Shelter: Book 2, A Long Days Night

by Ira Tabankin

  “Real imaginative code.”

  “Jay wanted to make it easy to remember. Once you’re out, remember to close and relock the door. I’m going to lock the doors on this end.”

  “Does the same code open this side?”

  “Use the reverse, 54321.”

  Laughing father and sons hug for the last time before the two boys and two other young men slide down the access tunnel. They reach the bottom, Randy finds the access panel, he opens the cover, the LEDs are red, he enters 12345, enter. The LEDs turn green, Randy whispers, “Here we go.”

  He opens the door and pushes his head outside for the first time in six weeks.

  Chapter 21

  Captain Jefferson smiles to himself, It’s time for us to pull some surprises on the Chinese. They’re not expecting us to be able to touch them until they get within air range of Pearl. I hope my plan will come as a surprise to Admiral Zin. I plan to open fire with our sabot rounds to time them to arrive when air-launched harpoons arrive from Pearl’s planes. While they know the Harpoon well, they’ll be overcome with confidence when they see the harpoons launch. All of their focus will be on the harpoons, our rounds should arrive pulling their attention away from the harpoons long enough for the missiles to score some kills. I hope programming the harpoons for a popup attack will also confuse them. I’m going to try to fire two or three broadsides so they all strike at the same time. We’ve got two UAVs up mapping the location of the Chinese fleet and providing us with real-time battle action video. His thoughts are interrupted by the loudspeaker, “Captain to CIC, captain to CIC.”

  Captain Jefferson turns saying, “I’m going to CIC, LT Johnson has the Conn.”

  “Captain’s off the bridge.”

  He enters the dark CIC, where the overhead lights are kept low and the AC on high to keep the computers and monitors cool. As his eyes adjust to the dim light, the weapons officer says, “Sir, we’re almost in position. All nine rounds are loaded, the second and third rounds are standing by for the quick reload. The first broadside will be launched high, the second a little lower and the third on the normal elevation. All three flights, a total of 20 sabot rounds should arrive at the same time. We’re going to fire our entire load of sabot rounds at once.”

  “Weaps, you have permission to fire, your weapons are green, repeat, you are free to fire, sink the girl some more Chinese ships. I want to set the all time tonnage record for a single cruise. If they’re going to retire the old girl again, at least she’ll go into retirement with her head held high and a record that will never be equaled again.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  The weapons officer presses the alert button, which broadcasts, “Attention attention, the main guns are going to be fired. The main guns are going to be fired. All personal should be off the deck and undercover. Firing in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, FIRE! The ships rocks and shakes as nine 16inch cannons are fired, the sabot rounds are launched high to take time to reach the Chinese fleet. “RELOAD and prepare to fire.”

  One of the weapons techs says, “Sir, the board is green, all nine, even lucky number seven is ready.”

  “Fire in five, four, three, two, one, FIRE!”

  Nine additional rounds are shot, the ship shakes again, “Captain, we only have six rounds left, that’s all they could dig up for us. I’m planning on firing three rounds from the A turret and three from the rear C turret.”

  “Permission granted, carry on.”

  “Sir, turrets A and C report green.”

  “Fire in five, four, three, two, one, FIRE!”

  Six shells are launched. The ship shakes for the third time. The captain says, “Captain, reload with a mix of HE and AP shells, we’ll fire as we come to bear on the Chinese fleet.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  The twenty shells have each been targeted on a different ship. They are being guided by GPS and coordinates from the orbiting UAVs.

  The Chinese fleet comes to battle stations, “Sir, radar has picked up forty, strike that, fifty harpoon missiles on the way. All were air launched.”

  “Silly Americans, we’ve known how to defeat their Harpoon for many years, bring the fleet to position to unmask our close-in weapons systems in case they are needed.”

  “Aye, sir.”

  A minute later, “Sir, something new. We’re getting broadband jamming in our anti-air channels.”

  “Where is it coming from?”

  “We don’t know. We’re having trouble holding lock on the incoming missiles.”

  “Start firing our anti-air missiles, let's see if we can clear the air of the jamming.”

  As the Chinese fleet starts launching anti-air missiles, the twenty sabot rounds arrive. The first round strikes a new Chinese anti-air destroyer, the impact blows the ship apart. The Chinese admiral yells, “What was that?”

  “Sir, I don’t know, there, two, three, four ships hit, they’ve broken up.” Before the admiral can process the information, additional ships are hit, the last one is his own flagship, of the twenty rounds fired, nineteen found their targets, three landed close enough in the water to crack hull plates. As the Chinese fleet is shocked by the Missouri’s rounds, the surviving harpoons arrive, many have been targeted on the same ships that are already destroyed. An additional six ships are struck and left burning.

