Arks of America

by D A Carey

  “You have my curiosity up! So, after you drop me, do you head back to Colorado?”

  “My instructions are to fuel up if it tests out clean, then I have some things to take to the Texas charter town location.”

  “Texas, huh?” Levi said, now very curious.

  “It’s mostly coins to pay workers with and a couple of other cases that could be guns or whatever. They told me the Texas site is well behind the Kentucky one in progress and supplies. I heard that both the workers and some local people who have supplies are responding much better to precious metal-type currency.”

  ***

  When they landed, the buildings and runway of the small country airport gave the impression of stepping back in time. The runway was a long double strip of pavement. The building and tower could have been something out of the seventies. When Levi stepped off the plane, there was indeed a man dressed like a Midwestern farmer waiting for him. Based on what Vince had told him and the description passed through the pilot, this must be Greg. He was still in good shape despite being in his early sixties and graying a bit on top.

  Greg approached Levi with a big smile on his face and stuck out his hand. “You’re not from around here, are you?” he asked and chuckled at his own joke.

  Levi grinned and shook Greg’s hand. “I’m Levi. Vince told me about you. It’s good to meet you.”

  “I’m sure none of what Vince said was good. Still, any friend of Vince’s is a friend of mine. They said you needed a ride or guide, and here I am,” Greg responded with enthusiasm to match Levi’s.

  “I’m trying to get to the Carrollton charter town location. I’m sure I could get there on my own, although it will be so much easier with a guide. With most of the country fighting and stealing from each other right now, I appreciate your help.”

  “Naw, it ain’t that bad here,” Greg said. “I’m happy to take you there, though. The missus is with me and her little dog too, if that’s okay with you?”

  “It’s your truck,” Levi responded. “If you’re sure it’s fine and we have room, I have a few other cases to load.”

  “Sure we do. We can put your stuff in the back. Besides, I wanted to take the missus to see that charter town anyways. I didn’t want to leave her home alone while I came here.”

  “What about your farm? Won’t people steal from you while you’re gone?”

  “I doubt it,” Greg said. “I have some friends from my church group staying at the place. Plus, it’s not the country folk we worry about. It’s the city people. By the time they get out to my place, they’re more tired, cold, and hungry than dangerous.”

  “Don’t they try to steal your cattle?” Levi pressed.

  Greg hooted. “Well, heck no,” he said, drawing out his words as if Levi just asked the dumbest question. “They’re all on foot by the time they get to the country. None of them know how to pull a trailer or herd cattle into it. They mostly walk right up to my cows with a gun or knife. I could stop ’em, but I figure it’s more fun to watch and better they learn a lesson the hard way.”

  “What’s the hard way?”

  “My cattle are all crossed with Texas longhorns. Not only can they protect themselves, they’re aggressive about it. I’ve seen ’em run off a person or two. It won’t surprise me if they kill a few before this is all over,” Greg said with amusement dancing in his eyes.

  Levi couldn’t do much more than nod and smile.

  “I heard the restaurant over to the Carrollton site was still open,” said Greg. “I figured I’d take the missus out to dinner while we’re out and about. We might stay a day or two if you have room for us and then head home.”

  Levi smiled at Greg’s infectious good humor. “Of course there’s room for you. But the whole country is tearing itself apart and you’re worried about taking your wife out to dinner?”

  “Well, you can’t let things get you down. I’m a believer in God. He will take me when He’s ready. There’s no reason to be foolhardy, but you can’t live in fear, either.”

  “We can get going then as soon I load these cases. Do you know a good route?” Levi asked.

  “It’s all pretty safe along the route we’ll take. I’ll avoid most of the bigger towns to be on the safe side, though. It should only take us a few hours.”

  “Sounds good. Are you armed?”

  “I carry an old double-barreled coach gun I’ve owned for years. I’m sure that will be plenty.”

  Gauntlet

  “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

  - Winston Churchill

  << Ellie >>

  Malcolm drove the red minivan away from home on Kilpatrick Avenue, heading south on Cicero Avenue. He followed the black vehicle ahead of him, a four-door sport truck. Malcolm made sure to stay a couple of car lengths behind as he’d been instructed. He and Ellie were aghast at the damage, burned-out buildings, and general eerie feel of the city.

  “I’ve never seen Chicago this quiet,” Ellie said in a hushed voice. “I would never have imagined it could be like this.”

  “It’s not right,” Malcolm said. “This town has always been bustling with activity for well over a hundred and fifty years.” The area was so different with all the burned-out cars and broken windows.

  Ellie shuddered. “I keep watching the buildings and homes and wondering which ones have good people who are hiding and which ones have bad people who are watching at us like prey.”

  Malcolm kept his eyes moving from side to side to make sure no one was approaching the vehicle. His mind was working overtime, thinking about the fate of their city while keeping his head on a swivel and watching for threats as they fled it. “The good and bad of it isn’t as simple as it was a few weeks ago. There are good people doing bad things because they were unprepared, out of ideas, hungry, and scared. We’re darn lucky we aren’t in that situation. We weren’t prepared, either. We barely had enough to get by. It’s lucky for us you had your ex-husband and his uncle.”

