"George Hay, First Sergeant, 110th armored, retired. Pleased to meet you Sergeant Burns."
Introductions made, they get down to business, organizing the hodgepodge of soldiers with them into a cohesive unit. Sgt Hay will be in charge of his four farm trucks and sixteen men, broken down into two squads. Four hummers and sixteen soldiers will make another two squads under Sergeant Burns. This will be the operational portion of their crew. The deuce, suburban, high-lift with the trailer and two motorcycles will be the last squad with twelve people, and act as command and supply.
By full sun up, Zach is pleased at their position, compared to six hours ago, when they moved in. Gunfire has been heard from the vicinity of the airport all night. Sporadic gunfire has been heard all over the Richland area. Elsewhere, it has been relatively quiet. A few shots heard here and there in the countryside. One small exchange of fire that lasted five minutes was heard to the north.
The leadership group of the unit agrees to stand where they are till at least noon before moving on. They need to allow their soldiers to rest and regroup. They also need to figure out where they are going to go. Central City, and then on to Somerset is the goal. But how to get there is the problem, confounded by the army firing on civilians.
After hashing out the options, east is decided on as the only way to go. West takes them into the city, not an option. South takes them back to Richland, after the firefight at the airport, again, not an option. North takes them towards Ebensburg, which could offer them help and a safe place, but it is in the wrong direction. East into the mountains will take them towards back roads that will allow them to start traveling south. It has to be east, into the small town of Saint Michaels.
* * *
At mid-afternoon the two scout bikes return from their mission down the road to Saint Michaels. They report that a roadblock is set up about a mile past the 219 interchange. The roadblock looked serious but not threatening. The overpass is clear, foot and motorized traffic is moving sporadically on Route 219 both north and south.
Four people from Zach’s group have been rounded up that know people from the area. They are to go forward with Zach in the Suburban. A Hummer with a SAW is to follow in over-watch. The rest of the convoy is to follow a quarter mile back. Rager’s Corner is designated as the rally point if it goes bad.
Zach has his driver slow down as they approach the Saint Michaels roadblock. Fifty yards short of the roadblock, a hand is held high indicating the universal stop command. Zach steps out of the truck and hollers to the roadblock.
"A friendly army unit wishes to pass through. We mean no harm. We are acting on orders to proceed to Somerset."
"Army unit, you say," A man from the roadblock hollers back. "We hear you soldiers boys have gone rogue, started shootin' up civilians. Why should we let you pass through our town?"
"We are here to help. We are not part of the people who shot on the civilians. That is why we left them, we are on your side." Zach thinks of the young man manning the SAW behind him; that shot at the civilians. He was ordered to do so, and he has learned, he hopes.
"Oh yeah, 'we're from the government, we're here to help.'" The guard responds snidely. "Heard that before, we don't want no government help! Go back the way you came, we don’t want you here. You're God damn killers. Head back out the way you came."
Hearing that things are going sour, three of the 'locals' from Zach's truck come out to plead their case. One is Sergeant Burns. "Hey, before you turn us around do you now Sid Burns?" she hollers.
The talker turns and talks with the men at the roadblock. After a few words are exchanged he turns, reluctantly. "Why do you want to know about Sidney?"
"He's my cousin." Replies Sergeant Burns. "He's the one who inspired me to join the army. You know him? He can vouch for us."
Sidney Burns is a retired Gunnery Sergeant on disability after losing a leg and one eye on his fourth tour in Afghanistan. His wife left him during his second deployment, and upon his discharge he moved back home to a small farm south of Saint Michaels. Sidney taught Gloria, always a tomboy, to hunt, fish and be a good steward of the land. Gloria is one of the only family members Sidney has left and they have stayed close.
The guards at the roadblock start talking among themselves upon the citing of Sidney as Sergeant Burns' cousin. A quad takes off from the roadblock heading towards town. The roadblock emissary heads back out towards Zach's convoy.
