by T A Williams
Ben stood and felt the strength return to his legs. “So we resupply, catch up with the convoy, save my unit then head to that town so we can call for backup?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Banner said with a smile.
Ally
There were no gates. No barricades, watch towers, not even a high fence. The debris had been cleared out and in its place was an actual neighborhood. The streets were still slightly damaged and the houses were small and showed signs of being hastily put together, but from a distance it looked like a normal town before the world went dark. Ally sat in the back of the truck alongside Dena, Adam, and Coby as Maclin drove. Their truck pulled a long flatbed trailer and on top of it were nearly a dozen people carrying the last of their possessions. On the same road were six more trucks also hauling trailers with refugees on the back. They were all headed toward this one place, toward their new home.
“It looks…normal.” Adam said as they got closer. “I guess that’s kind of the point.”
“Hard to protect,” Ally said.
“What, don’t think we can maintain order?” Maclin said with a raised eyebrow.
Ally didn’t say anything as they drove down the empty street and finally came to a stop next to a large military tent. Several soldiers came walking out and began to help the refugees get down from the trailers. As she got out of the truck a couple of the soldiers began to light torches that were lined up alongside the street. As the sun began to set the light from the fire seemed to stretch out toward them.
“We hope to have actual lights set up in all of the settlements in the next couple of months,” Maclin said as he came up next to her. “Returning things back to how they were is going to be a long process, so until then we improvise.”
“How many people can live here?” Ally asked.
“Just under a hundred civilians right now, but we’re still in the process of clearing out debris and building new places. We have two military outposts nearby that provide security and will have around a dozen peacekeepers to maintain order.”
“What about food?” Ally asked.
“We already have some farming communities up north that can help out until this community gets on its feet. Ideally each settlement will be able to provide for itself.”
Dena, Adam and Coby came walking up next to them. Coby let out a large yawn.
“We have a place for you all to lie down for the night,” Maclin said.
He led them down the quiet street, past several soldiers that were lounging around on front porches. At the end of the street was a large three-story house that had been previously damaged and patched up. It was obvious the house had been there during the war. Two soldiers stood guard at the door and didn’t let them in until Maclin whispered something in one of their ears. When they stepped inside there were met by three more soldiers, all armed.
“Is there something wrong?” Dena asked, clearly alarmed.
Maclin smiled. “You all aren’t the only ones staying here. We actually have a bit of a surprise for you.”
There was a set of stairs on both sides of the foyer leading up to the second floor, where there was a small balcony overlooking the entryway. Standing there was President Carter. The next hour was filled with some of the best food that Ally could ever remember having. They sat at a large dinner table alongside the President and several other members of the recruitment team, eating plate after plate of food with President Carter. Dena and Adam were reserved at first but soon opened up and were joking and laughing along with everyone else. Ally watched the President and was impressed. The woman listened intently to everyone, including a several-minutes-long tirade from Coby about the lack of comic books, and never appeared bored or bothered. When dinner was done the President thanked everyone and people began to disperse throughout the house or to their rooms. Ally began to head toward her room when the President motioned for her to come over. Reluctantly Ally sauntered over.
“Have a moment?” Carter asked.
“I guess so,” Ally said, looking around.
“Don’t worry; you’re not in any trouble.”
They walked to the back of the house, where there was another balcony, only this one was outside. Ally looked out at the few military tents set up alongside stacked debris and building materials.
“It may not look like much now but give it time,” Carter said, leaning against the railing.
“No, it’s…ok.” Ally stumbled.
“Thank you again, Ally, for uprooting yourself and helping us with this project.”
Ally shrugged. “No problem, I guess.” It was quiet for a moment. “Are you going to do this all over? I mean, go to every state and set up these communities?”
“Don’t have much of a choice,” Carter said with a sigh. “We’re doing more than just setting up communities. We are reclaiming old military assets, rebuilding infrastructure and reaching out for possible overseas allies. But it’s going to be a lot of hard work and take a long time.”
Ally thought back to all the places she had been to. There were a lot of communities set up, some good and some bad, all in need of help. Her thoughts also turned to the man that had kidnapped her. “There are a lot of bad people out there.”
“True, but there are also a lot of good ones.”
Ally realized her brow was furrowed and quickly straightened her face.
Carter chuckled. “There is a lot of bad in this world and I’m sure you have seen your fair share of it, but you can’t forget there is also a lot of good.”
Ally nodded but didn’t say anything.
“I lost my daughter and my husband,” Carter said bluntly. “My daughter before we lost power and my husband after. I could have turned my back on my responsibilities or decided that humanity wasn’t worth saving, but I didn’t. Our tragedies don’t define us; our reactions to those tragedies do. You decide the type of person you are going to become.”
Again Ally said nothing.
“Where are you from originally?” Carter asked.
“Missouri.”
“Where in Missouri?”
Ally shrugged. “I don’t remember.”
