by David Nees
It was all uphill now as they closed in on the ridge. The sun was dropping in the west when they came out on the exposed rocks. The two young men stood there gazing west into the light of the sun’s afterglow. The high cirrus clouds to the west looked like they were on fire, bathed in a mixture yellows merging into orange and red. They stood quietly, absorbed by the beauty of the Tennessee hills now glowing in the evening light. Finally, Tommy broke the silence.
“We should set up a place for the signal fire.”
Morgan nodded. He began to look around. “We need a clear sight line to the rear, from where we came.”
They explored the ridge in the gathering dark until they found a place where the pressure had distorted the ridge line, causing part of it to jut out to the west. It was enough for one to look back to the south. You could see miles of the interstate and the mountains on either side. The two smiled.
Morgan began to scrounge the nearby brush for kindling and windfalls while Tommy cleared the area that would form the base of the fire. They would set up a fire with dried wood to make a large, hot blaze. Fresh wood, chopped by them, would then be added to create additional smoke in case the blaze was hard to see in the sunlight.
Tommy, being older at twenty-three and in the militia, took the lead. Morgan was seventeen, but every bit Tommy’s match in size, strength and speed, having grown up in the mountains, hunting, trapping, and building shelters.
“Make sure that area’s clear,” Morgan said. “If it catches some of the grass and moss, the fire can go into the cracks and spread. Start a big forest fire that way.”
When the area was clear, they began to build up a tower of dry wood with the tinder and smaller sticks at its base. Then the two set about cutting live branches to add smoke to the pyre. The trees on the ridge were small and stunted. They would be dense, owing to their slow growth and burn slowly, creating more smoke.
“I’ll take the first shift,” Tommy said. They would watch twenty-four hours a day. At night a convoy would be easier to spot from vehicle headlights. During the day, they would need to watch more carefully through the binoculars they had brought.
Daybreak came without incident. Tommy and Morgan had each gotten only about four hours of sleep during the night. They assessed their signal fire construction and, with a few additions to the structure, decided it was ready.
They ate in silence, dried venison and water. Morgan scrounged through the brush for some edible plants. Ten minutes later he came back, his hat filled with berries and leaves.
“What’s all that?” Tommy askes.
“Huckleberries and wintergreen,” Morgan replied.
“Looks like blueberries.”
“It does. I think they’re related. The berries aren’t as dense as what you get on blueberry bushes.” Morgan popped a small handful in his mouth and offered his hat to Tommy. “Tastes about the same. ‘Course these are not too sweet, it being early in the season.”
Tommy sampled the berries. “Not bad. You’re right about the sweetness.”
“Still good for energy.” He picked up some of the leaves and started chewing on them. “Try the leaves. Like brushing your teeth.
Tommy took a few. He chewed for a few seconds as Morgan watched him. Suddenly Tommy’s face lit up.
“It’s like the chewing gum.” He exclaimed. “That’s amazing.”
“Makes your mouth feel good,” Morgan said.
“Probably helps for bad breath. We got more of that since the power went out. Living with the guys in the militia, it gets pretty rank sometimes.”
“Show ‘em where to find the mint.”
“You sure know a lot about the woods,” Tommy said.
“Grew up in them. Comes naturally.”
Tommy looked reflective. “We need to know about these things since the EMP attack.”
“Old ways are always worth knowing about. They’re reliable. It’s how we lived before we came down to Hillsboro and started farming.” He looked away to the far hills. “Farming’s better, I guess. We get more food. Can put up extra reserves.”
“Like money in the bank,” Tommy said.
Morgan smiled at him. “Yeah, that’s it.”
After finishing what Morgan had gathered, they got comfortable to watch. Neither was sleepy, so they took turns scanning the highway through the binoculars and making small talk.
“You think they’ll come today?” Morgan asked.
“No way of knowing. Lieutenant Cameron…I mean Chief Cameron, I guess he’s not a lieutenant anymore. He said they might not come at all, Sergeant Gibbs, Rodney, thinks they probably will.”
“Kind of hope they don’t. It’ll be boring sitting here for a week or longer, but better for everyone if they don’t come.”
“You’re right about that.”
They sat in silence for a while as Tommy looked through the glasses.
Finally, Morgan spoke up again. “You going with that girl, Sarah? Jason’s daughter?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna marry her.”
“When you gonna do that?”
“She’s only seventeen, so I guess I’ll have to wait a year.”
“Ain’t she too young for you?”
“Her sister’s married to Chief Cameron and he’s about nine years older than her, so no. We’re only six years apart.” He turned to Morgan. “You got a girl?”
Morgan poked a stick into the rocky ground. “Nah. A couple girls hang around. They ain’t bad, but I don’t want to settle down. I like being in the woods, like this ranger thing. Maybe do something like this for a while.”
“I’m not sure how long this group’s going to stay together. I kind of like it as well. Beats being in a barracks with ten or more smelly guys.”
“And you ain’t one of them?” Tommy looked at him with a questioning look. “One of the smelly guys,” Morgan said.
