Defending Home

by Jeffrey Miller

  Henry disclosed to the contact what they saw in the Sheridan area. The man said he would get in contact with his son who had ties to the channels of information he received. The man suggested they might be going after Warren Air Force Base which was south of Sheridan. He didn’t think they would have much luck being there were usually 4,000 troops posted at the base. However, that was before the collapse, but he knew it would still be greatly protected. Henry asked if there was any good news about the collapse. The man said he heard rumors that the government, with the help of the states, was getting closer to reestablishing the power grid for half the country. Texas was the closest to accomplishing it even after the two nuclear power plants had a partial meltdown. There would be some regions of the U.S that would not be viable to live in for at least a decade until things are cleaned up. The utter devastation from the EMPs on the eastern seaboard caused more damage than the collapse. The irony was that most of those living sought out sanctuary in Canada, while others moved south and into the Ohio Valley areas.

  After about an hour, Henry’s contact admitted that his son worked in D.C. for the U.S. Senate and that’s how he knew what he knew. He even told Henry that there would be a great likelihood that the U.S Capitol would be relocated soon. His conversation was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire. Henry jumped up and headed out into the living room where he found his wife Betty, along with Ben and Nicole, on the floor. They were crawling to the rear of the home. Nate heard the gunfire and quickly descended from the tree he was in. The sun was nearly down, and he couldn’t determine where the sounds came from, but then he realized it was automatic gunfire near the homes.

  Gene and his family were clambering down the steps to the basement as bullets flew through the windows. Randy was making his way as fast as he could, screaming his parents’ names as he finally made it to the ground and started running. As Nate approached the homes, he saw what looked like a small squad of men dressed the same as the soldiers he had killed. Three men were yelling at Gene’s home, and off in the distance, Nate could see at least two more soldiers walking around the home his family was in. He dropped to the ground. The next thing Nate heard was running from his side as Randy was coming near.

  “Randy, get down!” Nate anxiously yelled.

  Randy ran past Nate. Nate jumped up and quickly tackled him to the ground. Randy tried to fight, but he was no match for Nate’s strength or skills.

  “Randy, stop; we can’t help them like this, we need to work together. I can’t, and you can’t, do this alone!” Nate tried to keep his voice down.

  Nate felt Randy starting to calm down, then heard one of the soldiers yelling at Gene’s home.

  “We want all to come out now!” the men said, standing just a few feet away from the porch. Each man held an AK-47 and were going to go in shooting, most likely, if those inside did not come out. Nate prayed both his family and Gene’s family had already went to the basement. He wasn’t sure at this point if anyone was shot or not, and he tried to calm himself.

  “Randy, we don’t have much time, and maybe only one chance to save them. I need you to be the best shot possible with your rifle. I will run around behind them. When you hear me fire, you start firing…and don’t stop till they are all dead.”

  Randy was still trying to calm himself, but he nodded.

  Nate jumped up, moved quickly back behind the curve of the hill, and ran toward the homes. He stayed out of the sight of the soldiers. He moved into the tree line and kept in the woods.

  Henry was crawling to the front of the home with his own rifle. He wasn’t about to let the soldiers come in. He had the kids and his wife get in the basement, giving each of them a weapon and telling them to be ready for whatever might come.

  The soldiers were moving around; they were talking loudly now. They spoke good English, but Henry could tell they were Russian or from the former Soviet Bloc Nation.

  “I want the men who killed my comrades out here now!” one of the soldiers yelled with hostility in his voice.

  Henry wondered if the soldiers had found the bodies the hide, or perhaps more likely, they didn’t know there was another soldier who had escaped. Either way, they had brought the war, and Henry knew it would be returned in kind.

  Nate was running through the woods and saw two more men standing at the tree line ahead. They were focused on the action. They did not hear Nate coming up fast from behind. Nate dropped his rifle and removed his long tactical knife. With an upwards jump, he came down between the two men, stabbing one directly in the chest. The other man’s reaction was slow as he was stunned and saw the twisting momentum of the blade flash briefly as it found a home in the his back, going into his ribs. Nate quickly picked up one of the AK-47s and checked to make sure it was loaded and ready. Nate flipped the switch to full. Now he removed a grenade from the waist belt of one of the dead men.

