“You will be backed up. I am telling you this in writing. To the extent possible, train Americans to defend themselves, especially with grenades, and arm them. Do what is necessary on the field as a warrior,” the Colonel said, handing a paper to both.
Sarge read him loud and clear. He never told the Colonel that’s what he was going to do anyway. He had nothing to lose after the day.
He thought about telling all this to David. But why burden the kid with the shame of a cowardly President, he thought. And David’s Dad was in the Air Force, he might have died because of the President’s cowardice and lack of character.
“I have told you everything that is open source,” Sarge said instead, as he got up to leave.
Diary of Liu Nguyen
Jorge sacrificed his life to save Samuel.
That needed to be recorded. They wrote it in the Bible.
Millions died in the war. We see the bodies. We smell the rotting corpses.
But Jorge’s death is personal. We are not bulletproof.
Yesterday he laughed, today he is buried.
Ashley and Doron may die also from their gunshots.
Sometimes I wonder what’s the point of all this, and I understand what Zeke means when he says the dark comes.
But then I hear Samuel laugh and play, and the sun comes out.
Some days, Samuel and K-Bar are all that keeps me from giving up.
58.
David walked away from the fire to check on Ashley and Doron. Doc had changed the thick dressings, and some kind of clear liquid dripped into their arms. Doc was explaining to Liu how to change the bandages.
Both Doron and Ashley were hard asleep, and you could hear them labor to breathe, wheezing. Both of them were lying on ponchos ready to move to the new campsite up the canyon.
Smith came up and said, “Time to bug out.”
Doc nodded for David to carry Doron. David was surprised how heavy he was as deadweight, his arms soon ached. Finally they reached the new campsite, where Sarge stood guard with his night vision on.
Sarge pointed to an indentation in the cliff with a rock overpass, and they laid Doron and Ashley on the ground. Doc handed a clear plastic bag filled with liquid to David, then silently hung up the bag above Doron using parachute cord.
“This is your camp area,” said Sarge. It was shielded by the cliff and huge boulders on two sides, with only one opening. “Be sure your people stay inside,” Sarge warned again.
“Once I had a soldier almost killed when he left to use the bathroom at night,” Sarge said.
David went back to the truck and got his backpack with the tent. He retrieved the portable five gallon plastic bucket toilet and set it up in the shower tent for privacy.
Sarge had built up the campfire at the old site. Samuel was asleep, and Karen carried him up the trail in her arms. Sarge had the soldiers roll rocks around the campfire for cover, like he would deploy if they spending the night there. David noticed how he set two soldiers with interlocking fields of fire covering the old site.
“Where are your weapons?” asked Sarge.
“Each one carries their own,” said David.
“Be sure they are ready tonight if we get attacked, stack them against the cliff with your clips within reach,” ordered Sarge.
“When did you clean your weapons?” asked Sarge, looking disgusted, and personally insulted, as he inspected David’s M16.
David shrugged his shoulders, “Probably a week ago.”
“Every night you check every weapon,” thundered Sarge. “Your life literally depends upon a clean, functioning weapon. You clean your weapon before you eat. Sarge checked the clips, and took two bullets out.
“You always take two rounds out so you do not over strain the clip spring,” Sarge said, handing David the extra rounds to put in an empty clip. “If we are attacked, what is your escape route?” Sarge asked.
David quickly looked around.
“You never, ever, set up camp without planning at least two evac routes, and be sure every member of your team knows them, and how you cover the evac with suppressing fire” Sarge explained.
“It’s the small, routine, precautions, done every time, that let you bring home empty body bags,” Sarge said.
David thought he had been doing great. He realized he had a lot to learn, and had been a lousy leader by military standards. They weren’t in High School anymore. Age was no excuse, most of Sarge’s men were only a year or two older than David.
And now the tuition was paid in blood.
_______
Jefferson and Smith checked their weapons before heading on night patrol. “Locked and loaded,” Smith said.
They walked quietly off the trail, past the civilian side of the camp. Jefferson saw Samuel and Karen’s silhouette kneeling and praying inside the tent. They could hear Samuel tell her he was ready to hear her read from the real Bible verses listed on the bottom of the pictures.
Jefferson knew his mission was protecting these kids. He felt proud, like he had won a medal. Being a soldier and protecting these kids was important. And he needed to know that what he did mattered. He needed a mission, more than anything else, after the nukes.
These kids would not be beheaded by the greens for reading the Bible while he was a soldier.
59.
“It’s David,” he said, outside of Samuel’s tent.
“Yes?” Karen whispered. Samuel was asleep. Zeke and Liu were down with Ashley and Doron. They were alone at this end of the camp.
“Karen, I would like to talk to you,” David said.
She sat up and looked at him in the moonlight through the mosquito net. He sounded very serious. “Let’s sit outside, so we don’t wake up Samuel,” she said. She opened the flap then closed the mosquito net and sat outside next to David.
“Karen, I love you. Will you marry me?” asked David, quickly.
Karen choked. So much for laying the groundwork, she thought. David the direct.
“Are you serious?” she recovered.
“Deadly serious,” David said. She looked in his eyes. He was serious.