"Rumors are that civilians got killed at the airport," the guard says. "That don't bode well. But we got a lot of guard and reserve members here. Some know your cousin. We're sending for him. You wait where you are, and keep the rest of your convoy back down the road."
Two farm trucks roll up to the roadblock. Ten men and a few women unload from the trucks and melt into the forested hillside flanking Zach and his convoy. Some of the newcomers are dressed in military fatigues; they all are well armed with hunting rifles, AR's and a couple AK's. Zach takes all this in but is not overly alarmed. It is what he would do. He tells his crew to relax, have a smoke, act as if they don't have a care in the world. Tensing up could lead to a bad outcome. He bums a smoke from one of his men and fires up a personal stove to heat some coffee. He wants to act as if all is okay.
The quad comes back with a gator and three more people. A stout man with short cropped gray hair gets out. He walks to the front of the roadblock and talks with some of the people there.
"Gloria, you with this crowd?" The man bellows in a strong command voice.
"It's me, cousin! Alive and well," She hollers back waving. "We bailed out of the airport when it went south. We want nothing to do with firing on civilians." She's starts walking forward. "We need your help Sidney! Oh my God, it is so good to see you."
Sidney has started forward from the roadblock, to meet his cousin. His prosthetic leg, unnoticed before, is belied as he tries to move faster than it will allow him to. Two guards follow the marine out as the cousins embrace in front of Zach's Suburban.
Gloria introduces Zach, and the two groups make introductions before the real talk gets started.
"Tell me what happened at the airport. It has a lot of people on edge. We got a lot of guard and reserves here, and they want to know what happened."
Zach lets Gloria do most of the talking, but he interjects when things need clarified. Sidney and his two well-armed compatriots listen stonily to the tale of the airport being over-run and their crew being put together as they fled. The bit about Zach stepping in to help Gloria out of a bad situation brings a brief smile to Sidney's face.
Sidney turns and looks at Zach. "So you are in charge of this group?"
"I am, and I vouch for all of them. We're a mixed unit, but all these men behind me are good soldiers, gunny," Zach avers.
"Any fire on civilians?"
"Some did, under orders to protect the airport. That was a bad decision, bad orders. That is part of why we left."
"Bastard sons a bitches" Sidney scowls. He stares off at the far wood line. "Take that hill, hold it for two days and you will get relieved. So you take that hill and hold it for two days, you lose eight good men. Then you are told to come back. And the enemy takes the hill you lost eight good men on. Bastards."
He looks back at Zach. "So no relief came? No word of help? You held the airport for a week and nothing! Bastard sons a bitches! And now these young men and women have blood on their hands." Gunny Burns shakes his head in frustration and disbelieve.
"So what do you know Sergeant White? Give us something we can work with."
Zach takes ten minutes to give them a recap of what he knows, from the last plane out on 9/11 through the airport being over-run. Gunny is particularly interested in the communications from Fort Indian Town Gap, and the lack there of. In the meantime, the quad has scouted Zach's convoy.
"Eleven vehicles total, including a high-lift with a trailer. About fifty soldiers. All are well armed. They could have run us if they wanted to. They look okay to me gunny," the scout repo
rts back.
Gunnery Sergeant Burns turns to a civilian with him who has been mostly silent the whole time. "I'll vouch for this convoy. It's getting late, let them set up by the Ranger Restaurant. Make sure we got good food for these soldiers and we'll do some old fashioned horse trading at the Lumber Barn. I have a feeling these folks have things we could use."
* * *
As evening turns to night, Zach sees lights flicker in the surrounding houses. His group is set up securely in a small park. They have been welcomed warmly by the locals. Gunfire has been almost nonexistent, except for what seems to be gunfights on the Route 219 corridor.
The locals have fed them well, and more detailed stories are exchanged. Two of Zach's people are reunited with family and are going to stay. Gloria, on the advice of her cousin, is going to continue with the mission to Somerset. Under guarded tones, a SAW with five thousand rounds is exchanged for a loose alliance. Five thousand rounds of 5.56 is included under the premise that a well-armed neighbor is a good neighbor. Zach's Crew gets two days of fresh food, fuel, and good information in exchange, as well as an ambassador to help them along their route.