  “You’ve been incredible, Malcolm. No man could have done more. You held the block together and defended us when no one else could have,” Ellie said vehemently.

  “Don’t worry, baby. I’m not beating myself up. I know Vince is good at this stuff. I’m okay with that. I still win, because I have you.” He smiled and squeezed her leg. “All I’m saying is that it cost so little in terms of money and time to be prepared, and so few did it. It’s like an insurance policy I wish I’d bought. Think about it: if there was no Vince or Dave Cavanaugh, how much longer would it have been before I would have done bad things to keep you and Kate safe and fed?”

  “You wouldn’t—” Ellie began before Malcolm cut her off.

  “I would. I’ve already thought about it a lot. I would, and I don’t regret it. I think I’m still a good man because I would do bad things to keep you two safe. I think a lot of Vince because he came for you two, but also because he saved me from me.”

  While Ellie and Malcolm knew the area well, now it was as if they didn’t know it at all. They looked at each building differently, scanning for threats. They worried about who might be waiting to hurt them and what building could provide shelter if they needed to take cover in a hurry. It was a whole new world. At least they were making good time.

  “I wasn’t sure leaving Chicago was necessary,” Ellie said, gazing out the window. “I went along because I trusted people. Deep down, I thought everyone might be overreacting. I thought things would settle down soon and that I just wasn’t used to life in the big city.”

  “This isn’t normal for Chicago, baby.” He reached over to wipe a tear from her cheek.

  “I know. It’s just so much more overwhelming than I expected. You were right. We do need to leave here.”

  Ellie turned back to smile reassuringly at Kate, who was listening and taking it all in. It was a lot to process.

  << Vince >>

  While Junior drove, Vince was searching for a certain kind of s
pot. Not far from Ellie’s house, he located a tight alley strewn with weeds and garbage. The view back down to Ellie’s block, as well as to the route that the others had taken down Cicero Avenue, was exactly what he was looking for.

  “Junior, back into that alley. We want to be back far enough not to be noticed, just not so far back that it obstructs our vision. We need to see as far down to Ellie’s house as possible while still having a good field of vision toward Cicero where the others went. The shadow of the alley should cover most of the truck if we’re careful.”

  “Okay, it feels like we’re setting up the truck like a sniper’s nest.”

  “That’s right,” Vince said. “It’s only in the movies that the sniper hangs his rifle out a window or over a ledge. Anyway, nudge me when you see something.” Vince reclined his seat and tipped his hat forward to shade his eyes.

  Junior’s jaw dropped in amazement. “How can you sleep right now?”

  Vince smiled. “You were a soldier. Liz said you’re a Marine. Is that right?”

  “Yeah. At least you called me a Marine. Civilians keep saying ‘former’ Marine.”

  “Don’t get too full of yourself, jarhead,” Vince teased. “Anyway, didn’t you ever learn to sleep whenever you could get it? That’s a universal thing all soldiers in all armies learn fast.”

  “Yeah, but we were just in a firefight. Now here we are setting up as bait for another.”

  “That’s all true. We have a few minutes before they come out, if they do,” Vince said calmly. “It could be a while before they show.”

  “Okay,” Junior said, shaking his head at Vince.

  “Besides, I need the rest. Resting my eyes before a fight is my own Zen breathing exercise. If I can relax my mind and breathing, then I can be rested and calmer than my opponent when the fight comes. Hopefully, that calm and focus will help me make better decisions and more deliberate shots.” Junior wasn’t sure if he should be impressed or if Vince was poking fun at him. He just smiled and said, “Okay, man, I’ll wake you.”

  << Liz >>

  Liz opted to ride with Andy and Dwight. She wanted to get to know these men. Besides, the other two vehicles were crowded with people and supplies. Andy smiled and was friendly when he spoke. Dwight was more withdrawn. Neither man encouraged the small talk; they kept scanning all around the vehicle. Liz contented herself to sit back and try to help keep an eye out as well. She still carried the pistol that she hadn’t fired. With these two men, she doubted she would need to.

  She tried listening to the radio communications. Both Andy and Dwight took turns using the push-to-talk button in random patterns. Those moments of pushing the button interspaced by long moments of silence finally got on her nerves.

  “What is all that about?” she asked. “Why do you keep pushing the button and saying nothing? Are you two as nervous as I am?”

  Surprisingly, it was Dwight who responded. “We are nervous, ma’am. Maybe not like you, though. This is our business, so it’s like you being live on stage in front of a lot of people. I’m sure you feel a rush of nervous energy or butterflies, but it’s not debilitating. You know what you need to do. It’s the same for us on a mission.”

  “I guess I understand that. It’s just hard to comprehend it all right now.” Liz sighed. “Why all the button pushing and not saying anything? It’s driving me crazy. I don’t know what’s going on.”

  “That’s exactly it, ma’am,” said Andy. “If anyone else is listening, they don’t know, either. For anyone listening to this frequency on the walkie talkie, all they can hear is a slight difference or interruption in the static for a moment. Those changes are like Morse code to one of us on the other end. We have a short set of pre-arranged signals that we all know what it means. That way we know what’s going on and any bad guys won’t.”