“Hell no. I chew wintergreen, keeps me fresh. I rub it on my pits as well.”
Morgan grinned. “That’s just stupid.”
Later Morgan was watching through the binoculars. He saw some movement on the highway. They had focused their vigil on the turn where the highway first came into view.
“Got something,” he said.
“Let me take a look.” Tommy reached for the glasses. He studied the scene for a few moments.
“Military vehicles. I see some troop trucks and some Humvees. Light the fire.”
He put down the binoculars as Morgan began to strike a flint with his knife, throwing sparks at the tinder. After a few strikes some of the pieces began to glow. He bent down and cupped them in his hands and gently blew on them. A tiny flame erupted. Morgan placed it in the rest of the tinder and began to blow it into burning. Soon the tinder was fully lit and the twigs started crackling.
“It’s going. Soon as the larger branches catch, we can leave,” Morgan said.
They watched as the pyre grew larger and hotter. Soon it was blazing.
“Let’s go,” Morgan said.
“Not yet,” Tommy replied. “I need to get more information about this convoy. He moved away from the fire and looked through the binoculars again.
Tommy studied the vehicles. He wanted to get a count of the transport trucks and note whatever was included in the convoy. The information would help Kevin and the others to figure out how many men were coming.
“Come on,” Morgan said. “We can’t stay. They can see this fire. They’ll know we’re up here spotting them.”
“Wait. Got to see the full convoy to know what’s coming.”
“We don’t want to get caught. Then no one’ll know what’s coming.”
“We won’t get caught. You get us back to the car and we haul ass back to town. The convoy won’t catch us once we get to the car.”
He kept watching.
“Holy crap,” Tommy said.
“What’s up?”
Tommy got up from where he had been sitting, cradling the binoculars on his knees to steady them.
; “They got two howitzers…and a tank. Shit. We can’t let those weapons get near the town. Let’s get out of here.”
Before he was finished Morgan had turned and put some of the fresh wood on the now roaring fire. Thick, white smoke rose furiously in the heat column. It was carried high into the sky.
Then they turned and ran. The two young men flew through the woods, risking a turned or broken ankle in their haste. They slid and tumbled down the hills they had crawled up the day before, sometimes losing their backpacks or grip on their rifles in their falls. They only stopped to gather them and then set off on a run again.
What took four hours was completed in an hour. They slid down the last embankment to the highway fence and clamored over it. Reaching the car, they threw their backpacks into the back seat. Morgan held the weapons as Tommy started the car, turned it around, and headed off as fast as he dared, weaving in and out of the abandoned vehicles.
Chapter 38
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A s soon as Tommy and Morgan got back to town, Tommy went straight to Kevin’s office and told him to get Jason. A half hour later, Tommy was giving his report.
“Could you tell what size howitzers they were?” Kevin asked.
Tommy shook his head. I’m not that familiar with the artillery. What about the tank?”
Again, Tommy shook his head. “I’m sorry to seem so dense, they were far away. It’s not an Abrams, I can tell you that.”
“M60 Patton, I’ll bet,” Jason said. Also very bad news. We might be able to stop the howitzers before they get to town, but I don’t know how we stop the tank.”
“If it’s an M60, it can shoot over four thousand yards. It can blow open our wall and drive right through,” Kevin said.
“With the infantry right behind it,” Jason said.
Tommy looked worried as did the other two men. Kevin dismissed Tommy and told him to remain close to the militia barracks.
“From where Tommy said he saw the convoy, we have three days, maybe four, to get ready,” Kevin said. “We’ll need the mayor and the council, but we have to start our mobilization now. We can’t do this sequentially.”
“Aren’t you taking a risk?”
Kevin looked at Jason. He felt more in control now, having been battle tested during the fight for Hillsboro and now confident in his abilities. “We don’t have a choice. The council’s approval is just a formality. If they don’t approve mounting a defense, are we just going to lie down? You’re not going to stand around and let the town deliver you to Knoxville. You’re going to fight or retreat to the valley.” Kevin pointed to his chest. “I’m going to fight, defend this town. I’ll assemble my militia and work with Clayton. We’ll repel these guys and settle up with the council later.”
Jason smiled. “I’m on board with that. Looks like we’re going to piss off some of the council again. You may lose your job, you know.”
“Can’t worry about that now. Let’s talk to Steve and then we have to get busy.”
The two men rushed over to city hall to see the mayor. They pushed past the receptionist who was trying to be officious, asking them about an appointment.
“No one makes appointments these days,” muttered Kevin as they entered Steve’s office followed by the very irritated woman.
Steve looked up from some paperwork with a surprised expression on his face.
“Tell her she can go,” Kevin said, pointing to the receptionist.
“Thank you for trying to do your job, Alice, but it’s okay. I can meet with these men.”
When she had closed the door, Kevin spoke. “We just got a report from the rangers we sent out. There’s a force on its way from Knoxville. They’re three days out.”
“Uh oh,” Steve said.
“They’ve got two artillery pieces and a tank,” Kevin said.