Carter frowned and the worry lines on her face intensified for a brief moment. “I’m sorry to hear that. You know…I can help you find your old home.”
“Why?” Ally asked.
“Isn’t it possible there are still people there that may remember you or miss you?”
“My family is…gone.”
Carter watched her intently for a brief moment. “At least think about it. Sometimes going back to a place like that can be good for us, even if there isn’t anyone there.”
“I’ll let you know,” Ally said quietly.
President Carter took in a deep breath. “I should probably let you get some rest. I’m sure you’re tired from all your traveling. Do me a favor though, Ally--if there is ever anything you need or if you ever need someone to talk to, let me know.”
Despite everything, Ally smiled. “Thank you, I will.”
Ben
As a boy Ben had always wanted his own ATV. He used to imagine cutting through the streets of the city and then taking it off-road in order to evade the cops. He remembered watching hours upon hours of YouTube videos of people riding and performing tricks on their own ATV. Alec had spent the weekend at a friend’s house once and when he came back he said that he had ridden on an ATV and it wasn’t as much fun as it looked. As Ben’s ATV flew over a hill and landed hard on the other side, he was happy to realize that Alec was full of shit. Over a dozen ATVs flew across the empty streets all around Ben. As he looked around he caught himself smiling uncontrollably and had to stop himself. His unit, his friends, were still in danger and he had to get to them; after he did that he could brag to Ty until he was red in the face.
Banner’s men were a mix of former military and a few civilians. Their get-up was rough, as to be expected, clothing with various colored patches sewn throughout. Most of them were armed, though barely.
Banner and Thomas had assault rifles but the rest had either basic hunting rifles or pistols. Even Ben was barely armed with a .22 pistol he wasn’t sure would take down a man even if he was directly in front of him, but he didn’t have much of a choice.
Banner led the pack as they cut through the heart of the empty city. The buildings were covered in ivy, the streets cracked with weeds growing up out of them, and rusted out cars lined the streets. Banner pulled up over a hill and came to a stop. The rest of them stopped behind him.
“Up there,” Banner said, pointing.
Ben pulled up beside him and looked out in the distance. Past a valley covered in houses was a large parking lot where a dozen shops were lined up all in a row. “There?”
“An old shopping row. All the buildings are connected from the inside. The Forgotten use this as a supply base.”
“You think they know we are waiting on them?” Ben asked.
“Shouldn’t,” Banner shooed away a fly with his hand. “They don’t think we know about this place. We’ll come up from behind and wait for the envoy to head out toward their main base and then we will hit them. Hopefully their psycho leader will still be with them.”
“And my unit should be with them?”
“They only do the sacrifices at the base. They’ll be with them.”
At a glance the plaza looked as abandoned as everything else, but looking closer there were signs of life. Nearly a dozen vehicles sat in front of the buildings and unlike all the other vehicles, they had tires filled with air and were more than just rusted-out frames. Most of the building widows were covered and all of the doors were closed, again unlike the buildings surrounding it.
“Where are we hitting them?” Ben asked.
“Three miles south of this base there is a perfect ambush point. It was where we were initially planning on hitting them but decided against it since it was so close to this outpost. There is about a hundred yard long line of cars on both sides that they will have to go slow to maneuver around. We will hide within those.”
“Then just open fire? Can’t they just speed past?”
Banner smiled, “Hey Thomas, show him what we are working with.”
Thomas got off his ATV, pulled off his backpack and opened it in front of Ben. Inside were half a dozen pipes with a single thread sticking out of them.
“Are those-” Ben started.
“Pipe bombs?” Thomas asked smiling. “Yes they are.”
“We take out the lead vehicle to stop them from moving forward. If the transport vehicle is in the rear they will have a hell of a time trying to back up. If it’s not in the rear then we will take out the rear vehicle and block them in,” Banner said.
Ben nodded. The plan was sound. “Let’s move.”
They swept around wide of the shopping plaza and hid their ATVS inside an old car dealership. From there they ran to the ambush point. When Ben saw it he knew it would work. Banner hadn’t exaggerated; on both sides of the road cars were lined up at various angles where people had either run out of gas or decided it wasn’t worth fighting through traffic and got out. There was barely enough room for a single car to wind its way through and the area surrounding the road was uneven and filled with debris they would have to travel straight through.
Banner’s men spread out alongside the roadway, hiding behind cars and various bits of debris. There was a car that had driven off the road and struck a tree, causing the tree to topple on top of it. Ben laid down prone underneath the branches of the tree. They waited. The sun rose up directly above them and even under the tree branches it felt like a heat lamp was slowly cooking him. The humidity caused his clothing to stick to him and a small pool of sweat began to form around him. They lay there as the sun fell towards the horizon and it wasn’t until it was just beginning to disappear that they heard the sounds of vehicles traveling. The cooling of the day had caused Ben to start to drift off but when the sound reached his ears he immediately focused. He pulled up the old pistol and checked his ammo: fifteen shots. He would have to be accurate.
