Uncertain Times: A Story of Survival

by Travis Wright

  The men stood up and went about their duties.

  “Perry, I need to see you in my office,” Jim said as they were leaving. Rick entered and closed the door. “Well, is this better than being a mechanic?”

  “I’ll let you know tomorrow,” Rick said with a smile. “Thanks for putting in a good word for me, brother.”

  “I need people on my side I can trust. You, the wife and kids need to come over for a barbeque. We recently installed a new back deck.”

  “Don’t forget about my end-of-the-year shin dig,” Rick reminded him. “I’m going to start doing it again.”

  The close friends shook hands and proceeded to get to work.

  Davis manned dispatch until another one could be found to fill his position. He or she would have to be able to handle any situation on the phone and answer questions as they came in.

  With a new understanding between the occupying U.S. forces and the people who fought in the area to defend their own land, the community was put on a fast track to full recovery. Normalcy would soon be in their grasp.

  Local law enforcement was something that everyone knew was needed and there would be problems to be dealt with, but the question was how to deal with them. A new set of laws were implemented after an appointed group of people read through the old ones. Some of the crazier and more absurd laws were replaced with more logical ones.

  While Jim patrolled one day, he received a call from dispatch to go to a local store. Dispatch said the merchant called about the military busting up his place. Jim called two other officers to meet him there. Humvees were driving away as they approached the store. Jim and the others stepped out of their patrol cars and walked inside to find out what had happened.

  “They just came in here and started to take things,” said Mack, the owner of the pawn shop. He was an older man with graying hair and used a cane to get around. “They started to break things when I didn’t have what they wanted, and that’s when I called you.”

  “OK, boys,” Jim said. “Get your rifles out of your trunks and get your gear on. We’re going to have a talk with the military again.”

  The men jumped into their cruisers and sped off toward the Army compound with their lights on and sirens blaring.

  “Slow down, boys,” Jim said as they made it closer. “And turn off the sirens and lights.”

  They approached the old school and noticed a guard shack on the perimeter.

  “This is new,” Jim commented as he stepped out of his car and walked toward it.

  “Not another step, sir,” said an MP.

  “I need to talk to the colonel.”

  “Not going to happen,” said the MP.

  “Son, you don’t understand,” Jim said. “Some of your troops have busted up a local business and we need to get this figured out.”

  Safeties were clicked off as more soldiers approached the gate.

  “You need to get back in your cars and leave, sir,” the MP said.

  “I understand,” Jim said. “We’ll be on our way.”

  The police officers reluctantly moved back into their cars and drove back to the station.

  Jim picked up the phone and called everyone he knew and told them to bring their friends with guns and ammo. “We need to put a stop to this now,” he told them.

  Within hours, about 400 men and women showed up at a ranch right outside of town.

  “Listen up, people!” Jim shouted while standing on the tailgate of a truck. “This is the situation. We have about 200 heavily armed U.S. soldiers who need a helping hand to leave town, and we need your help to accomplish this. Some soldiers have been getting out of hand and act as if they’re above the law. We’re going to show them otherwise.”

  All of them geared up and looked as if they were ready for combat again. Rules of engagement were made crystal clear to all in attendance. “Do not fire unless fired upon,” Rick told them.

  The Army compound would be surrounded on two sides. RPG teams would take out the guard towers when given the order, and sniper cover would envelope the other two while providing overwatch for the ground troops that would cut holes in the perimeter fence.

  When no more questions were asked, the group left for the school in trucks they had converted to hold machineguns on the roof left over from the occupation of the NWA. The acquired Canadian APC would crash through the main gate after taking out the guard shack.

  Two trucks rolled up to the gate and were considered hostile unless they turned around, or so a sign said.

  Jim jumped out and yelled “Surrender!”

  The soldiers on the other side of the fence laughed.

  “Hit it!” Jim said over the radio, and militia came out of the woods to surround the compound. The soldiers stopped laughing, as they could see they were outnumbered.

  “Lay down your weapons and surrender. This is your last warning,” Jim said. Soldiers started to lay their rifles down. “We have heavy machine guns and snipers around your perimeter, now lay down your weapons.”

  A militia team entered the compound and disarmed the rest of the soldiers. They were covered by the main force from the outside.

  The soldiers were loaded onto their own trucks. They were flexicuffed behind their backs except for the driver of each vehicle who they cuffed to the steering wheel. The soldiers were escorted out of town without their weapons and told not to come back.

