Becca's heart is overwhelmed in knowing that a good man has truly found God. Her spine tingles as she knows the Holy Spirit is with her, working through her. She says out loud "Thank you God."
John stands, eyes still glistening, but he seems to stand straighter, taller. The 'weight of the world' look he had earlier is gone. The stern look is still there, but a slight smile breaks out across his face. Then the smile beams brightly. He turns and runs out the door to the porch. "Halleluiah! God is great!" he yells in a strong loud voice. "Halleluiah!" He bellows one more time. He comes back into the house, standing taller than ever, a bright smile across his face.
"I remember hearing that God won’t give us more than we can handle, well I got God! We can handle this. Let's go talk with Mark. I need to see him."
They go back the hallway to where Mark is recuperating. A small LED light is on. Mark's bible lies next to him. He is gazing upwards with his own eyes glistening. Upon hearing them enter, Mark extends his arms and John embraces him. "Welcome home brother, welcome home. God loves you and so do I. Now you have peace, John. There will never be peace on earth, because man is sinful. But, now you have peace in your heart. Know Jesus, know peace."
John straightens up and looks Mark over. "You’re a mess!" he says. "Are you sure God loves you?"
"You're a wise ass! God brought you into my life, so no, he does not love me!" They both laugh out loud.
"Don't make me laugh! It hurts to laugh," Mark says, wincing.
John turns serious again. "We got problems Mark, and we need you healthy. Your guidance has helped the town more than anyone really knows. Now we got the city refugees heading our way, and the Flight 93 refugees heading to the city. They will merge, then it could get bad. We need your help, you got to get better."
"You foolish old soldier, you don’t need my help. You got all the help you need. You got God. I am out of commission for a while. You, Jerry, Reverend Wysinger, the other town leaders, you got this. Talk with the Reverend, tell him what happened here today. Tell him of your faith. He will help you. 'If God is with you, who can stand against you?' You got this. Let me recover, I will be back with you soon."
"With what you have done, the town would elect you king right now," Top says. "We need you back soon. Your insight on what is coming is needed in our leadership group. We need your forethought. You are a gifted man Mark. As your wife said, God has given us talents, yours is leadership, we will need that. Get well soon."
Top leaves the main house, gathers his people, and heads back to town. All his people notice the edge has come off him a bit. He seems more reasoned, less regimental. Rumors fly that he has 'found God'. Most agree that this is a good thing. Some don’t understand what that means.
Chapter 22, City People
North of Central City
September 19th
Jerry’s wife pleads with him to stay home. ”You served your country, Jerry. We finally have a life together. The last war left you barren and scarred for ten years. We are finally making it. Please don’t go.” But Jerry is a patriot. Forty eight years old, five foot eight inches and a bit overweight, he has accepted that he will not have children, he has found his calling in serving the community through the church.
When asked, he helped Mark Mays gather his family from the chaos that was erupting in Johnstown. That day formed a bond between them that only soldiers can know. Now he feels the Lord tugging at him to use his talents to help his community. He has already stepped up as a leader in helping set up the town’s defenses. He feels alive, with a new mission assigned to him. And he knows to do nothing will allow the chaos to eventually over run him and his beautiful wife.
Jerry has only one option, to use the talents that God blessed him with to serve his community, to help keep his friends and neighbors safe. His mission is to save as many people as he can while protecting his community. He feels at peace with this decision.
* * *
"You got to help us! You got to help us!" Cries out the young man, maybe fifteen years old. He has come up to the Central City roadblock that has been moved further north of town on route 160. "They are just killin' our cows. There's tons of them. We can't stop them!"
The young man is taken in, and they calm him down to get the full story. About a hundred people found his parent's farm. They killed two cows and started roasting them right away. Within a few hours more people showed up and killed another cow and started roasting it too. They were so hungry that many were slicing off pieces of meat still raw, and eating it.
The roadblock crew had been warned of this. They send a scout on one of the bikes they got from the Wagerly’s, to the remote farm with the young man. Meanwhile they send word back to town and Jerry quickly arrives on scene with more men. A truckload of well-armed militia head out, two up front and six in the bed, which has been sand bagged for protection.
Fifteen minutes later they crest a ridge, and see the scene of desperation before them. Jerry orders them to stop so he can survey the situation. The farm is about a half mile ahead, on the right. Through his binocs he sees the remaining cattle have been herded back into the barn. Several men and woman have been positioned to defend the small farmstead. To the left, in a fallow field, are the refugees from Johnstown. He guesses their number at over two hundred. They have set up a campsite of sorts, with makeshift tents, and two large cooking fires; two cows are being roasted and smaller cooking fires have stew pots boiling. He also sees more refugees heading towards the campsite, coming from Windber to the north.
Jerry, a Gulf War vet, and a Deacon at Pastor Wysinger's Church, allows what he is seeing to sink in. He does not want to make any hasty moves. The half dozen locals defending the farm are as well armed as the two hundred refugees. But, the sheer number of refugees puts the locals on the losing side of any battle. He and his men decide on a course of action. Jerry says a silent prayer as they set their plan in motion.
