All of us stared at the general in shock. A Captain at the table found his voice first. “You mean, it’s over?”
Mac nodded, and everyone began cheering. The general let us all cheer for a few minutes, but then reined everyone in. “There will still be a lot of clean-up to do, but I think all of the major fighting is over. We were told to interview the American troops we are holding. If they seem to still believe in Homeland’s message, we are to send them on to Leavenworth. If they are able to convince us they are done with the fighting, we can let them go. I did tell the Joint Chiefs that if we let them go, we will ferry them to a point very distant from here so they don’t have much desire or ability to come back.
“California will be the next area to tackle, but it probably won’t be as easy to wrap up. The Chinese are heavily embedded in California right now. The President is sending the Fourth Infantry Division our of Fort Carson, Colorado and the 101st Infantry Division out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky for a joint operation to rid California of the Chinese troops. Between the Iron Horse and the Screaming Eagles, I suspect they will make quick work of the problem. At least our troops from here should not be involved with that. We’ll have enough to do to make this area safe from people who want to take advantage of the situation.
“There will be a lot of work to do to restore this nation to what the founders intended it to be. Government will need to be rebuilt and infrastructure will need to be repaired. The EMP caused far too many deaths across the country. Citizens will need help rebuilding homes and lives. Above all, there are also a lot of divisions to be healed. The President says that has to be one of the biggest priorities.” People were nodding agreement with all the general was saying.
“Meanwhile, America is declaring its Second Independence Day! I will address the troops this afternoon. Mark, please go announce this in your community. Denise and Tom, let your folks know, too. The President plans to address the country by radio in the next few days, as soon as someone can get the radio station broadcasting again.”
Sammy raised his hand to ask a question. “General, you never did tell us why General Bates hated you so much!” The general began laughing.
“It started out when I married his girlfriend – well, his ex-girlfriend, I should say.” Everyone laughed, and the general added, “After that, he competed with everything I did, and got angry if things went my way. He never did get over Sheila choosing to marry me, and even blamed me when she died a couple of years ago from cancer. Yes, he was a real fruitcake, and the world is way better off now that he is dead.”
When we arrived back at the farm, Tom and I called everyone together. We even called in the troops manning the berm. Once everyone was assembled on the front lawn, Tom and I stood on the porch to share the news. There was a lot of cheering and more than a few of us burst into tears of happiness that the war was over, at least for us. Finally, people settled down and we could continue. We explained that there would be a lot of work to be done and things wouldn’t change all that much for a while from what we had all been experiencing. Finally, amidst all of the happy chatter, Tom let out a really loud whistle to get everyone’s attention.
“There is still one matter that needs to be addressed.” He turned to me and said, “We’ve all lived through the end of the world as we know it, right?” Everyone nodded and a few people called out their agreement.
“We lived through an almost civil war, right?” Again, there were nods and yells.
“We lived through the collapse of the economy, right?” Suddenly Tom looked at me very intensely.
“I know that we all lived through some horrible things together, and we don’t know what the future might bring us. I do know one thing, though. Denise, I don’t want to go through the future without you by my side.” The crowd got very quiet as he got down on one knee and took my hand. “Denise, will you please marry me – soon before anything else happens?”
The crowd erupted into cheers and catcalls, but I didn’t notice. I could only see the love in Tom’s eyes as I answered firmly, “Yes.”
epilog
It has been five years now since the economy collapsed. Life on the farm is not much different now than it was then. Tom and I were married by Father Dan in our little church. It was a beautiful ceremony and I could not believe how many people came to celebrate with us. General McPherson played the role of Father of the Bride and walked me down the aisle. My sons were in the front row, and both were beaming with happiness. It was a wonderful day that I will never forget.
The population of the farm has changed a little over the last five years. Chris and Stacy had three more children, a little girl and twin boys. Jose and Maria also had another baby. Jeff and Sue decided two years ago to get married, and now they are the parents of a sweet little boy. The Culler family, our neighbors that came to stay with us, moved back to their home when the war was over. It took a lot of work, but with help from the guys on the farm, they were able to restore their home and make it livable again. Kiara recovered from her injury, and she and Lionel were married shortly after Tom and me. In addition to their adopted kids, Amaya and Freddy, they now have two more kids. Anaya and Freddy love their new brother and sister and spoil them rotten.