  The crew of the Missouri cheers as they watch the video from the orbiting UAVs. “Engineering, can you push her to 36knots?”

  “Captain, we’re at 35.2, sir, that’s all the old lady’s got.”

  “Engineering, good enough, we’re making the DDG 51s strain to keep up with us. Let them see what a real warship looks like. Let’s show them how surface warfare should be fought. Weaps, you have permission to begin launching the Tomahawks.”

  “Aye, sir. Tomahawks launching.”

  The crew in CIC pumps their arms in the air.

  The Chinese fleet is starting to recover from the devastating attack when the twelve Tomahawk cruise missiles arrive, nine strike ships starting fires that burn out of control, three missed their target, the continue on until they run out of fuel and crash into the ocean.

  @@@@@

  Ryan pokes his head out of the escape tunnel, his eyes quickly adjust to the above ground daylight. He slides out of the tunnel, picks up his M4 moving aside to allow his brother to exit, each of the four stands next to each other with their mouths open. They can’t believe what they’re seeing. The land is stripped bare, trees are either missing or broken and leaning awkwardly on the ground. None of the thick grove of trees is still standing. Ryan looks at the destruction, “It looks like someone bombed us. The only reason the escape tunnel survived is it’s set into the side of the hill. The four see bodies lying in the debris, Mark asks, “Shit, are you sure we weren’t bombed. I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s like some giant hand scooped up the topsoil and trees, then just threw them all over. Like an angry two-year-old throwing their toys around. I don’t know how anyone survived this storm. Randy, you’re older than me, have you ever seen anything like this?”

  “Not since I was in the sandbox and someone decided to level the dunes in front of us. Let’s walk around the hill to see what’s left of our homes and fields.”

  “If our house is gone, I’m going to be pissed.”

  “What are you going to do about it? Planning on suing Mother Nature?”

  The four slowly make their way up the debris filled hill, constantly looking for any signs of dangerous un-injured gang members. They're stepping over broken tree limbs and parts of a house, sheetrock, pieces of furniture. Randy says, “Everyone, pause, take a deep breath, there’s no telling what we’re going to find when we crest the hill. Is everyone ready?”

  The three men nod yes. “OK, let’s spread out so if there are hostiles, we all fire together, flip your M4’s selector to auto.”

  The four crest the hill, they stand in shock, the fields have been torn up as far as they can see, all they see i
s acres full of trash and areas where the ground has been dug up. Mark says, “Where’s Jay’s house?”

  Ryan looks through his binoculars, “It’s gone, just gone, there are some beams sticking out of the ground, the first and second floor are gone. The pool house is also gone, the pool is filled with debris from his house. Mark, our house is still here.”

  “Randy, the twister tore Jay’s house apart while leaving ours alone?”

  Randy responds, “Twisters can do that. Shit, Jay’s going to be pissed. I don’t want to be the one to have to tell Lacy her house is gone.”

  Mark says, “It might be for the best, remember Dad telling us the shitheads were tearing Jay’s house apart. It’s most likely going to be easier to rebuild it than repair it. Randy, do you see anyone moving?”

  “I see bodies. Let’s move forward. Be careful, there’s no telling what we’re going to be walking on.”

  “Bro, where do you think the mob went?”

  “I don’t know, I hope the storm scared them away. If they’re still here, we’re going to have to fight our way back. We need to find the camouflaged front door, see if we can figure out why the door won’t open.”

  The four pick their footsteps as carefully as possible, Mark says, “Shit, there’s body parts mixed in with the house and tree debris. The place is a total mess.”

  The four locate the shelter’s front door, Randy looks at it, “Explains everything.”

  The other three nod in agreement looking at the tree trunk jammed against the door at its right-hand side. Mark bends over to examine the door. The tree is splintered and jammed into the tracks which allow the door to go up. “It’s not going to move until we remove the trunk and clean the tracks.”

  Randy asks, “Can we clean the tracks from here?”

  “Do we have a choice? For some reason the inside door isn’t working, if we don’t clear the tree, Jay is stuck in there. We have to find a way to move it.”

  Mark responds, “Shit Bro, that thing must weigh a few hundred pounds. How are we going to clear it?”

  Randy looks at the tree trunk, “we can start with a chainsaw, Mark, see if one of ours is still in the garage. We have some C4 on us, we may have to blow the rest of the trunk.”

  “Won’t the blast warp the door?”

  “I hope not, have any other ideas?”

  “Cut it up and use a tractor to pull the sections away from the door?”

  “See if you find a working tractor. We’ve got to hurry, the longer we’re out here, the higher the chance someone will see us. We can’t afford a firefight or to be seen and direct others to the door.”

  Mark says, “I’m going, I’m going.”

  Mark returns on a John Deer with two chain saws. “Look what I found, it was just sitting in the garage, I guess the city boy gang members ignored real farming gear.”

