by Ira Tabankin
“You go find yourself a farm, not me, I never did like Americans, they are too crazy, they have too many guns in private hands. I’m going to find my way home.” The Corporeal continues, “I told the Captain we should look for an empty farm, no, he wanted one already producing crops, he said, it would be easy, they are not soldiers he said. Where did that reasoning get him? I will tell you, it got him cut in two pieces. He is dead because he thought he could out think these cowboys. He was wrong. Dead wrong. If we play this cool, we will get out of here. Count off…”
Five men respond to the corporal who thinks, five men left. The Captain’s dream is gone, I think the entire world’s dream is gone. All I want now is to lead these men to an empty farm and start over again. All speak English, given the world mess, this should be easy if only we can get out of this minefield. Someone very good taught them how to lay the mines.
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“Captain Black, Sergeant Waters reporting, the gunfire, and explosions are coming from that small hill ahead of us. There’s a farm over that hill. You can see smoke drifting up from the site.”
“Sarge, good eyes. Take us there, make it snappy. I think we’re going to get to finally play the role of the Calvary riding over the hill to save the town’s women and children. Just think of how grateful they will be to us. Let’s move it. I don’t want to arrive too late to save them. I’ve waited my entire career to be the Calvary that saves the town. GO, GO!”
“Yes, sir. Sir, permission to remove the governor?”
“Don’t play that silly game with me, we both know you removed it before you even took official possession of the vehicle. Move it!”
The sergeant smiles “Yes, sir.”
The US Army vehicles accelerate to over 50MPH, their tracks, and large tires are tearing up the broken up roads and fields as they race to the scene of the battle. When they crest the top of the hill, all they see is dense smoke. “Captain, that's not smoke from a fire, it's from a chemical reaction. It could be smoke bombs. My gut tells me, someone is trying to mask something.”
“I agree, use your thermal sights to see if you can determine if anyone is out there.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Sir! We’ve got live people. What’s funny is they’re not moving.”
“Say again.”
“Sir, they’re not moving. We show six people standing still.”
“Ah, I think our good friends up there are stuck in what they call at West Point a fucking mine field.”
The sergeant laughs. “Sir, I think they call it that everywhere.”
“Sarge, I don’t want to blunder into a mine field so make sure you can either locate the mines with the ground penetrating radar, or we dismount and use the mine sweepers.”
“Yes, sir.”
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I’m swimming as hard as I can. This is very strange, I’m swimming, but there’s no water. There’s no question I’m swimming but I don’t understand how. I’m tiring out, I’m quickly running out of breath, I’m tired. Oh my God, I see the light, it’s directly above me. But I’m too tired to go on. I’m not sure I can reach it. Where the hell am I?
Damn that hurt. Who the fuck is pounding on my chest. Get off of me. This can’t be good, I can’t speak, I can’t hear them and they can’t hear me. I can’t move. I feel like my body weighs 500 pounds. Is this real or a dream? It must be a dream, can it be a dream if I know it’s a dream? I don’t understand what’s going on. Why can’t I speak? Why can’t I wake up? Dad said to follow the light. This is a damn strange dream. If I was dead, would I be feeling anything? Would I feel pain? Wow, that hurt. I feel like I got struck by lightening. Maybe I’m not dead, maybe it was someplace between life and death. But how could my dead father be here if I’m not dead? Maybe I died and am being sent back for a special reason.
“Doctor, we have a heartbeat, irregular, but we have a heartbeat.”
“What’s his BP?”
“Very low, 40 over 20.”
“Give me 10cc of adrenalin and see if we have another pacemaker around, something must be wrong with his. A bullet fragment may have stuck it.”
“Here’s the adrenaline, according to the inventory we have a couple of pacemakers.”
“If this doesn't stabilize him, I’m starting to run out of ideas, where do we stand on blood? He’s lost too much. As soon as we can stabilize his BP, I’m going to have to open him and replace his pacemaker. It will stabilize his heartbeat.
“Doctor, we have a line of people outside offering their blood for the wounded.”
“Keep them on a short leash, we may need them.”
“His BP is coming up, it’s starting to stabilize at 60 over 30. Not good, but a lot better than zero.”
“We’re going to need the blood. He’s still losing blood and we’re going to have to open him up a few more times. Damn it, who told him he could play soldier? He’s too damn old to do what he was doing. It’s a miracle he didn’t get his head blown off. If he survives, I’m going to force him to stay away from the front lines. Thank God he stocked everything I asked him for. If he ever asks me again why I need something, I’m going to remind him of today.”
The nurse laughs, “Good luck with that one. No one’s been able to slow him down. I’m sure Lacy will appreciate him being slowed down.”
“First we have to save him.”
“Doctor, for your information, everyone’s mood has changed, I’ve been told, most are sitting in their bedrooms depressed that we got run off our farms again. No one expected to have to fight Russian troops on our own farm.”