  Nate reached the area of the yard that faced the front of his new home. He quickly dropped to the ground in a defensive stance. He couldn’t take a chance at firing full-auto with the home in the background a few feet away. Nate could clearly see holes in the front of the house from their initial attack. He took a moment to pray for everyone, and asked God to grant him speed and accuracy.

  Exhaling, Nate removed the grenade from his pocket looked away to the open area before pulling the pin. Squinting his eyes, Nate threw the grenade as far as he could. He heard it bounce and roll down the side of the hill then exploded, sending dirt flying in all directions. The suddenness of the explosion made the men turn and duck at the same time. They saw where the explosion was coming from, and slowly moved away to the open area. This was what Nate had hoped for.

  Nate stood and ran up from behind, and opened fire. He sprayed a hail of lead toward the backs of the men. In that moment, Nate heard gunfire coming from behind. He could tell from the sound it wasn’t an AK, but rather the familiar sounds of the 30-06 rifle that Randy had. He landed his first shot, but missed the second. The leader of the squad dove to the ground to avoid the next round, which he successfully did.

  The three men who Nate fired on, never had a chance with the surprise attack coming from behind. Nate turned and ran toward the other gunfight. He was just starting to crest the hill between the two homes when he heard a very loud sound from another rifle. Henry stood in the doorway of the home on the porch, firing his sniper rifle at one of the men that Nate believed he had killed. The man twisted from the shot to the head, and was dead before hitting the ground. Nate was not looking back, he hoped Randy got both of his guys.

  The Russian was doing the typical army crawl across the ground, with his rifle in his hands, trying to make it to the tree line. He then stood when he reached a spot he thought was clear from vision. Instantly, he took off running into the woods. Nate spotted him and yelled at Randy to go to the homes and check on everyone. Randy jumped up and ran to the houses as he watched Nate disappear into the woods.

  The Russian was moving well; he was in good shape. He had a good idea of where he was, and he needed to get back to the medium size company. His squad was responsible for exploring the surrounding areas for supplies and much needed resources; three of the most vital items were transportation, food, and water.

  Nate could hear the commotion from the soldier running through the woods. He figured he was trying to make it to the trail in that direction which lead back to another wider road. Nate took off in a parallel course and picked up his pace.

  The Russian was now entering the same trail he came up when entering the area. He stopped when he heard a familiar sound from just behind him. The sound was metallic in nature. It was the familiar action of someone working the action of an AK-47. Nate made certain the chamber was loaded. The man slowly turned to face Nate. He dropped his own rifle when he saw the intensity of Nate’s aim and stern look.

  “I guess this is where you finish the job,” the Russian stated.

  Nate smiled.

  “Everything is negotiable,” Nate replied.<
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  The man’s face seemed to show some relief.

  “What do you want?” he asked.

  Nate figured he could ask for many things right now. This man didn’t appear to be a company man. One thing was for sure, this man wouldn’t leave without pain. He came to this country seeking to kill. He was the enemy, period.

  “Why are you here and how many of you are there?” Nate asked with his weapon raised slightly. The man smiled slowly as if he was just understanding a joke. Nate didn’t appreciate the smile.

  “Oh that…we are here for the American dream and cheese burgers,” he said, cracking a smile.

  Nate fired his gun, removing the right kneecap in an instant. The man screamed out in pain as he fell to the ground. The Russian was cussing Nate in his native tongue. Nate didn’t crack any emotions.

  “Your other knee is negotiable,” Nate said.

  “You might make it back to your comrades with one knee, but I doubt you can crawl back with two missing. We have wolves out here,” Nate added.

  The man didn’t seem to appreciate Nate’s remarks. He started to draw his side arm, but just held his hand at his side instead. Nate noticed the slight movement and was prepared for any such action.