“Sarge can marry us. He’s like the Captain of a ship, who is allowed to marry people, “David said.
“Are you eighteen?”
“Not yet, but I will be in five months.”
“I just turned seventeen,” she said.
“In the old world, we would be far too young,” Karen said.
“Exactly,” David said. “In the prewar.”
“Here, it’s like we have gone back in time. Like your wound, we used WWI technology, we use car technology fifty years old. People used to get married at seventeen or eighteen,” David said.
“How do you know I am the one you love?” Karen asked.
“ I have spent twenty four hours a day with you for over a month. We have been shot at, stayed up all night on guard duty, nursed you back from a wound, and lived in a sewer. If we don’t know each other by now we never will,” he said.
“You know David, my Mom left my Dad and me when I was four,” Karen said.
He didn’t say anything.
“I want to be sure I get married for keeps,” she said, then paused.
“I do love you, I lie awake at night in my tent, until you come back from patrol, and I hear you unzip your tent,” Karen continued.
“But I am not sure, we are only seventeen.”
“Seventeen, going on thirty, in war years,” David said, softly.
Karen grabbed his hand, “This is a lot. Let me pray about this overnight.”
“Sure. Remember though, Sarge will be gone tomorrow,” David said.
They stared into the valley for a few moments, holding hands, saying nothing. He caressed her hair, and went back to Doc, Ashley, and Doron.
_____________________________
David was excited, he had asked Karen to marry him! He had been nervous, but he thought he had sounded confident. But most importantly, he had actually done it! He felt a
tremendous relief.
The ball was now in her court.
60.
The sun had just cleared the eastern ridge of the valley, warming the camp. The dry wind picked up, gusting dirt in tight swirls around the boulders. Liu noticed the soldiers seemed incredibly busy. Everyone was packing and re-packing their backpacks, cleaning their guns, checking their feet and boots, washing and drying their socks, checking the ammo and grenades, and meals ready to eat or MREs. She was surprised there were only eleven soldiers, she had thought there were a lot more.
“Is that a shower?” Karen asked Liu, pointing to the tarp enclosure.
“Yes, just load three gallons in the bucket from the spring, its really nice. Go ahead, I will watch Samuel,” Liu said.
The water was ice cold, but Karen loved the shower. She was able to shampoo her hair.
“Do you know where I can get some detergent to wash my clothes?” Karen asked Liu.
“Yes, the soldiers have set up a wash tub near the Medic,” Liu said.
Karen thought the clothesline was very clever. It was two parachute cord lines twisted together, and you pried the strands apart to hang the clothes. The cords held in the strong wind.
She hung her clothes next to Liu’s, and sat down to brush her hair in the sun. Samuel sat next to them, playing with his plastic soldiers in the rocks.
“Liu, let me ask you for some advice,” said Karen.
“Sure,’ Liu said.
“David asked me to marry him last night,” Karen said.
Liu just nodded, trying, and failing, to hide her shock. Marriage!!
“Yes, he said he loves me, and wants to marry me,” Karen said.
“Do you love him?” asked Liu.
“Yes,” said Karen. “I didn’t realize how much. But whenever he leaves us on some mission, I can’t sleep. When we have guard duty together my heart races. I just love being with him. He wants Sarge to marry us right now,” Karen said.
“Right now?”
“Yes, today.”
“Can Sarge marry people?”
“Yes, just like the Captain of a ship can marry people. And after the nukes, things have changed anyway.”
“How long have you known David?”
“Just since detention, I met him on attack day. But he says we have lived in a sewer together, stayed up all night on guard duty together. If we don’t know each other after a month of this we will never know each other. He says I make him complete.”
“Marry him. Marry him now!” said Liu firmly. “David is a good man. He is mature, he is ready. Do you realize David is already providing for you and this entire Nuclear War Club?” Liu pressed.
Karen silently considered the truth of what Liu said.
“Do you realize that you are like a single Mom raising Samuel. And David is willing to marry, in effect, a single Mom and her son. That’s rare. I can’t see Doron or Zeke signing up for that,” Liu said.
“Ask yourself, why was David the leader and not Doron? Doron is smarter, yet David is the leader,” Liu probed.
“You know David is concerned about each member of the Nuclear War Club as the leader,” Karen answered. “Doron is concerned about Doron.”
“Exactly!” said Liu excitedly.“David has learned leadership from his Father. David puts his team, the Nuclear War Club first, before himself. That’s the best predictor of what he will do for his wife.”
“Have you even thought about the fact David has not used his leadership position to take advantage of this situation for his own personal pleasure?” Liu asked.
“Karen, Ashley had been certainly ready, willing, and eager for David, she pursued David constantly,” Liu said.
“Many men can’t decide if they ever want to get married. But David wants to marry you right here, right now. The first opportunity he had. David is offering you the best thing he has, himself,” Liu said.
“And you can’t figure out what to do?” Liu pressed.
“But we are both seventeen,” Karen said.
“David has provided for, and led, six people, the entire Nuclear War Club, and Samuel, and moved across the country,” Liu said.