“How do we know they’re Russians?”
“We heard them speaking Russian to each other.”
“I didn’t hear anything about a Russian invasion. Did I miss something?”
“No, we haven’t received any information about an invasion by Russian troops. How are Jay’s vitals?”
“Stable, but low.”
“If he makes it, this is going to slow him down for a while. Keep an eye on him, if his BP falls, yell out before we lose him, I’m going to have to replace his pacemaker. I’ve also got to operate on Tony and patch up John.”
“Are they as bad as Jay?”
“No, please, and don’t let anyone in. I mean, no one. He needs his rest. I’ve placed him in a mild drug-induced coma. I want to keep him under for a while. I don’t want anyone trying to wake him.”
“What about Lacy?”
“I’ll talk to her, but no one gets in here. If he gets too excited, we could lose him.”
“Isn’t there anything we can do?”
“Most of it is up to him. He has to want to survive. He has to fight his inner demons if he slips back into his damn survivor guilt he’ll slip away. I wish I could wake him, just to slap some sense into him. His guilt could kill him. He’s got to be strong if he wants to live. About the only thing, we can do now is pray.”
Exiting the makeshift operating room, the doctor is pounced on by Lacy, whose face is covered with tear tracks. “Is he OK? When can I see him?”
“Lacy, he’s in a coma, his body needs all the rest it can get. His body has to try to heal itself. If he’s awake, he won’t make it. If he gives in to his guilt, he won’t make it. To be honest with you, I don’t know what’s keeping him alive. We almost lost him twice on the table. He has to fight his biggest battle, he has to want to live.”
“When can I talk to him?”
Grabbing Lacy by her shoulders, the doctor says, “Lacy, listen to me, try to focus, I’m not sure he’s going to make it. He lost a lot of blood. The bullets broke apart inside of him, they did a lot of internal damage. I removed as many fragments as I could find. I sewed up as much as I could see. He still has some internal bleeding. He needs to get stronger before we go in to find the cause of the bleeding. Pray he has the strength to pull himself through.”
Lacy stands in front of doctor Basco in shock, not really hearing what she’s just been told.
“Is he goin
g to make it?”
“Lacy, I’m going to be one hundred honest with you, I really don’t know. Currently, it’s touch and go. Jay’s a strong man, he should make it. Lacy, he’s going to need a while to recuperate. It’s not going to be easy for him. You’re going to have to hold his leash very tight. He’s going to want to be jumping around trying to personally manage the rebuilding, he’s not going to have the strength to do so.”
“Doc, I promise you, you save him and I’ll make sure he rests until you give him a clean bill of health.”
“Lacy, we’re talking months, maybe even longer. His heart stopped, I don’t know if there was any brain damage. If he wakes, he’s going to need help and a lot of support so he doesn’t surrender to his survivor guilt again. You’re going to have to help him fight his inner demons.”
“NO! Don’t tell me IF. You’ve got to go back in there and make sure he’s okay.”
“Lacy, I’ve done all I can for him, I have the other wounded I need to take care of.”
“Remember who saved your life, remember who brought you into the shelter enabling you to live through the current chaos.”
“Lacy, don’t worry, I’ll never forget what Jay did for me and everyone else. I really must be going to tend to Tony and John, both were wounded too.”
“Okay, do you mind if I stay here?”
“Lacy he’s going to need your strength if he returns to us. He’s not going to be waking up for a while. Go lay down and get some rest, you’re going to need it. Your kids need your strength. The entire shelter is watching you, you’re the shelter’s barometer. If you look worried, everyone else will be worried. You have to be strong in order to hold everyone together.”
“I understand.”
“I hope so. I’ve looked into everyone’s eyes, they’re defeated. They’re depressed. Everyone in the shelter looks up to you and Tony. You’re both going to have to be their strength.”
Chapter 2
There was a sense of failure and defeat in the shelter. The people who couldn’t previously wait to return home were shocked when they saw the level of destruction and waste left behind in their homes. Walls were torn apart, plumbing torn out of the walls, human waste left on the floor, most of their windows were broken, every picture was taken off the walls, all of their frames were broken. Nothing was left of the food and water left behind. Empty cans and packaging had been dumped and left on the floor. Even their fields had been dug up destroying the growing crops. Half-grown crops had been pulled up. Motorcycles had driven up and down the rows of corn and other crops. The irrigation system was broken. Fred shook his head thinking of the damage to his home and fields. He couldn’t believe the gangs who were going to need protection and food this winter would destroy his and the other’s homes like they did without regard to their future.