  “We’ll have these weapons sent to you in Anchorage,” Rick told the colonel before he left on the last truck.

  A roadblock was established 15 miles north of town in order to get advanced warning of the Army coming back by way of the road system. It was fortified with sand bags, massive blocks of concrete and light and heavy machine guns from .50 cal on down to 5.56 mm. A no-fly zone was established and patrolled by locals in Cessnas and Super Cubs. Antiaircraft stations were established at key points inland and on the coast.

  Jim made contact with Major McGee once the security construction had been completed and he had a free moment to let him know what they had to do. The major wasn’t surprised.

  “With martial law in effect, some U.S. troops have been nearly as bad as the invading troops were,” McGee said.

  He agreed to get word to the regional Army commander in Anchorage about the people no longer needing troops on the Southern Peninsula. This could go one of the two ways, but with news agencies coming back to life and the power grid being rebuilt, the chances of people hearing about attacks by government troops grew daily.

  Most people had their old jobs back, but for the people who had jobs before which were now no longer applicable in the current climate, like real estate agents, fishing guides and several more, had to train in a new field. Construction proved to be one of the main jobs available, even if it wasn’t what someone wanted. Jobs were taken to survive in a changed world.

  Life appeared easier to most, and could be enjoyed with family and friends. The Internet and TV were no longer interruptions in people’s daily lives. Face-to-face interactions were what mattered. To some people, their new life felt inconvenient, but to most, they were merely glad to be alive and have what they had. There were block parties and barbeques which hadn’t taken place before. People had time to focus on what really mattered and were happier with less.

  Much of the housing remained unoccupied, and parts of the city looked like a ghost town. Stray packs of dogs roamed those areas and were seen on several occasions taking down a moose and sometimes harming people. A team was selected by Jim and Lance to deal with the menace. The animals had been running wild for so long and considered such a threat to the public, they were exterminated. Snipers took most of them out and then the whole team moved house to house to eradicate them. The people of the area had lost so much. It was time to rebuild.

  Elections for the local government had been a top priority for the U.S. Military in order to get the area’s infrastructure back up and running. With local officials, the hope was that things could eventually get back to the way the
y were. It all sounded good, but government is what got them in this mess to begin with. Not many people were looking forward to voting for someone willing to do the job. Even the temporary government currently in place was constantly under fire for one thing or another.

  Jim put together a town hall meeting to discuss the issue with the locals, but it turned into something much larger.

  The night of the meeting, Jim showed his reluctance to be in front of a crowd of people. Mary reassured him as she always did. As a family, they drove to the meeting together at the old sport complex, the largest gathering place in town.

  The main arena had partially burned down when a part of a downed jet had crashed into the building at the beginning of the U.N. occupation. The meeting was to take place in one of the side rooms, but thousands of people showed up and the gathering had to be moved outside.

  After the podium had been set up and security in place, Jim stood up to introduce his daughter, Alexis, who would be singing the National Anthem, like she once did before school sporting events. Everyone became quiet. At first, they could only hear a few birds chirping and the hum of a generator powering the light plants, speakers and microphone.

  She started out a little soft, but gained confidence as she continued. She surprised everyone by not only singing the first verse, but the second as well.

  The crowd exploded in whistles and cheers when she finished. Some people up front could be seen with tears in their eyes or rolling down their cheeks. Jim hugged his little girl and thanked her. The next speaker, a local church pastor said a prayer about God, the country and freedom for the crowd, and introduced the temporary local government.

  Politics were to be run differently from now on. There would no longer be political careers. One term was all that was allowed, and officials had to hold a day job, as well. They received the same pay as anyone else in office, no matter the position. Only specific jobs needed to govern the people and provide welfare were to be available, no more bloated Government. A citizen legislator had been what the founding fathers of the United States wanted, and for good reason. The crowd appeared to agree with this.

  With the politics concluded, a small carnival had been set up for the kids to enjoy. A beer garden was available for the adults. A few of the local microbreweries that were functional again had brought in kegs.

  “We haven’t been to one of these in a long time,” Mary said to Jim as they walked through, holding hands.

  “We thought it would bring more people together and make the community feel at home again,” Jim said.

  The night ended with fireworks after midnight. It wasn’t the best show anyone had ever seen, but they enjoyed it none the less.

  The next day around town, the mood remained blissful. American flags were flying with pride in more places than anyone had ever seen.

