad, you need to come home. Jamie is hurt.”
Looking over while still wiping the crust from his eyes, Doc asked, “Did she get shot?”
Lee Ann nodded as Doc and I were both getting to our feet. We took off running as fast as we could. Hanging with these military guys and a young, healthy teenager made me feel like shit. While I was in better shape now than before the Day, I still couldn’t stick with them. Doc left me in his wake.
Avenging Home Page 6