* * *
The truck stops about two hundred yards short of the standoff. The driver turns the truck around, facing towards Central City, with one of the M60's salvaged from the Wagerly compound set up in the protected bed of the truck, overlooking the refugee camp. Their action draws attention from the refugees. The festive mood of the refugee's camp dampens, and a feeling of hostility spreads as Jerry and four well-armed men approach.
Jerry waves a white flag in his left hand as he and his men head towards the haphazard encampment. About one hundred yards from the refugees, two of Jerry's men take up a secure location. Jerry and two men continue towards the haggard crowd.
"Hello to the camp!" Jerry hollers as they leave the road. "We come in peace! We are your neighbors, we are your friends! Hello to the camp! We come to talk peace!" Jerry and his crew walk to within fifty feet of the refugees' campsite. The refugees have gone quiet as the armed men have approached. "Send out your leaders so we can negotiate your passage through our town." Jerry hollers.
He watches closely as people begin to talk amongst themselves. He identifies two men that they all seem to go to, looking for advice. A man hollers out to him from the crowd. "If you come in peace, why are you so heavily armed? Why have you come here to hassle us?"
"Our town has been attacked by ruthless anarchists. We have lost many of our kin. We do not travel anywhere without strong protection." Jerry replies. He keeps an eye on the two men he figures are the leaders. One is helping to roast a cow. The other is helping to set up shelters. "We are here to assure your safe passage."
There is a lot of movement in the camp. The two he has identified as leaders continue to be approached by many people, but they carry on with their duties. It is apparent they don't want to be known as leaders. They must have learned a few hard lessons over the past eight days, leaders get targeted; just as Frank Wagerly targeted Mark Mays, the same as officers not wanting to be saluted in the field.
Two hawks circle overhead. A group of black birds swarm in to chase the hawks away. Billowing white clouds move along brisk
ly through the late September sky. The day is warm, but a cool breeze chases the clouds along. A few trees are turning to their bright reds and vivid yellows. A picturesque day, except for the two hundred starving refugees and their squalid campsite.
Twenty minutes later, a man and a woman approach Jerry and his security detail. They all shake hands on the fallow field. Jerry opens the conversation. "We wish you all well, but we cannot allow your group to kill farm animals without just compensation. Your group killed three cows. Have you thought about how you will compensate the framer for his cows?"
"Compensate him for his cows?" Says the man. "That's what you want to talk about! We have starving people, starving children, and you want to talk about how we pay for the cows we killed to feed them! You arrogant bastard!"
"No sir, you are the arrogant bastard." Jerry replies calmly, but sternly. "You have no idea how a farms work. You killed two dairy cows and a young bull. They produce milk, and more cows. Male cows, bulls, are sent to be fattened and slaughtered for meat. Females are raised for dairy and reproduction. By killing two dairy cows, you have denied all of us thousands of pounds of dairy products and thousands of pounds of beef. That farmer probably had cows that were not productive, that he would have given you. Did you ask the farmer for help, for food?”
The man looks at him dumbfounded and tries to stammer out an answer.
Having made his point, Jerry continues. "Let's put that behind us. We are a forgiving people. What are your intentions? Where is your group going from here?" He asks as kindly as he can.
"We came out here because there is food out here, asshole!" bellows the man. "My family is starving. We have meat for the first time in days! Don’t give me no bullshit about how a farms work! I need to feed my two girls and their mamma."
"We don’t work that way here, my friend." States Jerry. "We look at tomorrow as closely as we look at today. What you did today affects tomorrow. What do you have to offer the farmer whose cows you killed today? Can your people help work his fields, do you have trade items?"
"We have nothing! We are starving to death! And you want to trade with us! We have nothing! Just kill us now for killing your cows. This is pointless." The man turns and storms away. The woman with him turns, and watches him go, but she stands her ground.
"We meant no harm, only to feed our children sir." The woman says.
Jerry eyes her up and down. She is thin, but she is strong, maybe forty, probably has several children and a husband. She must be smart, and respected, to have been sent out to meet with him.
"We need help on the farms, people willing to work. We will offer you the same opportunity as all the other refugees. We will feed you as best we can in return for you helping us on the farms or wherever help is needed. Go back to your camp and tell this to your leaders. Then come back with them and let's see what we can work out."
"I am one of the leaders’ sir. I can work this out for my people."
"Yes, you are one of their leaders. But, you are not the leader, you report to the man helping to set up the shelters. Come back with him, and the man helping to roast the cow. The man your friend is talking to now. They are your true leaders."
The woman blushes as she sees she has been called out. "How do you know this?"
"I didn't survive the Gulf War by being stupid. Come back with your two real leaders. They will not be harmed. If we wanted to kill them, we would have already."
The camp begins to stir when she reports to her leader. They see a few more people take up security positions. Discussions are animated. Groups of people move about, it looks as if the camp is dividing itself. Some people need to be moved in stretchers or make shift travois, too weak to walk. Jerry notices a group digging a large hole to bury their dead. The wind shifts, bringing the stench of death to their noses as they wait, watching the wretched camp.
