by A J Newman
“Get the vehicles off the road and set the IEDs in place. We make our stand here.”
“Scott, I’ll place a couple of snipers on the hill up there and two .50 cal. BMGs behind that fallen tree.”
“Jim, have your team set up as many Claymores as you can before they get to us. Take out as many as you can before they overrun us.”
“Men, we will stick it to them and make it hurt. Then we fall back to the next position that Meg has set up closer to town and stick it to them again. We can do this a couple of times and perhaps the cavalry will be here before we run out of surprises for these SOBs.
“Hold your fire. Hold. Hold. Commence firing! Jim, wait until the Hummers get to the trap and blow the Claymores.”
“Will do!”
The lead Humvee passed the tree, Jim turned the crank handle and fifteen Claymores exploded at once sending seven hundred 1/8 inch steel balls per Claymore shooting to the enemy. It was a steel curtain of death. Anyone not hiding behind something was mowed down. The Humvees were riddled with holes and their windows shattered.
“Fire in the hole.”
At the command, the IED’s were set off with devastating destruction. Humvees and men were thrown into the air and most of the enemy was killed outright. The remainder were crippled ,with many losing limbs.
“Fall back to Meg’s position,” Scott yelled.
Scott sent two men to spy on the enemy while the rest fell back to regroup and ambush the DHS again.
***
The ambush scared the hell out of the DHS General and he sent a small team to make sure the rebels had left before bringing up his main force.
“Those assholes killed thirty men and destroyed three Humvees. Captain, take your group south and flank the bastards. They will ambush us again if we do not beat them to the punch. Major, split the main force and send half your men on foot across country and flank their north side. Send the rest up the middle and draw their fire so the flankers can wipe them out.”
***
“Two groups split off the main group, with one going south the other north. Looks like they are setting a trap.”
“Bob, can the Rangers give us some help?”
“Sorry, but they are on the other side of Decatur. I will send half of them now, but they may get there too late. The roads are blown to bits and they can walk there faster than driving.”
“Thanks, we will find a way to slow the DHS down until they get here.”
“Jim, place the rest of the IEDs behind us as we retreat to town. We just have to stay ahead of the jaws of their trap while slowing the DHS down and not get us all killed. Nothing Gus and Dad haven’t done a million times.”
“What’s it that Gus says in situations like this?”
"I wonder if this is how Custer felt when all those Indians were charging across the plains at Little Big Horn.”
“He shit his pants; that’s what he did. I don’t know what he thought, but he soiled his drawers.”
Meg broke out laughing and replied, “Maybe because he didn’t have any women fighting with him. Women wouldn’t be so cocky as to try to stand up to them. Let’s ditch the vehicles, break up into three or four teams, hit the main group and run like hell. Then hit the next group. Guerilla tactics! ”
“Meg, great idea! You, Jim and I will divide the team and begin harassing them. Do some damage, slow them down and then disappear. Don’t get in a firefight or get trapped. Jim, hit the main body just after the IED’s go off and kill as many as possible before running. Let them get almost to our Humvees then blow them all up. I’ll hit the northern group. Meg, break off and try to hit the southern group. Always fall back towards town. Good luck.”
Jim’s attack was devastating to the General's main group. The blast destroyed his vehicle. He received several shrapnel wounds and his driver was killed. Jim’s snipers harassed them for a few minutes and then they all fell back a half mile and set up another ambush at a choke point. Jim was the only one wounded. A stray round glanced off a boulder and caught him in the right leg above the knee. The bullet had spent most of its energy hitting the boulder so it only penetrated about half inch. Jim dug it out and kept pressure on the wound until most of the bleeding stopped. He applied some of that stuff from his FA kit that stopped the bleeding and was good to go. His leg hurt like hell, but he had to man up and lead his team.
Meg’s team had pushed hard to get in place and still catch the enemy by surprise. They had set up in a supermarket parking lot using an abandoned tractor-trailer and several cars. Meg’s scout came back in and warned them that the DHS was just a couple of minutes behind him. They got in place and waited for a few minutes, but Meg knew something was wrong. Before they could decide what to do, they were under sniper attack from the roof of the supermarket. Two men and a woman fighter were killed in a few seconds. Two more men were wounded and could not fight. Meg and Imelda were the only ones left alive that could fight and they were pinned down under the trailer.
“Bob, how about some help? I have dead and wounded and we are pinned down at the supermarket on 3rd and Montgomery.”
“Hold on; the Rangers are just a mile or so away from you. They can hear your gunfire and are fighting their way through the group that has you pinned down."
Imelda could see several DHS sneaking around the parked cars trying to circle back behind her. She picked them off one at a time until all three were dead. She reloaded and saw that she had only two mags with 30 rounds each.
“Meg, I’m almost out of ammo; cover me while I strip the ammo off these bastards.”
“Okay, I’ll have to do the same when you get done. Hurry up!”