  “So what is going on?!”

  “Nothing,” Dwight answered, deadpan.

  “Nothing? All that clicking for nothing?” Liz said in exasperation.

  “Welcome to the way of war, ma’am.” Andy grinned. “It’s a few moments of stark terror interspaced with a whole lot of nothing.”

  “Uggh,” Liz said. She leaned back in her seat, looking more like a teenage girl than a world-renowned star.

  “If you’re not very careful during these periods of nothing,” Dwight cautioned, “then the next moment of stark terror could be the death of you or someone you care about.”

  “That’s pretty depressing, don’t you think?” Liz said. “I don’t want to be on either end.”

  “Like we said, that’s the way of war and the world, ma’am.” Dwight spoke with a soldier’s philosophy. “That’s why most people try to avoid war. Most people should never be exposed to it. It’s scary to think that people will kill each other and try to exterminate whole nations for something that most participants don’t even understand.”

  “Why do it then?” Liz asked, recalling some of the anti-war and anti-violence demonstrations she’d seen in Los Angeles.

  “If you’re truly asking me why as a quest for knowledge,” Dwight said, “and not a rhetorical why that comes from the left, I’ll tell you.”

  “I want to know what you think,” Liz said, avoiding the sarcasm.

  “Well, some wars are stupid and shouldn’t be fought. Some have to be fought because it’s the price of freedom and a way of life. Too many people trade peace for a little oppression or a few freedoms lost. The problem is that oppressors and tyrants can never be fulfilled. They always want more. Sometimes, by the time you fight back, it’s too late and the cost in lives is too high. Had the problem been dealt with early on, it could have been done cheaper and with less loss of life.”

  “So what about all this?” Liz asked. “Who is the tyrant here?”

  “We are,” Dwight replied. “All tyrants are not a single person. Real life doesn’t always have a terrible villain that wears a black hat. We’ve created a massive and hungry central government that needs to be fed. It’s like a drug abuser; it’s so addicted to money and power, it’s reached a level where it must lie, cheat, and steal to feed its habit. It has a whole subculture of people tricked into serving its habit like a codependent who needs Al-Anon. The people who expect the government to be their big brother, mentor, and provider do so because it’s so ingrained in their ideology. They feed it and grow it so that in turn it will think for them and feed and provide for them. It reminds me of some of those people that raise a tiger cub in suburbia. It’s cute when it’s small.”

  “A smart man told me that the founding fathers once warned that our form of government could only work as long as the majority of the people were moral and lived an ethical Christian-based life in service to country and not the other way around. Is that close to what you’re saying?” Liz asked.

  “That’s the root of it,” Dwight answered. “People have changed and created this huge, unethical, hungry being in the central government that’s crying to be fed. It in turn feeds its tenders. It’s now too big to be fed. There are too many tenders and not enough providers. The bastions of morality that it takes to make this type of government work have eroded beyond a critical mass. The system is tearing itself apart. Those tenders who make excuses and feed this huge system don’t know how to feed themselves, so they riot when things don’t work the way they expect or someone isn’t there to hand them food, checks, and promises. That’s why we have this chaos going on.”

  Liz merely nodded. This was an overwhelming change to the life she was living only a few weeks ago. What was scary was that it had a ring of truth. “So what about people like me who don’t want to be a victim and don’t want to kill? I understand what you’re saying about the takers. I don’t want to be that, either. What do people like me do?”

  “You do what you’ve always done. You find a wall manned by good people to hide behind,” Dwight said.

  “What do you mean hide behind a wall?” Liz said indignantly. “I’ve been out there among the people my whole life.”


  Dwight glanced back at Liz before responding, wanting to gauge her reaction. “The wall isn’t always a physical wall. Sometimes it’s another type of protection. Make no mistake, though. People in America, and especially the wealthy and pretty ones, can’t live the way they do without protection. The wall is at the edge of our country and the extent of our power as a people and the limit of our faith and power as a country. People don’t understand or appreciate that people like me, Andy, and Vince were manning that wall many miles away. Sometimes it’s the police in your city or the powers of our laws that provide protection; nevertheless, it’s there in some form. It’s all of that that allows people to go to work or the store and have their social media and make their movies and a million other things they value.”

  “Okay, but what’s changed? Why is it ending now?” Liz countered.

  Dwight took a breath, trying to decide how to best describe what he wanted to say. “Because that wall around the country or at the extent of our power as a nation is a very long and expensive wall in practical terms. What is more is that it’s a moral wall that wraps us in the cocoon of our belief system. Both of those need support from home. When finances are strained and morals weaken, the people manning the wall weaken as well. There are fewer people protecting us and fewer pastors keeping the country proud and morally upstanding so that we value virtue. Without strength and virtue, this country cannot stand.”

  “Is it all just chaos now? Do we live like Mad Max?” Liz asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

  “That’s possible, although I doubt we’re quite there yet,” Dwight countered with a hint of gallows humor in his voice. “There is still meat on this carcass to be picked at, and we are too huge to go down with the first punch. We are running out of gas, though. The virtuous people and the ones willing to man both that spiritual and physical wall when they are being attacked from behind as well as in front are growing fewer and fewer.”