  “Now, how about those questions I asked you,” Nate reiterated.

  The Russian slowly stood as best he could.

  “We are here following orders like your soldiers are doing. As for the number of us, I only know of the plane I came on…there are 152 of us,” the soldier replied.

  Nate raised the rifle to aim it right at the man’s chest. He spoke no words.

  “I swear to mother Russia that’s all I know,” the Russian replied.

  “But why are you here…so few of you,” Nate asked again.

  The man motioned to his knee as though he was in severe pain. He twisted to the wrong side though, trying to hide the fact he was drawing his combat side arm. Nate saw the fast action, and fired two quick shots into the man before he could aim his side arm.

  “Well, that went as planned,” Nate said to himself.

  Nate cautiously walked up to the soldier and made sure he was dead. He then removed a small note pad from inside the soldier’s front pocket. It was a blank pad with nothing inside. Nate looked through the soldier’s other pockets. He found nothing. Dragging the body off the trail, Nate tried to cover it as best he could, but not before removing the weapons and ammo that the soldier had. It would be important to have as many weapons and ammo as he could get if this war became close to home again.

  Nate needed to get back. He didn’t have a choice but to go after the other soldier. Nate couldn’t let him get away. If the other soldier managed to escape, then they would have many more coming by morning. Nate could only pray that now that there weren’t others closer enough to have heard the gunfire. Nate took off for home, running now a little slower since he was weighed down with a few more guns.

  Arriving back at the homes, Nate came out of the woods and saw from a distance that Gene and his family were moving about in the front of their home. Gene saw Nate and waved with a thumb up sign, signaling that everything was ok. Sammie turned and saw Nate. She immediately took off running toward him. Sammie ran across the expansive yard fast. It was clear that she was excited to see that Nate was ok and still in one piece. Nate braced himself, dropping the extra firearms as she leaped into his arms.

  “We didn’t know what happened to you!” she said, hugging him.

  “My family…are they alright? I couldn’t let the last one get away,” he explained.

  Sammie smiled.

  “Everyone is ok. It was a close call in your home. Some of the bullets grazed Ben, but they are only scratches,” she explained.

  As Sammie said the words, anxiety filled Nate’s face. He grabbed up the guns and told Sammie that they needed to get to Ben. They both ran all the way back to Nate’s home. When they got there, Ben was outside sitting on the porch with Nicole. Samson was curled up beside Ben. Nate came running up with Sammie, and Ben looked up and saw Nate. Once Nate stepped on the porch, Ben jumped up, still holding the bandage that was on his left inside bicep. The wound was clear through the skin with no muscle damage. Sammie checked everyone over thoroughly.

  “Oh dad, I thought you got shot or they took off with you!” Ben said as he tried not to cry while hugging Nate. Nicole stood and came into the hug as well. Nate looked up and could see his father walking out, along with his mother. They both looked ok, but his mom looked very frightened.

  “I’m very sorry, you two. I had to track down the last person that was shooting at all of you. We couldn’t allow him to get back to tell more of his friends that we are up here,” Nate explained, perhaps treating them too much like little kids. This was all still new to Nate. He was used to running off into battle; not having to think first…just react.

  “Did you find him?” Henry asked.

  Nate looked up to his father. Henry knew his son well, and he knew that if Nate hadn’t found the other soldier, then he wouldn’t have returned so fast.

  “Yes, and he didn’t wish to negotiate terms,” Nate said.

  No one else asked anything about the man.

  *****

  It was going to be a long night. Everyone was worried, but didn’t want to admit it. Nate decided to stay on the porch while everyone slept. Randy was doing the same thing at his parent’s house. Randy had proven himself to be a very good shot for someone who had never served in the military. He was a great hunter and that skill was needed today.

