by DJ Cooper
Rita said, “Won’t we be safer in the camps?”
John looked at her and as gently as he could and explained, “It is not a camp that wants to help you. They say they do, but what they really want is to control you. In all likelihood they would put Matty in a kid’s tent and make you work all day for the camp.
I have some friends who were able to get some of the information about what was planned for these years ago. The plans they have for the majority of the people are not good Rita. Please for Matty’s sake take my word for it. I promise you it will be better and safer with us.”
While Rita had a look of doubt, she knew that John would protect Matty with his life.
After dinner a text came through from Matt saying that he would have additions to the group and they would use the code words. He acknowledged the text and organized a watch for the evening, either for them or any threats. Mark would take the first watch and everyone went to bed.
Mark was tired; it was almost midnight when he thought he saw movement in the tree line. Not sure if he was seeing things because of fatigue or if there was something out there, he strained to see the area where the movement had been. There it was! He had seen something! Creeping into the bedroom, he quietly woke John explaining there was movement in the tree line. John quickly got up and fished his night vision scope from under the bed. They quietly made their way over to the window where Mark pointed in the direction where he had seen movement.
John trained the scope in the area and could see two people crouched beside the rock wall. John watched silently as they made their way up the drive, scanning the area looking for the rest of them. He assumed it was the group Matt had texted about, but didn’t want to take any chances.
Mark took over watching them while John slipped out the back door. He crept over to a position across the driveway from them and crouched behind a large pine tree. Once in position he called out,
“Stop right there.”
A female voice called back, “John, is that you?”
John replied, “What do you want here?”
The female responded, “John, its Morgan and Kevin.”
John stepped slightly from behind the tree saying, “Move into the light so I can see you.”
The two figures moved up to where the bright outdoor light was shining, and waited for John to approach. As he approached, he recognized them. A little perplexed at why they were there he asked,
“Morgan, why have you come here?” Morgan replied, “The city is bad John, I didn’t know where else to go.”
John was not exactly comfortable with them just showing up. He knew Morgan but only because she had accompanied Matt over to visit on a few of his trips up to see Matty. He felt it was strange that they had come to his place.
He asked, “Have you heard from Matt?”
She said, “Yes, two days ago.”
The guy with her got a strange look on his face that John could not interpret and asked him,
“Is there something wrong?”
He replied, “No, I just didn’t know she had spoken to Matt.”
John asked, “How do you know Matt?”
Kevin replied, “We’ve been friends for years, this is my wife, Morgan.”
John asked him, “Why did you come here?”
He said, “Morgan told me we had to come here.”
John didn’t like the way this all felt and had a sinking feeling that something was not as it seemed. He told them to come inside and they would talk about it. When they went inside Mark immediately recognized Kevin and hugged him. John felt a little more at ease, but did not know how it could be that he had never met Kevin, yet Morgan had come with Matt on a number of occasions. Something still felt off to him, but he trusted Mark.
They got Kevin and Morgan a bedroll on the floor and promised to figure out something better in the morning. John sent Mark to bed and opted to take the next watch. The rest of the night was quiet, but John was bothered by the appearance of their new guests.
“Ok, I will try and let you know when we are on our way, here’s your dad.”
John handed the phone to Mark, who said, “Matt, are you ok? How’s Dez?”
There was a pause while Matt spoke and Mark replied, “Yes, I understand, we will make it son don’t worry. We are all in good hands with John; he seems to have things pretty well together.” He stood nodding while Matt spoke, “I will, we love you too.”
Mark ended the call and handed the phone to John.
John asked him, “Did Matt tell you what he wants us to do?’
Mark said, “Yes, and I agree with him. The girls will likely give us a hard time, but I know Matty will be thrilled.”
John told Mark, “I think we should try and leave as soon as possible. I don’t know what we are going to run into out there.”
Mark agreed, saying, “I also think we should get out some maps and check on some possible routes around the cities.
Chapter 7
“The Others “
“How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don’t think.”
-Adolph Hitler
Danny said, “Jeremy, I’m so glad we got a hold of you?”
Jeremy could be heard over the speaker phone and almost shouting said, “Danny? Danny is that you?”
Danny replied, “Yeah man, I’m sure glad to hear your voice.”
Jeremy with relief said, “Same here guy, how’s it been going for you?”
Danny replied “Not good, not good at all. A few days ago after the banks did not reopen riots began almost immediately. The National Guard came in and shot a lot of people and started putting people in a camp at the old Fort Devons. Remember, we had talked about that?”
Jeremy said, “Yea, I knew Devon's would end up a FEMA camp or something.”
Danny continued, “Well, we got out of the house, I took Mom, Melinda, Dickie, Jules, Georgia and Nancy up to the old cabin. The one at that pond we used to go fishing at.”
Jeremy was just saying, “uh huh.”