Twenty minute later, the woman returns with the man that had been helping set up shelters. The other man stays in the camp, checking his security people.
"I'm Dan Morris, I represent the camp, Judy Lehman you met earlier." states the man. "We are sorry for killing the cows, but we are starving. We needed the food. Johnstown is in chaos. We came out here looking for food, looking for a way to survive."
Jerry shakes the man's hand, which he feels is frail and weak for a man his same age. "I’m Jerry. I hope we can help you. We have food, but not food that can be stolen and pillaged. Killing cows is not the answer to your problems. If you are willing to work with us, we are willing to try and help you. But, pillaging our farms will lead to a war with us. We have already fought and won a war against anarchist. We do not want to fight another war against pillagers."
"Sir, we meant no harm, we are desperate. In the short time we have been here a dozen have died. We have no way to feed our children. Many of us have become sick. The cows we are cooking is the first substantial food we have eaten in days."
"Are your men digging graves down there by the stream?"
"Yes. We want to give our loved ones a decent burial."
"Tell them to dig the graves up here by the roadside. Down there, the decomposing bodies will pollute that stream and spoil the water downstream." The frail man looks at Jerry with respect and surprise.
"We didn't think of that. It was easier to drag the bodies downhill."
"Nothing is going to be easy. Have the bodies’ drug up to the roadside. Make your grave up here."
With a nod from the man, the woman heads down the hill to give new directions to the gravediggers.
"Your other leader stayed in the camp, you look to be a camp divided. Tell me your situation."
"Huh, you got our number,” Dan replies. “Yes we are a divided camp. Some of us started heading this way looking for help, others looking to take control. We joined together, strength in numbers. Now we are divided again, as you plainly see."
"Why did you head this way? What's going on in Johnstown that you decided to bug out?"
"There's a war going on, between Richland and Johnstown. I can't describe it any other way. The people of Richland set Route 219 as their border, and won’t let anyone from the west to cross that line. Most of the major stores are east of 219, so the Richland people still got food, and the Johnstown people ran out of food, so the war started. It's probably over now, because Richland has run out of food too.
"We realized that all the food in the stores was going to run out, so we started heading this way, hoping to find food in the country. But once we got here, we realized we were just killing the farmers' cows, and they weren't going to just let us kill their herds. We killed and ate one three days ago and ran into trouble then too. That's when the camp became divided. There are some that want to help the farmers, and there are some that want to just take from the farmers. The takers outnumber the helpers. So here we are."
"Did you come across a group heading towards Johnstown? We rescued a bunch of people from The Flight 93 Memorial, and they were going to head for Johnstown."
"Yes, and they continued towards Johnstown, insisting that help would be there for them. We told them of the battle going on, but they claimed that they were important people and that FEMA would come to help them if they got to the Murtha airport. Things are secure up by the airport. The Guard and Reserve units have kept things somewhat calm up there, for now."
"How many people are behind you? How many people are following you out into the countryside, looking for food?"
"I don’t know. They were literally fighting over the scraps of food that were left. The Wal-Mart was cleaned out, same with the Super Eagle and Giant Basket. People where eating the last of their stored food when our group headed out. But they were still fighting along the 219 battle line. At that point, I don’t know why they were still fighting."
"So you have people willing to work for food in your group?"
"Yes sir. Killing cows in a field is not going to help us this winter. We need to join the farmer community. We figured that out."
"B
ring those willing to help up to the road, have them finish digging the grave, and then we will see what we can do to help you all."
* * *
Jerry uses the CB to relay this information back to town. He requests a relief effort to be sent out the next morning along with, a medical aid truck, and a heavy security detail. The security detail he wants right away. He sends a detail a half mile back down the road to be prepared to set up the relief effort on the far side of the hill, out of sight of the refugee camp.
Jerry eyes the camp as the sun begins to set. He sees a group start to move dead bodies up towards the road. He tasks a man to cover him, he and his other security man go to help move the dead. They somberly help drag twenty dead bodies, from infants to the elderly, up to a large grave that is being dug up by the road.
Jerry and his crew have been eating regular meals over the past ten days. Maybe not great meals, but they have been fed. He cannot help but notice the frail and weak condition of the men and women helping to move the bodies and dig the graves. There is no fat, skin is starting to hang loosely on some, scrawny bones reveal only muscle when strained. Jerry's mind races. There are very few overweight people here, if they made it this far, they have lost the excess weight. It's been barely more than a week, and the stress of not having a high sugar, high cornstarch diet is showing.
Darkness is setting in. He needs to get back and help set up the secure area for the relief effort and their position for the night. He lets Dan and Judy know a relief effort and aid station will be set up the next morning, just over the next hill.
He leaves two men at the over watch position on the road, and moves his truck back over the crest in the hill, down to a small draw. There is a field to his right. He figures this can be the campsite for the refugees. He sets out four security positions, memorizing their positions as night fully settles in. His squad is set for the night as best they can be and for the relief effort to show up from Central City in the morning.
Righteous Bloodshed: Righteous Survival EMP Saga, Book 2 Page 14