  Nick and Randy were both using battery operated Walkie Talkies, but they agreed to stay off of them unless they saw someone coming. For some reason, Nate didn’t think there would be anyone else coming. He believed that these men stumbled across their comrades by pure accident. It was possible that each wore a tracker, but he didn’t see anything like that on anyone they placed rocks on to bury. It was Nate’s opinion that this squad may have bailed from the crashing plane after it flew over and was out of sight. They hadn’t heard any further gunfire to the east since the day the paratroopers landed. Nate wanted to go into the area to investigate, but knew he couldn’t leave his family.

  This was all new to Nate – being in a situation of providing his skills to protect his new home. Sometimes he wished he could be in two places at once. He ached to know what was going on to the east, but realized he was just one man. He had to trust that there was a reason why they made it through American radar defenses. Nate also knew that the U.S. could handle such a small force, no matter how good they were. The best thing he could do would be to stay put and hope to hear some news on the radios about the Russians.

  Henry stepped out on the porch.

  “Thought you were sleeping?” Nate asked.

  Henry sat down next to his tired son. He picked up a blanket and laid it across his lap.

  “I was. Just cut it short so you could get some rest now,” Henry replied.

  “I wish I could sleep. All of this has me puzzled. I also feel helpless. One part wants to run off and fight, the other says no stay here,” Nate said.

  Henry could tell Nate was torn and he didn’t have good answers either way.

  “Son, all I can tell you is sometimes things happen beyond our control. Like this world mess we are in…look how fast it all came down. Sometimes it’s not important how we feel, but rather how we react. If everyone ran around feeling scared to move, then we wouldn’t be where we are now. Nate, you know what is important and what needs to be addressed right now. There is no General commanding you to go into battle. Yes, it takes years to let that side of you go, and in some ways, it will never leave you. Do you get my drift?” Henry asked.

  Nate turned to look Henry in the face.

  “Yes, I understand. Thanks.”

  Nate never realized how much wisdom his father had. He should have listened, long ago, about many things; but as a younger man, he chose to ignore a lot. Nate racked it up to arrogance and learning the hard way.
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  Nate handed his rifle to his father. “I think I need some rest; you are right. Good night, dad,” Nate said, leaning down to hug his father; something he hadn’t done in a long time. Nate headed inside and Henry looked out across the property taking in the peaceful night.

  Chapter 3

  Radio Chatter

  Henry was nearly asleep when his radio sounded. It was the voice of Sammie. Henry didn’t hear her first radio silence break.

  “Repeat Sammie…I didn’t catch that?” Henry asked.

  It was a good thing because her comment wasn’t meant for Henry, but rather for Nate. She turned red on the other end of the radio.

  “I asked how Nate is doing this morning?” she replied.

  That really wasn’t what she asked, but Henry didn’t need to know what she really asked. Henry keyed up the radio to reply.

  “He is sleeping…or should be. I will tell him when he gets up that you were asking,” Henry replied.

  “Thank you. How is everyone over there?” Sammie asked, not being good at small talk. Henry could sense her uneasiness.

  “Everyone is fine now; I think the worst is over for now. How about all of you? Maybe we all need to have a get together and just relax. If we had some good ole’ Texas BBQ, I would say let’s have a cookout; but that won’t happen,” Henry said, trying to ease Sammie.

  “I remember the days we used to have cookouts. Seems so long ago. Do you think our country will ever get back on its feet?” Sammie asked with a sense of sorrow in her voice.

  “Our foundation as a nation was strong; we just lost our path. Greed and power, combined with no term limits and a dumb down populous, didn’t help us,” Henry replied.

  Sammie knew he was right. So many things led to the countries demise.

  “Thanks Henry, for the chat. I needed to hear something positive,” Sammie said. She coiled up in the chair with her rifle under the blanket.

  Nate woke up around 11:00 a.m. The first thing his tired eyes could see was Ben sitting in a chair across the room. It was a small reclining chair that didn’t fit Nate, but Ben found it to be very comfortable. Ben was sound asleep. Nate also saw Samson at Ben’s side sleeping. The dog woke up as Nate tried to be silent. Samson stood. While wagging his tail, he strolled over to Nate, turning his head over to be submissive.