Imelda crawled out from under the trailer, being careful to keep a low profile. She got to the first dead DHS man and found five magazines for her M4 and three for her 9mm. She filled her ammo pockets and then stuffed the remainder in her shirt. She did this four times before she could not carry any more ammo. She was picking up an extra M4 when a shot rang out and hit her in her right chest just below the armhole of her Kevlar vest. It was a crushing blow and would have killed her if it hadn’t hit one of the magazines first. She thought that she had been hit and might die until she got back under the trailer and checked her chest out.
A series of shots rang out and Meg yelled, “I got the SOB who shot you. Are you okay?”
“It hurts like hell, but there is only a little blood and I think the bullet glanced off of one of the mags. I think I’ll live. I got enough ammo for both of us and an extra rifle.”
“Great, we need to be ready for them to storm our position. You watch while I pile some of these bodies around us for cover. Kinda like keep your friends close and your enemies between the bullets and your ass.”
“Don’t make me laugh, my chest hurts when I move.”
Meg had moved a dozen bodies around them so that the trailer's wheels gave cover and a hole to shoot from, while the bodies covered their sides. Meg was resting when suddenly bullets started raining down on them again from the top of the store. The sniper could not see them, but could keep them pinned while others rushed their position.
They had a limited field of fire. However, the enemy had to cross an open area on both sides of the trailer to attack them. Several tried to overwhelm them and were all mowed down.
The Rangers surprised the first group of DHS and slaughtered them without any casualties. The fighting got much tougher after that, because the enemy was made of regular army that had stayed loyal to the USA. They weren’t Ranger quality, but were well trained and disciplined.
“Will, bogey by the old Ford truck!”
Will aimed the grenade launcher up in the air and dropped a grenade about twenty feet behind the truck, killing all three behind the truck.
“I don’t have to remind you, but I will. Don’t take any prisoners unless they are officers. We need intel, not mouths to feed.”
The fighting was tough for the next mile, but the Rangers finally broke through to the superma
rket parking lot. There were over twenty enemy dead and about the same amount wounded. They found Meg’s team one at a time and each one had a pile of enemy bodies around it. They finally found Meg and Imelda trying to get out from under the semi-trailer.
“Hold your fire, we are friendly! Are you two okay?"
“Hell no, we’re not okay. We both need a medic. Imelda needs the medic the most. She got hit in the right tit.”
“Meg, don’t talk like that. You’ll make these boys blush.”
“We don’t have a medic, but we are all trained in first aid. Mike, see if you can help them while we move on to relieve the others.”
“Tell Scott that we held our own and gave more then we got.”
Scott’s team lay behind rocks and logs watching the enemy advance through the woods. There was a small lake on their left side and a steep cliff on their right. This was a natural pinch point and was as good as any to ambush the enemy soldiers. Scott had positioned two men at the top of the cliff to make sure they held the high ground.
Scott heard two explosions and then firing from the top of the cliff and then it abruptly ceased.
The radio squawked and Scott heard, “Scott, about ten of the bastards tried to sneak up on us from behind. We set a couple of Claymores as you told us to do. They tripped one coming at us and the other trying to escape. We only had to shoot two.”
“Good job, now wait until the main group comes through and launch some grenades down on their sorry asses. Set a couple more Claymores just in case they come again from behind.”
***
General Black had seen his force get the crap kicked out of them at every turn and wanted a quick victory. He knew that he still had over a hundred fifty men at his command and he was not going to let this rag tag group defeat him. The ISA airpower would be back in less than an hour and he must kill their soldiers and take cover before they got back. A frontal assault was the only way. He knew that he would lose many men, but he had to get revenge for his losses.
“Major, give the orders to charge forward and overwhelm the enemy. Take no prisoners and regroup under the bridge when you have killed them all.”
“But, sir, we will be slaughtered.”
The General shot him between the eyes and yelled, “Captain, are you ready to take command?"
The Captain answered, “Yes, sir!”
He then turned to his squad leaders and said, “Drop your rucksacks, fix bayonets and prepare to charge the enemy position on my command.”
Only about half followed the Captain. The rest turned tail and headed to the river. The General started shooting the deserters in the back, but soon ran out of ammo. The General suddenly realized that he had been left alone.
✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺
Chapter 5
Life and Death Goes On
The Bunker, North of Mobile
February, 2021
“Mom, you’re as big as a barn. Were you this big when you had Randy and me? You’re eating like …..”
“Like I’m eating for two! Little Jennifer is always growing and I want her to grow up big and strong like her older sister.”
Randy and Kristie were adapting well to this post electric world. There were no electronic games, TV or cell phones. Only the military had radios and cell phones. Social media had a new meaning after TSHTF. It meant that people actually talked to each other in person face to face. People sat on the front porch and waved at their neighbors as they passed by the house. Kids played outside after school if their chores were done and they minded their manners. It was a much more polite society since the TV died.