Danny continued, “I went back to the house to get some clothes and stuff, but the FEMA people had mostly cleaned it out. Man, I gotta tell ya we left just in time. I saw them dragging the neighbors out of their house in cuffs, it is bad here!”
Danny paused a minute taking a deep breath, “We have had lots of fish to eat but not much else. Nancy left last night to go to the camp; she insisted they just wanted to help us. I followed her and watched the camp a while. I gotta say guy, no one wants to end up there! They had the people working like slaves and they were under armed guard. Why would a relief camp have guards watching the people? They looked like prisoners not refugees.”
Jeremy said, “Ok Danny this is what I need you to do. Matt’s friend John is coming down with some of Matt’s family. I need you to get to John’s place. He lives out in Auburn; his place is on Sandy Lane.”
Danny could hear Matt in the background say, “He needs the code word, when he gets there he needs to say Hannity, John will reply with foxtrot, to be replied with Matt. This will tell John that I sent them.”
Jeremy repeated the information to Danny and said, “Danny, it is important you get there tonight!” Danny said he understood and would get them ready to go now and thanked him. I’m going to give the phone back to Toni now, but you need to get there right away.”
Danny replied, “Thanks guy we will head out tonight.”
Toni said hi to everyone and assured her mom she was ok and that once they got there they would be too. She said her goodbye’s and hung up.
Danny hung up the phone and noticed his mom was crying. He walked over to her and hugging her said,
“Don’t worry mom, Toni is in good hands Dez would do anything to keep them safe and you know that. We will get there.”
Laurie sniffled and said, “I know, I know, Dez has always taken good care of all you kids. You and Jeremy have talked about this before. Let’s get things ready to go.”
Danny like Jer
emy was tall and thin, which was deceiving for many. They were both wiry and excellent shots. They even looked alike with the dark hair and dark eyes. Danny had liked Jeremy since he first started dating his sister Toni. Dez, Jeremy’s mom took to the whole Reed family like they were all one big family. Danny knew they would be safe once they got there.
The small group began to gather what little things they had managed to salvage before they had to flee the house. It was around ten miles to John’s house and with the girls it would be a long night.
There were only the six of them Danny and Laurie Reed, Toni’s brother and mother. Melinda Saunders, Danny’s girlfriend and friends of Destiny Dickie and Jules Miller with their thirteen year old daughter Georgia.
Dickie seemed like he was ex-military, He was originally from the UK, He had moved to the states fifteen years ago. Danny was happy they had been sent to check on them before it all started, Dickie had a British DPM Bergan backpack and a fair amount of useful things including a number of firearms and good amount of ammo.
As Danny looked at his small group he pulled Dickie aside, saying, “Listen, I think we should keep the girls between us, we are going to have to walk this. I’m thinking we should go over to the power lines and follow them out of the city, what do you think?”
Dickie nodded in agreement saying, “Danny, I’m worried about Jules.”
Danny asked, “Why, is something wrong with her.”
Dickie responded, “We didn’t get the chance to tell anyone yet.”
Danny said, “Tell us what?”
Dickie said, “She’s up the duff.”
Danny said, “What?”
Dickie said, “She’s friggin pregnant mate.”
Danny raised his eyebrows and said, “Oh, Well, I guess… Ummm congratulations?”
Dickie looked a little relieved, saying, “I just don’t know how she will handle it.”
Danny said, “Don’t worry about it, we will look after her, but listen when we get to John’s don’t tell anyone that right now, ok?”
Dickie asked, “Why?”
Danny responded, “I don’t know John all that well and I don’t want him thinking she will be a burden. We need their help to get to Dez.”
Dickie nodded and went over to tell Jules.
They had their stuff all packed up and were ready to go at nightfall. They went around the lake to the power lines and began to walk right up the middle, because there was a trail often used by four wheelers and snowmobiles. After they had been walking along the trail for about thirty minutes they heard some four wheelers coming up the trail.
Danny saw the things in town and hurried them into a thicket off to the side and told them to be absolutely silent and not to move. They could see in the moonlight, three vehicles with multiple riders. They could not see much more than shadows, but the moon glistened off the rifles strapped to the front of each vehicle. They all realized this would be a difficult ten miles.
After the riders had passed, they continued on their journey now staying just inside the tree line that followed the power lines. They would bring them out two miles from John’s house.
During the seven hours it took them to walk the eight miles to the point where they would need to leave the power line easement, there were a few more of what Danny and Dickie thought might be some kind of patrols.
The girls were shivering when they reached the point they would exit, so Danny told them that they could take a short break and try to warm up. He wanted to scout out a route that would get them there with the least amount of exposure.
Danny was like Jeremy in that he was quick and stealthy, he and Dickie talked that while Dickie had the military experience, he was not as young as he once was, and carried more than a few extra pounds. He had been injured while training with the military and was no longer as quick on his feet, but he had kept up practice at the range since moving to the states, plus years of playing paintball when he was young taught him how to run and gun. He would stand watch over the girls while Danny scouted the route.