  “Mission accomplished,” said one of the men running for mayor. He had a campaign table set up at the entrance to a grocery store.

  “What do you mean, sir?” asked a woman at the table.

  “Look around, do you see the happiness on these people’s faces? Now hand out those flyers with a smile,” he said. “And let’s win an election!”

  For days, the mood around town remained joyous, and people were more polite to one another than ever. The population, as in most places in the country had been downsized as part of the master plan of the U.N to be able to control the people. Population control had been a top priority of Agenda 21 and had taken its toll worldwide.

  The elections happened without issue and they had a new mayor and city council. Other nearby towns were doing the same in order to bring their areas back to life. For now, the Air Force supplied air drops to supplement what they couldn’t get or grow until the airports could be repaired. Soldotna became a role model for other areas who were slowly regaining their previous footing.

  In a short time, they were able to remove the road block heading north and store their military gear and weapons in the old armory.

  Instead of having a local Army National Guard, the militia assembled one weekend a month and two weeks a year. The participation proved to be better than expected with hundreds of members, real uniforms, ranks and jobs. They had a combat force ready to defend the community at a moment’s notice. Someone mentioned this size force would have been nice to defend against the NWA when they were around, but they had done fine back then as a guerilla force.

  After a vote, the men and women of the militia came up with the name “Phoenix Group” for the local unit because they had risen from the ashes and were ready to unleash hell on enemies, foreign and domestic. Black flags were made with fire and the phoenix upon them. They flew in unison with the American flag.

  “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

  2nd Amendment

  December 15th 1791

  EPILOGUE

  Every year there was a parade and celebration to commemorate the end of a long, cold and bloody war. On that day, everyone that had fought at Freedom Mountain, as it was now called, made their way back to visit the memorial that was built next to the cemetery for the fallen of World War III. A concrete slab with the names of those who died there was constantly adorned with flowers and wreaths. A local ironworker made a cast for the memorial with an eternal flame in the center that impressively looked like it was burning. The mountain became a symbol for all to look upon and remember all those who wouldn’t give up their freedom without a fight.

  The people had won their freedom back from the oppression of a domestic and foreign enemy. The country slowly transformed back into the real America it had once been. People actually cared for one another again.

  The world had changed, however. Certain borders no longer existed, so there were now larger countries to contend with. Most of Europe was one country, as was Africa. Where the One World Power failed, other restructuring prevailed. The Earth no longer had hundreds of countries, but dozens.

  The United States became more of a major power in the grand scheme of things and controlled the entire land of the America’s from Cape Horn, the tip of South America, through what had once been Canada. The entire continent formed one nation now.

  The remaining might of the United States military forces, no longer guarded other countries or had bases on foreign soil. With more coastlines to contend with, they were guarding their own country now. The way it should be.

  Special thanks to:

  Eric Cox – For your continued support and inspiration!

  T.J. Cox – For telling me my story had promise.

  Jenny Neyman - For your detailed editing of my stories.

  Joseph Robertia – For your continued support of and suggestions for my writing.

  Monica Mullet – For taking such an interest in my stories and helping make them better.

  Melanie Noblin – For the cover art.

  Sheila June Collins – For your continuing support and meticulous efforts.

  Logan Parks – Your photography has helped make the book possible.

  Craig Dixon – For your support of my writing!

  Joseph, Kyle, Monica, Amanda and Colleen for the writing club we have together and for your help and insight into my stories.

  About the Author

  Author Travis Wright was born and raised in a small, Oregon town, where his love of the outdoors first began. He grew up hunting and fishing in the rural northwest, a lifestyle which transferred easily to a life in the last frontier. Wright lived in Alaska for 24 years and has recently retired from selling guns and is writing full time. He’s enjoying a quieter life and has focused his time on storytelling for now. He’s an NRA certified instructor and continues to enjoy teaching others gun skill and safety as well as shooting his own guns.

  Wright’s interest in firearm technology as well as his active duty service in the Marine Corps Infantry are both influential in his work as a writer. While Wright
has written poetry off and on for most of his adult life, his work as a novelist began in 2010 with the survival story Uncertain Times. Since putting this work to rest, he hasn’t stopped writing. Wright’s lifelong active imagination and curiosity of the unknown have found their outlet in storytelling. He looks forward to many more years of telling good stories, putting smiles on faces and keeping the pages turning.