  “Let’s get this show started, time is running out.” Randy sends Ron back to the escape tunnel, “Go back inside the shelter and tell our dad what we found.”

  “Aren’t you worried about being one man down?”

  “Yes, but we’ve got to tell our dad and also try to clear the door.”

  “OK, I’m out of here.”

  Thirty minutes later Ron returns, “Your father said good job, clear the jam, in payment he’ll tell Lacy about her house.”

  Randy smiles, “Better him than me. While you’ve been gone, we’ve cut one section from the trunk and dragged it away from the door, so far no one has been nosey enough to come by. I think we’re going to have to cut two or three more sections off before we can inspect the track. I bet there’s wood jammed into the track which we won't be able to access. It’s most likely been forced in between the door and the track by the wind.”

  “Man, I didn’t know the wind could do that.”

  “Yeah, seen it before, three years ago we had a twister come by, I saw a nine-inch wood splinter sticking out of the wall of our house.”

  “What do we do if after moving the tree the door doesn’t open?”

  “Let’s get the tree removed first.”

  Two hours later they’ve moved the large trunk away from the door. Mark asks, “How do we tell if the door will open?”

  “I have the code, we’ll try it.”

  The four exhausted men have cut up and moved the trunk from the door, they’ve used pliers to pull wood from between the door and the wall track. The men working on the door have stripped off their helmets and armored vests due to their weight and the 99% humidity. Only one man is standing by armed and wearing armor, he’s their sole protector.

  Randy and Mark look at the door, Randy says, “I think it’s time to try the door, is the coast clear?”

  “Yes, however, I suggest you guys put your armor on before you attempt to open the door. If it works and Jay sees you not wearing your armor, he’s going to kick your ass.”

  Randy and Mark laugh while reaching to grab their armored vests.

  @@@@@

  Jay yells, “Everyone be quiet. Listen.”

  Tony says, “Hell yeah! I hear it, sounds like a chainsaw.”

  “Yes, it does. I think there’s someone outside trying to clear whatever jammed the door. I think the twister threw a tree against the door. It’s most likely either dented the door or it jammed part of the door into the side tracks. I hope it’s jammed into the tracks.”

  “Isn’t that going to be harder to clear?”

  “If the door was dented and won’t lift, we may not be able to repair it. If wood is jammed in the track, they might be able to clear the door enough that the weight of the door will crush the wood allowing the door to open.”

  Franco asks, “Jay, do you think they’re our people?”

  “Man, I hope so. Either way, when the LED panel shows someone is trying open the door, everyone aim outside the door. If they’re not our people, we’ll be able to cut them down before they can kill us.”

  Franco says, “Jay, we’d be killing the people who are saving us.”

  “It may come down to them or us. I’d rather have them die versus us.”

  “Jay, what do you want to do about these three?”

  “We can’t let them go, so we’ll take them with us. Maybe we can help them change sides.”

  The young man shakes his head. Jay pulls his gag down, “You want to say something?”

  “Yeah, I’m not going to switch sides asshole.”

  Pulling back his gag, Jay says, “I’ll deal with you when the door opens.”

  They hear a clicking noise, Jay says, “I think they’re ours, they have the code, they’re entering it, look, the LEDs are changing from red to green.”

  Tony says, “Jay, one LED is staying red.”

  “Yeah, there is a part of a tree stuck in the track. Be happy the splinters didn’t get through the tracks to us, we’d be cut apart from the force of the wind driving the wood.”

  Franco asks, “Still want us to be ready to fire when the door goes up?”

  “Yes, just to be on the safe side.”

  They hear the door straining, one issue is the battery backup motor isn’t as strong as the AC version is. Randy is yelling at the door, “Come on you mother, open. OPEN!”

  Slowly the door begins to move up, both sides hear wood breaking, wood that the twister jammed into the door’s track. The door lifts, stalls and moves another couple of inches. Randy lays on the ground, he yells under the door, “Jay are you in there? Are you OK? It’s Randy and Mark.”

  Jay responds, “Randy, great to hear your voice. We’re fine, I assume a tree got jammed into the mechanism?”

  “Yup, we cut up the tree, I think we’re going to get the door up.”

  “It is moving slowly, you may have saved us.”

  “It’s moving very slowly.”

  “Randy, that’s because the battery backup motor isn’t as strong as the regular motor.”

  Randy happily yells, “It’s working, it’s going up, it’s gaining speed!”

 
; The door opens, a very happy Jay and his team smile at their saviors, when the door is completely open, Jay lifts his sidearm and shoots the young man in the back of his head, instantly killing him. The shot surprises everyone, they all jump at the sound of the single shot. Tony looks at Jay, “Well, I guess that just destroyed your entire argument about not killing in cold blood.”