He peered through the weeds underneath the vehicle and saw the convoy approaching. Two large trucks led the pack and a large van traveled behind them, which had to be the one carrying his unit. Directly behind the van was a jeep and as it approached Ben made out three men in the jeep. The convoy made its way down the road and slowed as it came up to the ambush point. They knew this area was dangerous. The lead truck pulled ahead twenty yards before the rest began to follow at that same distance. It crept ahead and Ben watched as a man pulled himself out of the passenger window and surveyed the area. Ben hunkered down as the lead truck drove past his position and continued ahead. The second truck passed him and then the van pulled up to where he was. There was a single shout of alarm, Ben didn’t know who it was from, and then the first pipe bomb detonated. Even from where he was he could see the lead truck flip over sideways as a ball of flame erupted from beneath it. As Ben got to his feet the second explosion hit the jeep at the rear, causing him to stumble down to one knee.
A man with a cross tattoo on his forehead jumped out of the passenger side of the van and trained his assault rifle toward the front of the convoy. Ben fired and the first bullet hit the man in the chest, sending him stumbling back into the side of the van as the rifle fell at his feet. The man looked down at his chest in surprise and then turned his attention to Ben. Ben fired again and again. The shots hit the man in the chest again and for a moment it seemed the small caliber bullets didn’t even stun the man, until his eyes went wide and he slid down the side of the van, a smear of red blood following him down. Shots rang out all around Ben as he rushed forward and grabbed the man’s assault rifle. He picked it up and looked through the open passenger door and saw the driver standing on the other side firing with his back to Ben. Ben let out a single burst, ending the man’s journey. The sound of bullets hitting the van all around him caused Ben to fall back and spin back toward where he had come from.
“The lord is on our side! Do not fear the sinners.” The sound of the Prophet’s voice cut through the sounds of the gunfire.
The pale man continued firing as he approached Ben’s position, keeping him pinned down. Ben let go of the assault rifle and blind-fired the pistol from behind the vehicle.
“I have the Lord’s armor all around me. Your weapons cannot-” The Prophet’s words cut off suddenly as one of Ben’s shots connected.
Ben picked up the assault rifle and turned from behind the vehicle. The Prophet lay on the ground with his hand covering his right side, a look of surprise on his face. Ben glanced around, making sure it was safe, and then crouched down and approached the man. As he stood above him he watched as the man stared down at his wound. Ben brought the butt of the rifle down on the man’s head. The sound of banging came from the back of the van and Ben couldn’t help but smile. He came around the backside and opened the van and saw the familiar faces.
“Hey guys, long time no see,” he said with a smile.
Alec
“Do you know what he plans?” Trevor asked his forehead scrunched in frustration.
Alec didn’t take his focus away from the fireplace in front of him. “He may have mentioned it.”
“He still has a long way to go, just like you. Even once winter is over it will be months before I would recommend he try and go back out there.”
Mason had finally shared his plan with Trevor. His plan to go back out into the chaos of the world in order to try and find Alec’s brother. “If I’m able I want to go with him.”
“You aren’t and you won’t be,” Trevor said quickly. “Your body is still healing and who knows how long it will be before your equilibrium is back to normal.”
Alec didn’t say anything. He still carried his cane with him at all times but he was able to walk for quite a distance before he felt the need to utilize it. The problem was when he did get tired it wasn’t just his legs that failed him. The world would begin to tilt again and his head would begin to poun
d in rhythm with the beating of his heart until he couldn’t go on. He wasn’t sure what was wrong with him and he was afraid to ask, but it appeared that Trevor had been watching him.
“You’ll get better.”
“I know,” Alec said as he watched the flames dancing over the wood in the fireplace. “I just don’t know if I’ll ever get back to normal.”
There was a knock at the door and then it opened, revealing Margie with a worried look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Trevor asked.
“We caught someone.”
They rode their horses to the same barricade where Alec and Mason had been stopped. There two of their guards stood with a man tied up and blindfolded sitting in the cold snow. Alec remained on his horse but Trevor got off and pulled one of the guards aside.
“What happened?” Trevor asked under his breath.
“We caught him out here snooping. He was trying to climb over the barricade; we had to stop him.”
“I understand,” Trevor said, eyeing the man. “How did he get here?”
“His horse ran off when we stopped him.”
Trevor glanced to Alec for a moment then walked over to the downed man. “Who are you and where are you from?”
The man’s heavy clothing was dirty and torn in several places. His face was red and covered in snot. “I don’t have to say nothing to you.”
Trevor clenched his jaw. “Trust me, it’s in your best interest to answer my questions.”
“Fuck off,” the man growled.
Alec spurred his horse forward and stopped just above the man. “Do you want to leave this place?” The man didn’t answer. “Do you know what the cold does to a man’s skin? It’s strange, you will be out here covered in snow but somehow your skin will feel like it is burning. Eventually the feeling will go away, which is a good thing because when night falls the coyotes will come for you.”