We’ve also had a couple of losses in our farm family. Simon McIntyre passed away in his sleep a few months ago. Sarah took his death rather hard, but the children gave her a reason to keep living. He is buried up on the hill next to Red and my grandparents. We also lost Tory Chen a couple of years ago when a flu swept through the farm. Thankfully, all of the others who were sick recovered, but the loss of a sweet little girl was devastating.
The war in California dragged on for months after we declared victory on the East Coast. Eventually, though, our military prevailed and the last of the Chinese troops were removed. California was devastated by the economic collapse and the occupation. Hollywood was just another neighborhood and all of the California millionaires became ordinary people, just like the rest of us. There was a short attempt for the southern part of California to secede, but that effort died quickly when they realized there would be no economic support for them as either a new state or as an independent country.
The President pared down the government significantly. Layers and layers of bureaucracy were peeled back, and only the bare minimum government remained. The governor of North Carolina survived and did the same thing in the state. Two years ago, we finally held elections, and the President was re-elected by a huge margin. There is no longer a democrat or republican party. Both had gotten derailed a long time ago and neither accurately represented the desires of the people. For now, people all run for office as independents, standing not on party lines, but on their own beliefs and philosophies. I am sure that down the road new parties will emerge, but for now, this seems to be working. Our nation is again a Constitutional Republic.
The community of Whispering Willows has grown and is thriving. There are now several hundred families living there. The school is again full of happy children, the strip mall is reopened for small businesses, and Top, who retired from the military, was elected as the community’s first mayor. All of the Ranger instructors still live in the community, and they now run a new Ranger training area several miles north of the community in the forest.
The base at Riverdale continued to grow as well. In addition to the airport and the college, the base is also now using some of the space from the destroyed downtown area. A new community has sprung up just outside the base and has become the new Riverdale. General McPherson is still the commander of the base, but he is talking of retiring soon.
Infrastructure across the country is growing slowly. Many areas still do not have power, but more and more power plants are slowly getting back on line. With our solar, we never really were troubled by the loss of the grid, and neither was Whispering Willows. The big wells that were dug when we first started working in Whispering Willows are still working, and almost all of the homes there now have running water. The bas
e built a hydroelectric plant on the river, and that is powering the base and also the small Riverdale community.
It has been a crazy few years, but we survived. I believe our survival was due to several things. First, being prepared helped us initially to make it through that first difficult winter. The second thing that helped us was the genuine love and affection we all had for each other. People question how so many people can all live together through difficult times without fighting with each other. I believe it is because we all had so much respect for each other that disagreements were handled quickly and amicably. The third thing that helped us was our faith. It did not matter what religion each person was; what mattered was that we all shared a common set of beliefs and values, and we tried to live by them. I think the last thing was our belief that we lived in the greatest country on the face of the planet. We wanted our nation to survive, and in order for that to happen, we had to do whatever we could to help our fellow citizens. Our military played a huge role in our success as a community, and we are so happy that the base with so many of our friends has remained in Riverdale.
Life is good now. It is a lot simpler than it was six years ago before all of this mess happened. In some ways, it is much better. We still do not have a national currency, so all of our “shopping” is done through bartering. That works. We no longer have welfare or other “entitlement” programs. Instead, we help each other. There are no more nursing homes; our elderly are cared for at home. We don’t have a hospital yet, but Lionel and James are working with Top to build one between Whispering Willows and the farm. Reflecting back on all that has happened, it is amazing what good people can do when they try to do the right things. We tried, and we succeeded.
Yes, life is good now.