The mood in the shelter was depression. Everyone was depressed after seeing the damage to their homes and then having to return underground, they’d hoped they’d never have to see the shelter again, let alone move back in. They were depressed seeing the farm’s fields torn u p. They were shocked at the destruction of Jay’s house, a 7,000 square foot house destroyed as if a large bomb hit it. Even the pool house was flattened. Jay’s pool was filled with the shredded pieces from his house. They were depressed because they had been attacked again. They were very depressed because their three leaders were wounded and in surgery. If something happened to Jay, Tony and John who would lead them? Who would hold them together? Who would manage their rebuilding? They had grown accustomed to being told what to do and when to do it.
Fred went bedroom to bedroom trying to tell everyone everything was going to be okay. They just needed to come together and work as a solid community again. He reminds them, they each owned and managed their own farms before Jay and Lacy showed up to buy their land. They hadn’t gotten rich, but they were getting along. None wanted to listen to Fred, most told him to leave them alone. Fred met his wife in the cafeteria, “Cheri, I’m really worried. I’ve never seen everyone like this. No one wants to do anything. They don't want to check their assigned equipment or even eat. I found most sitting on their beds or side chairs staring into space. Many threw something at me when I tried to talk to them.”
“Fred, give them a little time. I’m sure when Tony and John are up and around they’ll be able to get everyone back to the way we were.”
“I saw that movie with you.”
“What are you talking about?”
Fred smiles saying, “You’re favorite movie, ‘The Way We Were.’ I saw it with you, maybe twenty times. I was trying to make a little joke, you know, break the ice.”
Cheri punches him in the arm, “That wasn’t funny. We have too many problems to be making jokes.”
“We have to laugh, if we don’t laugh, all we’re going to do is cry.”
Cheri’s eyes begin to water, “Speaking of crying, what’s the story with Jay?”
Fred lowers his voice, he leans close to Cheri so others can’t overhear him, “Honey, he’s very bad. His heart stopped when he was on the operating table. Doc has placed him in a drug-induced coma.”
“How was he wounded so badly? I mean wasn’t he wearing his vest? I thought they were bulletproof?”
“They are to handgun rounds and most rifle rounds. However, the plates should have been replaced after the last battle. His plates had been hit a number of times, the Russians were firing AP rounds. A few broke his armor, a couple of bullets went through the arm opening in his vest. The bullets broke apart when they entered his body.”
Cheri frowns, “AP?”
“Sorry, armor piercing rounds. Bullets designed to breach bullet proof vests. He was hit at least three times. I heard the doc tell Lacy that his heart stopped, there’s a possibility he has brain damage.”
“Oh my God! NO! Lacy will go crazy, we’ll all go crazy He’s been our leader from the time he arrived. How are we going to survive without him?”
“Cheri, he’s not gone yet, knowing Jay, he’ll fight all of the demons in Hell to return. He’s not going to leave Lacy and his kids alone. He’ll be back. Want to bet on it?”
“No, I pray you’re right. Lacy and the kids need him, we all need him.”
Todd wanders over holding a cup of coffee, “Can I join you?”
Fred and Cheri look up, Cheri says, “Todd, please do.”
“Any news? I can’t get close to the medical center. I just walked by and saw that there are four of Tony’s people standing guard at the entrances to the medical center. They told me only sick or wounded could enter.”
Fred looks at Todd, “Makes sense. The doctors can’t perform their tasks if everyone is trying to talk to them.”
“I was just trying to find out how Dad is. He is after all, my father-in-law. I consider him a father to me.”
“Todd, have you spoken with Lacy?”
“Fred, she’s been shaky since she left the medical center. She told me the doc threw her out. Something about putting Dad in a drug induced coma. Lacy’s freaking out.”
Fred turns to Cheri, “Honey, I think it would be a good idea if you went to speak to and spend some time with her.”
“If you excuse me, I’ll take some coffee to Lacy.”
Todd leans close to Fred, “Fred, what do you think our chances are?”
“Todd, our chances for what? Reclaiming our homes? Defeating who attacked us? Surviving?”
“All of the above.”
“Todd, those are very complicated questions. First of all, with John in the medical center and you here, who’s manning the security office?”
“Franco is. I taught him what to do. I needed a break, we needed to start having backups to those of us who are manning critical equipment in case some of us got wounded or worse. Just like now.”
“That was a good idea.”
“Todd, everyone’s depressed, they’re worried they’ll never return to the surface. This last round really got to them. We’re going to need eve
ryone in top form in order to win and reclaim what we had. Maybe you can tell me something about the people who hit us.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Who the hell were they?”
“Best I could tell from looking at the recordings is they’re Russians.”
“What the fuck? Russians? Why would Russians be attacking us? Are you sure they’re Russians?”
“We recorded some speaking Russian. They moved like Russian Spetsnaz, John showed me recordings he had from the Middle East. Based on what I saw and heard, we think we got hit and overrun by a company of Spetsnaz.”