He got them settled under some blankets in a blueberry patch, which provided not only a vast amount of berries that the girls immediately began to collect, but also decent cover.
He crept out of the trees onto the street, looking ahead, he cursed the street lights; they would surely give him away. As he moved from cover to cover he could see that a house was burning around the corner. As he got closer he heard yelling and some gunshots. He moved to where he could see the house clearly and was surprised to find there were no rescue vehicles.
The house was fully engulfed and a second one was starting to burn at the eaves and roof. The yelling was a gang of bystanders laughing and tossing things at the second house.
Danny started to go back the way he came to look for a way around this when he heard a scream. It sent chills down his spine; it was obviously a female scream. He looked back to the scene to see they had dragged the occupants of the house outside. They were holding a young woman by her hair and tearing her clothing off.
He was enraged and it took all he had not to try and intervene. He knew it would only get him killed and he cringed at the thought of the same fate for his family and friends.
After nearly an hour of searching he found an alley and some smaller side streets, he thought they could use to get around the gang. It was already two a.m. and they needed the cover of the darkness.
He returned to where the others were waiting and explained what he had seen.
Jules began to cry, saying, “Danny, I can’t go out there.”
Danny looked at her and saw the terror in her eyes and said, “I know you are scared, but I’ve found a way we can get around it. You have to be brave and do everything you are told.”
She sniffled and nodded. Dickie walked over to Danny and whispered, “Are you sure it is safe?”
Danny replied, “No, not at all. We have to keep everyone very quiet and they need to only move when told to do so.”
Dickie continued, “Maybe we should wait until after daylight.”
Danny shook his head no saying, “I think we need the cover of darkness. And Jeremy said that we had to get there ASAP, the other group was preparing to leave.”
Dickie nodded in agreement and said, “Just let me know what I need to do mate.”
Danny put his hand on his friend’s shoulder and said, “Just keep the girls together and pray, pray we can do this quickly and quietly.”
They returned to where the girls were packing up their stuff and Danny explained to them what they were to do saying,
“Ok, here is what we are going to do. In some places we are going to need to sneak from one point of cover to another. When it is your turn to move you do it quickly and quietly. You watch me for the signal to come and stay low. And the most important thing is to stay absolutely quiet, do you girls understand?”
They all nodded and Danny gave them the wave, showing them the hand signal to move ahead. They left the cover of the blueberries and made their way down an alley and over two streets from where the house was burning. Once they reached the point where Danny wanted them to go one at a time they crouched behind a truck.
Danny explained what to do and where they were to move to. He put his index finger to his lips, signaling them to “Shhhhh” and made his way silently through the intersection and crouched beside a dumpster at the entrance to another alley.
Holding his hand up for them to hold in place he scanned the area for anyone who might see them. Once he was ready for the first one to come over he waved his arm signaling come over. Laurie was the first to go; she silently crept to Danny’s position and took up look out down the alley. Danny signaled again and Melinda did just as Laurie had and also began scanning the area for threats.
Jules was crying by now and when Danny signaled she did not move. She was immobilized by fear, they could see the gang beating a person in the light from the fire and she was too scared to move. Dickie signaled with his index finger poin
ting up that they needed a minute. A few minutes passed and Dickie gave a thumbs up they were ready.
Danny gave the signal and both Jules and Dickie began to creep to the position. Jules kicked a soda can on their way over that caused one of the bonfire onlookers to come walking down the street.
They were all hiding behind the dumpster at this point and Danny prepared to pounce on the guy, when Laurie made a loud sound that sounded like a cat preparing to fight. The guy stopped and looked around for the cat for a moment and turned back to the burning house.
They moved quietly through a few yards and up a long driveway to the point where they could enter a corn field. Danny was thankful for the cover of the farm. Once they were deep into the field, he chanced using his light to check the map. They were less than a mile from John’s but dawn would be coming soon.
They hurried through the fields and onto a dirt road that would bring them into John’s place from the back. By the time they arrived, the sky was beginning to gain light from the impending dawn. They made a quick camp just inside the tree line and decided to wait for daybreak to approach the house.
Danny and Dickie kept watch while the girls tried to get some sleep. As the sun came up Danny saw that someone had come from the house to the barn and decided to approach, leaving Dickie to keep watch over the sleeping girls.
Danny emerged from the tree line with his hands in the air calling out for John. The person he saw go into the barn ran to the house and came out with a large man. He looked like a powerful man with a full beard; Danny prayed he was in the right place.
The man approached the fence line that was at least two hundred yards away and yelled out,
“Who are you?”
Danny remembered what Jeremy had said and responded by saying, “Hannity.”
The man replied, “Foxtrot.”
To which Danny replied, “Matt.”
The man waved him over, and Danny approached the edge of the fence line. The man put out his hand and said,
“Danny?”