APPENDIX
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Cast of Characters
People living at Langston Farms
Denise Langston Armstrong: 52, RN educator, owner of Langston Farm, widow
Christopher Robert Armstrong, (“Chris”), 26, Denise’s son, older twin
Stacy Mabry Armstrong, 24, Chris’ wife
John Henry Armstrong, newborn son of Stacy and Chris
Jonathan Michael Armstrong, (“Jon”), 26, Denise’s son, younger twin
Gabriella DeVeaux Armstrong, (“Gabby”), 25, Jon’s wife
Amelia Danielle Armstrong, Jon and Gabby’s newborn daughter
Tom VanZant, Denise’s contractor and friend, 54
Marcie Evans, 49, RN, worked on Medical Surgical Unit
Frank Evans, 51, deputy sheriff, former Marine, Marcie’s husband
Grace Evans, 22, Marcie and Frank’s daughter, student
Mandy Evans, 4, Grace’s daughter
Lisa Manzini, 34, RN, worked in operating room
Charles (Chuck) Manzini, 41, worked in gun store, now responsible for the farm’s armory
Jeremiah (“Jer”) Manzini, 16, Lisa and Chuck’s son
Nathaniel (Nate) Manzini, 14, Lisa and Chuck’s younger son
Maureen Flinn, 50, RN, worked on labor and delivery unit
Clark Flinn, 50, veterinarian, Maureen’s husband
Sarah Flinn, 15, youngest daughter of Maureen and Clark,
Phoebe Flinn, 16, Maureen and Clark’s middle daughter
Zoe Flinn, 18, Maureen and Clark’s oldest daughter
Samantha Rivers Werther, 42, RN, worked on Medical Surgical unit
James Werther, MD, 44, surgeon, Samantha’s husband
Janet Livingstone, 42, worked on Medical Surgical unit, in charge of food preparation
Martin Livingstone, (“Marty”), 43, carpenter, Janet’s husband
Samuel Livingstone, 14, Janet and Marty’s oldest son
Michael Livingstone, 12, Janet and Marty’s youngest son
Patricia Schmidt, (“Patty”), 51, RN, worked on Medical Surgical unit
William Schmidt, (“Bill”), 53, police officer, ex-Army, Patricia’s husband
Daniel Ellington, (“Father Dan”), 58, Catholic priest, expert at all things radio.
Judy McCleary, 52, Tom’s sister, married to Timothy McCleary
Timothy McCleary, 58, carpenter/electrician/mechanic
Jose Contreras, 38, carpenter
Maria Contreras, 32, Jose’s wife
Savannah Alvessa Contreras, (“Chica”), newborn daughter of Maria and Jose
Lionel Wilkes, 43, physician and best friend of James Werther, significant other to Kiara
Amy Chen, 28, RN, worked for Lionel, significant other to Jimbo
Tonya Chen, 6, Amy’s daughter
Tory Chen, 4, Amy’s daughter
Tyler Chen, 2, Amy’s son
Lynn Jessup, 37, Dr. Wilke’s office manager, significant other to Top
Marvin Reddick, (“Red”), 23, Lynn’s brother, carpenter
Jeffrey Solomon, 17
Susan Lewis, 16
Elaina Lewis, 13
Mariah Peters, 13
Thomas Peters, 11
Billy Peters, 7
Drake Goins, 12
Anaya Goins, 6
Freddy Goins, 4
Simon and Sarah McIntyre
Military
CPT Mark Schmidt, 31, Patty and Bill’s son
1LT William Roland, (“Billy”), 29
2LT Alicia Roland, (“Allie”), 27, Billy’s wife
1SGT Marcus Harper, (“Top”), 46, significant other to Lynn
SGT James (“Jimbo”) Wyatt, 29, significant other to Amy
CPL Paul Wilson, (“Scooter”), 26, significant other to Grace
1LT Kiara Diamond, 34 significant other to Lionel
COL Carter Murphy, 50, commander of local military troops
General Wayne (“Mac”) McPherson, 58
COL Samuel (“Sammy”) Iverson, 56
COL Kevin Halvorson, 52
2LT Peter Braxton, 24
Anita Braxton, 23, Peter’s wife
Private Nicky Cooper, 21
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diana E. Anderson
Diana was born and raised in New York. She majored in foreign languages in college and after graduation, joined the army as an interrogator/ translator with language specialties of Chinese Mandarin and German. After completing military service, she went back to college and obtained her degree as a Registered Nurse. Almost four decades later, Diana has held a number of staff and leadership positions in nursing and is currently an Infection Preventionist for a rural health care system. She also served as a nurse in both the North Carolina and Texas State Guard. She went back to college several times throughout the course of her nursing career, eventually earning a doctorate degree in health administration. She lives with her husband and two very spoiled cats names Boris and Natasha. In addition to writing, Diana enjoys reading, genealogy, and shooting.
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