Their route will have to take some detours. Route 160 south would take them through Windber then on to Central City. Windber is a no go zone. Sidney and the Saint Michaels' guard had been keeping contact with Elton, a few miles to the south, just outside of Richland. Elton was under new control as of yesterday. Vigilantes out of Richland had overtaken the area and it was now a confrontation point. The vigilantes fired on the last patrol that Saint Michaels' had sent there. People had been killed and threats were made that the Elton vigilantes were going to move on the farms around Saint Michaels. Sidney and his crew sent a strong force that way, to protect their town and neighbors.
But even before that happened, Windber had fallen into chaos. Food in the stores had run out, and those people had been aggressively moving out to find food and clean water. So unless Zach's crew wanted to fight through the gauntlet of chaos, they would have to take the back roads all the way out to Ogletown, then work their way south to Central City, then on to Somerset.
"You're talking three or four more days until we get back to Somerset," exclaims Ms. Hodge. "We've been gone two days already, on what was supposed to be an eight hour mission. My people are going to think we’re dead. Let alone the threats they may be facing without us. Is there any way we can get word to them that we are alive and well? That we have a supply convoy heading their way?"
"Ms. Hodge is right," interjects Sergeant Hay. "We need to get word to our people that we are coming with ammunition and supplies. They are defending good farmlands. They need some hope. We have two scout riders with us, let’s send them back with news as to what has happened and where we are."
The scouting mission is hashed out for an hour. The riders are brought in to discuss what is going to be asked of them. A fast run down Route 219 or 160 is considered and rejected. A final plan is decided upon. Four riders will head out on the roundabout route through Ogletown, high in the mountains. They will then come into Central City. At Zach's urging, they are to get word to his family that he is alive and well.
At Central City, the two scouts are to return to the convoy, and two scouts are to head on to Somerset. Through the night the bikes are fitted out to carry extra gas, food and supplies. Protocols and routes are laid in place, communication priorities are set. Before first light, the four bikes set out to the east, into the highest elevations of the Laurel Highlands in an attempt to bring messages that nine days ago could have been sent by text message in an instant.
In the meantime, Zach's crew has been well fed and rested. Fuel tanks have been topped off by hand pumps at the local Sheetz. Cigarettes and chew have been replenished. A short prayer session is led by a local minister. The crew is ready to head off into no-man’s land once again. They plan on heading out at dawn.
Chapter 35, The Horde
North of Johnstown, Pa
September 20th
Zach has his convoy fed and ready to go. The scout mission to Somerset set off at two in the morning. They are saying good bye to their gracious hosts when a quad from the western roadblock comes rolling in, a frantic look in his eyes.
"There's a thousand people coming down Route 219. They are angry and they are armed. Gunny, it's not good. Some of their people have already headed into the woods and will flank our positions. We tried to talk with them, but they say there will be no discussions. They say we have army killers here and we have to give them up or they will come in and take them. It's bad gunny. It's bad."
"Bastard sons a bitches! Ain't their problem, why are they making it their problem? Let’s head out and see what's going on."
"I'm going with you," states Zach. "It's me and my crew they want. We will not leave this fight to your men."
Sidney looks at Zach, stares him up and down with a grimace. "You brought this into my neighborhood. I knew this. We all knew this." Then he smiles broadly. "But you are a man of character, Sergeant White. You could run and hide, but you offer to stand by your convictions, stand for your soldiers. Let's go meet these vigilantes. Let's see what they have to say."
A brief plan is worked out that includes additional firepower to the flanks. Men, women, arms, and ammunition are sent running.
Sidney, Zach, Ms. Hodge, Sergeant Hay and eight other people, civilian and military, meet the leaders of the belligerent mob in front of the Saint Michael's roadblock.