There weren’t any half-dressed rap star thugs singing about this Ho or that Ho and killing their Momma. If a kid misbehaved, they received proper punishment. Spankings were no longer taboo, but the community would not put up with real abuse.
If a man beat his wife, his neighbors would have a friendly talk with him. Twice, and they would show him how a few bruises felt. A third time and he disappeared. These were hard men, but fair men for hard times. The women were the same. They only gave drunks and addicts one chance to shape up and then run out of town for good. Criminals were not tolerated at all. Prison was always hard time with back breaking work with no niceties. The prisoners lived in tents and grew their own food. The local militia was constantly checking all strangers and making sure, they were a fit for the team or quickly left the area. They shot biker gangs and thugs on sight.
Everyone above sixteen took training to serve in the military and joined the reserves until needed. All reservists were armed at all times, so there was no chance for a criminal or crazy person to commit a massacre. He might get a shot off, but would be shot to pieces in a second.
TSHTF had resulted in the deaths of millions through nuclear attacks and civil unrest, but the worst result of society's collapse was the millions of people killed because they could not get their medicine or medical help. Heart, cancer and dialysis patients died immediately after the attack, then other people with illnesses started dying off at a slower pace. Insulin has to be refrigerated, so diabetics died off next, then as pharmacies and drug stores ran out of medicine many others died. One of the worst nightmares was that the people on anti-depressants or medicines designed to combat mental health issues became unstable as the medicine ran out. Suicides and violence peaked for many months until these people either killed themselves or were dealt with by their communities.
“I have an appointment with Dr. Ray next week and should firm up the delivery date. Your stepdad is worried to death about the health of the baby.”
“Mom, we call him Dad. He has been more of a dad than our sperm donor dad.”
“Randy, please show a little respect for your real father.”
“Sorry, Mom, he has been gone for a long time. We don’t know him. We love John and he loves us.”
“Mom, I just remembered that the grocery is out of toilet paper and most feminine products. Could you get Steve to send scouts out to find some more? Please? These newspapers and catalogs are torture. What will we do when we finally run out?”
“Young lady, people made it just fine for thousands of years without toilet paper.”
Randy laughed and said, “But I wouldn’t want to shake their hand!”
They all laughed.
Randy then changed topics, “Mom, I was walking down by the creek and saw a lot of dead starlings. I’ve never seen so many dead animals before.”
“Tell Steve about the dead birds. It probably doesn’t mean anything, but make sure he knows.”
***
“Come to order.”
Steve banged the gavel a couple of times and the talking stopped.
“Now, let’s get down to business. Sally, start with your area.”
“Steve, we have done real well since the last meeting. The people from Port Arthur have been assigned farms and are digging in and getting the land ready for spring planting. We are just south of 5,000 people north of Mobile and all able-bodied men and women have been trained to serve in our reserves. Honestly, all of the new people were already trained in Port Arthur. Counting MRE’s, we have enough food for six months without slaughtering our breeding stock. We had to wipe out a bunch of drifters that were trying to capture some of our women. I cut the balls off one while he cussed us after his trial.”
“Thanks, Sally, and remind me not to piss you off. What help do you need and is there anything I can do to assist your growing community?”
Sally replied, “No, Steve, we are doing just fine, but keep us in the loop on any potential threats. This DHS attack on Decatur has everyone rattled.”
“Thanks, Sally. I’ll ask Roger to give an update on the situation in Decatur now.”
“Good morning team. The news is not good. Decatur was heavily shelled with a large loss of life. Our men are in a pitched battle and are out manned and out gunned at this moment. We have air support and troops heading in, but it looks bad for our advanced team. They have saved many l
ives, but we have losses in the Reserves and Rangers. I should have an update by five o’clock.”
George stood up and bowed his head, “Let’s have a moment of silence for our armed forces in Decatur. May God watch over them and keep them safe.”
George then led them in the Lord’s Prayer and asked God to watch over their men and women in the fight.
There was a round of amens said and they got back to business.
“Tom, how is Mobile doing?”
“Steve, we have made a great deal of progress since last month. Power has been restored to most of the city since we got the city power plant back in service. The main issue is that it is coal fired and none of the mines is being worked. I am trying to reach a mine operator in Western Kentucky to see if he can help get it back in operation. We have about a month’s supply of coal counting what is setting on coal cars at the rail yard. We have taken in about five hundred folks from Port Arthur and they are settled in and starting to contribute. We need some farm equipment and some garbage trucks repaired. Counting the DHS prisoners, the people who remained free and the Port Arthur folks, we have over ten thousand people in Mobile. We really can’t take more until we get the infrastructure back up and running. We need to aim any new people to the farms for a couple of months; we need the food. Mobile won’t support new people for a while.”
“Thanks for the update. I think we all agree with your assessment and will do our best to expand the population around Mobile before we send you any more people. Before we move on to the affairs of the state, has anyone noticed any dead birds? I mean a lot of them.”