“Oh my God. That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not,” Kevin replied. “I know you have to bring this to the council, but I have to get my forces together to defend us. I can’t wait for the council to meet and talk about this. I’ve got to start…this afternoon.”
“But that’s getting ahead of ourselves,” Steve said.
Jason remained silent. This was Kevin’s scene to play out. Jason understood he had already been discredited and couldn’t take the lead.
“Steve,” Kevin said. “I’m going to muster a defense force with or without the council’s approval. I’ll have Clayton’s clans helping as well. There’s nothing we can offer Knoxville at this point. Jason is not going to hang around only to have the council turn him over to Knoxville’s people. That’s just not going to happen.
“Now you’re acting like Jason,” Steve said.
Kevin leaned over the desk. “Steve, this is an existential threat. Life or death of this city. I have to engage the enemy before they get to our gates. You don’t want to know what will happen if those guns get in range, or if that tank can make it to the wall. They can tear apart this city.”
He stared hard into Steve’s eyes. “You get me cover with the council, or you don’t. I’m going to do what I can to keep this force from killing our city. If you need to find another Chief of Police when this is over, that’s fine with me. Remember if it comes to that, be thankful for that problem. It means you still have a functioning city.”
Steve sighed. “I should have known things wouldn’t be smooth going. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to mobilize our militia. We’ll fight a guerilla battle, hopefully far enough away that the town never realizes it. You get an approval from the council if you can. Some people may notice the mobilization going on, but make sure no one tries to stop it.” He leaned his fists on the desk. “I won’t allow that to happen.”
Kevin straightened up. “We have to go now.”
“I’m on your side, you know,” Steve said.
Kevin looked at him. “I know. I think you also know I’m doing what I have to do.” He turned and left the office with Jason.
Outside Jason stopped Kevin. “I should go talk with Clayton while you pull the militia together.”
Kevin nodded. “We have to leave as soon as possible.”
“Tomorrow at first light,” Jason said.
“Tomorrow.”
They both headed back to the police station. Jason grabbed one of the old cars used by the department and headed out of town. Kevin gathered the six cops at the station and sent one to the building housing the militia and the other five to run down the militia members that were off duty and, hopefully, at their homes.
An hour later, Jason pulled into Clayton’s farm yard. He found his friend in the barn repairing a broken plow.
“Figured I’d see you soon,” Clayton said when Jason walked in. “When Morgan got back, he told me what was coming. He wasn’t sure what exactly they are, but I know they ain’t good for Hillsboro.”
“You’re right about that. We have to stop them well before they get to town. The artillery could have a range of fourteen miles and I can’t fully describe what that tank can do.”
“Can we use mortars?”
Jason shook his head. Tank’s too armored. Mortar fragments would just bounce off it.”
“We got any artillery to shoot back?”
“We’ve got a howitzer and there’s an artillery piece over in Taylorsville.” He paused. “The biggest problem is that we shoot and miss, we kill trees or some roadbed. They shoot and miss, they hit buildings and kill people. We’d have to be precise, they can be sloppy and still destroy the town.”
“Not a good trade-off.”
“I agree. The only way to deal with this is to put a guerilla force together…today. We have to engage them while they’re on the way here. Ambush them, stop their advance. If they attack back, we retreat into the forest. Then we come back and do it again.”
“You think that’ll stop them?”
“It’s our only hope. Kevin’s mobilizing the militia right now. We need you t
o round up as many of your clan as you can. We mix the groups. The militia will benefit from your clan’s skills in the woods and you’ll benefit from the militia’s firepower. We should be heading out tomorrow.”
Clayton stared hard at Jason, then put down his tools and headed to the door. “Not much time. I’ll get my boys on it.”
Chapter 39
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T he clansmen filtered into the city from the late afternoon into the evening. They had been instructed to go to the militia headquarters. It was the same building used by Joe Stansky. The facilities were considered the most practical, having been set up for the purpose of housing a large group. This militia, however, had been purged of men tainted by misplaced loyalties or criminal records.
As soon as the men arrived their weapons were checked and extra ammunition provided from the militia’s reserves. Most of the clansmen had 30.06 or 30-30 rifles with a smattering of AR15 variants. One man had a Henry chambered in .44 magnum. There was no ammunition for him. He was offered an M16, but refused, preferring his more familiar weapon.
The men with the AR15’s chambered for .223 ammunition were told to exchange their rifles for M16s unless they had a large amount of ammunition. The militia had a plentiful supply of M16s along with the 5.56 mm ammunition. The AR15s were at risk for jamming or worse if they shot the slightly larger NATO round.
The militia officers moved quickly, knowing their impending deadline for departure. When the clansmen had been checked out and given additional ammunition, Kevin assembled the group. There were seventy-five men gathered in the courtyard. Kevin stood on roof of a Humvee and addressed the men.
“The civilians you see among you are all volunteers. This operation we’re going on has not yet been authorized by the city council. There is no time to wait for their approval. Therefore, this has to be a volunteer mission.”
He scanned the group. Between himself and Clayton, they had been able to round up just fifty-five militia and twenty clansmen.