"You are harboring murderers!" Shouts the leader of the fired up mob. "They killed innocent men and women at the airport. They were supposed to protect us, but they went rogue and killed us. We just wanted food, we wanted help and they killed innocent men and women. They are murderers. We want justice!"
The crowd behind them starts chanting, "Justice! Justice! Justice!"
In a loud voice that silences the crowd, Sidney bellows. "Justice! You want Justice! Look at yourselves first! How did you treat those people coming out of Johnstown that looked for help? Did you help them or did you draw a line and say you cannot pass here?
"Didn't you yourselves kill civilians to protect what you were told to protect? And now you come here, demanding Justice! I demand Justice for the people you killed! Which of you is willing to be held to account for what you have done in the past seven days! Turn around and go home. There is nothing for you here."
The crowd's anger is diminished at these words of self-reflection. They all have blood on their hands. People begin to nod and talk among themselves.
"No," A loud shout from the leader of the crowd bellows. "We dealt justice to their leader, Major Kerns, and we will exact justice from these rogues! They killed our family members and friends! They are the military and they should be protecting us, not killing us! Give those murderers to us so we can try them in our tribunal. We want justice!"
The bellicose leader repeats his chant for justice but the enthusiasm has waned as his people start to realize the hypocrisy of their anger.
Realizing that they are losing the backing of the crowd, another leader jumps forward and points a finger directly at Zach. "You where there! You killed my sister. She was pleading for food and you killed her. Murderer! Murderer! Murderer! You deserve to die!" She screams in Zach's face. The crowds grows louder at her accusations.
Zach is completely caught off guard. He has never seen this woman before and he did not fire a single shot when they abandoned the airport. No one was shot while pleading for food. Complete lies are being thrown at him and he is dumbfounded.
Finally it dawns on him that this mob, and more importantly, its leaders, are not after justice, they are after power. Truth be damned, ginning up anger through lies is their means to power. How is he to combat this perverse quest for power? The answer is only by being truthful. If he dies here and now, it will be with a clear conscious.
In his best command voice, which is a bit high pitched and whiney, Zach shouts over the crowd. "This woman is a liar! Do you all hear me! Thi
s woman is a bald faced Liar!" The crowd quiets a bit at Zach's shrill proclamations.
Zach continues in his loud shrill voice. "I was at the airport, but I did not kill this woman's sister. My soldiers, men and women, where at the airport. We were under orders to hold the airport. We hoped that FEMA, and relieve supplies would be coming in. They never showed up. The people that got killed tried to overrun the airport. No one was killed while pleading for food. We left the airport because we finally realized no help was coming. Don't follow liars in looking for a leader. Look for truth. I am telling you the truth."
The crowd has grown almost quiet at this point. Questioning looks and cast about.
"He's the liar," the woman shouts meekly.
"This man is right," states a man next to her loudly. "Betsy, you were at my house when it all happened and your sister died looting the Giant Bird when some thug shot her. You got us all worked over a pack of lies. I'm, done with this bullshit. I'm going home to take care of my kids. These people are not my enemies."
A ripple of commotion runs through the crowd as what the man said sinks in. Then a single shot rings out through the crowd.
Zach is knocked on his back by the 9mm slug that hits him squarely in the chest. The crowd grows eerily silent. The metallic sound of bolts being checked and rounds being loaded is all that is heard. The tension in the air is heavy as eyes cast about. Some look to the hills were they know there are armed men only seconds away from conflict. Some look to the heavily armed trucks that could mow down people by the hundreds if they are turned loose. Those in the defensive positions look at the hoard of people that could overwhelm them despite their firepower. Many people could die in the next few minutes.
"Bastard Sons A Bitches!" Sidney hollers. "You just shot a good man, in cold blood! Are you happy now you bitch!" he says, pointing at the woman who shot Zach.
He points his rifle directly at her chest and she cowers in fear. "What is it you want? More death? Neighbors fighting neighbors? Do you quest power so much that you seek it by spreading lies?"
Righteous Bloodshed: Righteous Survival EMP Saga, Book 2 Page 25