“When you were shot at the overpass, and blacked out, David told me to leave. He said I could escape, he would provide cover as he stayed with you. The point is David realized we could be wiped out, but he never even considered leaving you. That’s a man. That’s someone ready to get married. That’s a husband,” Liu said, staring directly into Karen’s eyes.
“I am just not sure,” said Karen.
Liu thought, I would be sure. If David asked me right now, this minute, the answer would be yes, yes, yes.
“Are you stuck on stupid?” Liu asked.
“Marry him already.”
Karen reached the clothes line. The wind gusted, tugging at the clothes. The sun beat down, unobstructed by any clouds. Her clothes would soon be dry. A shower and clean clothes were a rare luxury. She looked into the valley, and felt the warmth of the sun drying her hair.
Karen was now certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, she was ready to marry David.
“Yes,” Karen nodded.
61.
“Liu has been helping me, she learns quickly and can already change the bandages. No infection, they should both recover. They will need about three or four days bed rest if possible,” Doc told Zeke.
“ We will make them as comfortable as possible in the truck bed. We should find a hole up site soon,” Zeke said.
“Karen went bad with infection. Her leg rotted like road kill. Will that happen to Doron or Ashley?” Zeke asked.
“Don’t know,” said Doc. “But so far, it looks good.”
“Doc, you will be gone tomorrow. What do you use for gunshot soldier first aid?” Zeke asked.
Doc handed him a book, Battlefield First Aid for Soldiers.
“Read this ahead of time. If I get hit, this is what the soldiers will use for me,” Doc said.
The book was thick and heavy. It took Zeke a long time, but he read the first six chapters. He hoped Doron would live, then he could just tell Zeke about it.
62.
Sarge walked up briskly, talking with Ramirez. He paused as he saw Karen and David together waiting for him. Ramirez walked away, and Sarge motioned them over.
“Yes?” said Sarge.
“We want you to marry us,” said David.
“I am not a Minister or a Judge who can marry people. I am not even an officer,” explained Sarge. “We had an officer, a Lieutenant. But he was killed, so I am just temporarily in command until we get a new officer.”
“Exactly, you are the best we have, the Commander in the Field,” said David.
“It’s like you are the Captain of a ship, who has always been allowed to marry passengers,” explained David.
“I am certainly not a member of the clergy. I have done a lot I am not proud of in my life. Surely you can do better than me,” Sarge explained.
“Okay, so you are no Dr. James Dobson from Focus on the Family to wisely counsel us on marriage,” Karen said, holding her hands out.
“God’s presence makes the marriage, you are just the instrument of authority used,” Karen explained.
Sarge paused.
“My Dad always said, “You salute the rank, not the man,” David pressed.
That made sense, Sarge thought. He obeyed orders from some officers because of their rank and authority, not their ability. He could marry these kids not because he was an example of marital bliss, but because he had the rank, and they needed the authority.
“Why are you in a hurry? Why not wait until you find civilization somewhere?” asked Sarge.
“We love each other, and who knows when or if we will find any government?” David replied. Sarge had to admit 236 they had a point. But they seemed so young. Sarge paused for a few moments, then turned to Karen.
“Are you pregnant?” Sarge asked Karen.
Karen blushed and said, “No. And realize some people still
get married before they get pregnant,” Karen counter attacked.
“And I wouldn’t marry someone I did not love, even if I was pregnant,” Karen finished.
She’s a feisty one, Sarge thought. David found a good one here. He was amazed, it seemed like no one got married these days. He had been constantly having to process child support paperwork for his men before the war.
“Are you over eighteen?” asked Sarge.
“We are both seventeen,” David answered. Sarge tried to suppress a smile, the kid made seventeen sound old, wise, mature.
“What would your parents do to me if I married two minors?” Sarge pressed Karen.
“They are all dead,” Karen said.
“I will go over this with my Corporals for advice. Come back in ten minutes,” Sarge stood up, dismissing them.
Sarge waved to Jefferson and Ramirez, who came over.
“Need some counsel. Those two kids want to get married. She is seventeen, parents are dead. She is not pregnant. They say I can marry them, like the Captain of a ship can marry people,” Sarge summarized.
“They seem like fine kids. They love each other. I guess they are right after all, I am in command since the Lieutenant is dead,” Sarge said.
“Two questions: First, Do I have authority to marry them? Second, should I marry them if I do have the authority?” Sarge asked.
“Jefferson?” asked Sarge.
“You have the authority. With America under attack, and the civil government dead, you can certainly marry them. Your rank is really irrelevant, you are the combat Commander of an Airborne unit in the field. You are it,” Jefferson said.
“A Sergeant commanding a unit of the Airborne is as least as qualified to marry two civilians as a Captain of a ship,” Ramirez agreed.
Jefferson nodded, then added, “They are old enough. It speaks well of them they want to get married. She is a good Mother, takes care of that kid they found, Samuel. David seems to have his head on straight”.
‘Sarge, they could all be dead tomorrow, like the two wounded. Marry the kids. Let them enjoy what time they do have,” Ramirez said.
Nuclear War Club: Seven high school students are in detention when Nuclear War explodes.Game on, they are on their own. Page 20
